DUNEDIN’S FREE LIBRARY

Evening Star, Issue 21716, 10 May 1934, Page 10

DUNEDIN’S FREE LIBRARY

CONGRATULATED ON ITS PIONEERING REDUCED FICTION EXPENDITURE LAUDED CARNEGIE CORPORATION INVESTIGATOR'S VISIT “ The Dunedin and Timaru Public Libraries stand as' splendid overseas oases in a desert of subscription libraries,” declared Mr R. Munn, director of the Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh, to a ‘ Star ’ reporter to-day after he had inspected the Dunedin Free Library. Mr Munn is preparing a report to the Carnegie Corporation in New York on the New Zealand library system. In the preparation he is being assisted by Mr John Barr, of Auckland Public Library. Financial questions are not included in the scope of Mr Munn’s investigation. I Dunedin was' the first large city in New Zealand in which Mr Munn has seen operating a free library such as were known in England, Scotland, and the United States. “ The value and importance of a free library is being proved every day in Dunedin by the interest which local people take in their library and the use which they make of it,” said Mr Munn. “My one criticism of the policy upon which the library has been developed is that the lending library has placed too much emphasis upon the issue of light, ephemeral fiction. I am told that the present librarian is attempting to place the issue of fiction upon a more reasonable basis, and he should have the support of everyone in Dunedin in this policy.” Like many other democratic institutions, Mr Munn said, a free public library was frequently subjected to attack, and he would agree that the use of public funds to support an institution which was almost exclusively engaged in supplying light novels was questionable. This type of reading had its place, but it should not be allowed to absorb an unreasonable amount of the finances and facilities of a public library. “The present policy of bringing expenditure on fiction within reasonable limits has had a splendid reaction in the use of more important books _of non-fiction,” said Mr Munn. “During the last six mouths there has not only been a gain in the total number of books,: issued, but the percentage of non-fiction has increased by 5 per cent, over the corresponding period of last year.” The reference library of the Dunedin Free Library was, 'Mr Munn was happy to report, one of the best he had seen in New Zealand. It reflected a splendid knowledge of book values on the part of the librarian who collected it. Of course, there were some places in which it was incomplete and out of date; but, on the whole, it reflected great credit upon the library administration. It also appeared to be quite adequate for the ordinary demands of the community. “It is unfortunate that there are these two superb collections, each one of which is competing, to some extent, with the other,” said Mr Munn, referring to the New Zealand section of the .Free Library and the Hocken Library in the Museum building. “If it is impossible to combine the two, there should at least be some strong co-ordinating policy, which would, prevent duplication of effort and expense, and also provide a union catalogue. In this way, a scholar would be able to learn what material is available.” Dunedin was to be congratulated upon its support of a free library, as it was pioneering in this regard, Mr Munn said. There was no excuse, however, for the city to become complacent, as the funds which it gave to the library were only about 35 per cent, of the standard set by the American Libraries’ Association for the support of free public libraries. If the people of Dunedin would consider their library as a great continuation school, making available to the whole population the facilities for educational and cultural advancement, they would, no doubt, see the advantage of giving much more liberal support, “It is uneconomic to spend huge sums in the public schools to teach the people to read and study and then to fail to provide adequately for the public library facilities which will enable them to make use of what they have learned in th© schools.” Dunedin’s experience of heavier demands on the libraries during the depression was a world-wide experience, said Mr Munn. In the United States an average increase of 37 per cent, in the issue of books was recorded during the worst months of the depression. The most pleasing part of this, from the educational standpoint, was that books of economies and history showed the_ greatest percentage of gain. It indicated that people were attempting to clear their own minds and to solve the riddle of the world depression and the problems brought on by the machine age. Mr Munn wijl leave Dunedin to-mor-row for Auckland, where he will join th© steamer for Australia on May 18, and spend two months there on work similar to that which he is doing in Now Zealand. When he returns to the United States he will prepare a report on the libraries of New Zealand, with recommendations for their future conduct and suggestions for the way in which th© existing libraries can bo adapted to meet the demand for library services in New Zealand in the most efficient manner possible.