NATIONAL LIBRARY

Evening Star, Issue 21890, 29 November 1934, Page 15

NATIONAL LIBRARY

NEW ZEALAND'S NEED THE NUCLEUS THERE “.It is time to settle the question of whether the General Assembly Library is to become a national library,” states the Carnegie report on New Zealand’s libraries in advocating a plan for a national system. To complete the national system a national library is essential, remarks the report. “ Local libraries have a definite function within their own communities, but that function is entirely distinct from that of a national library. Financial limitations compel the urban public library to confine itself to the needs of its own people, and this leaves a wide gap which only a national library can fill. Such matters as the caro and preservation of national documents, the making of a national bibliography, and the collection of all books, periodicals, and newspapers of national importance are the particular province of a national library. If this work of collecting, preserving, and recording the nation’s printed and manuscript material is not done now it will have to be undertaken some time in the future at a much greater cost.” _ In theory, says the report, the General Assembly Library is accepted as a national library, and the fact that since 1903 the library has received two copies of every book published in the dominion is a tacit admission on the part of the administration of its national character. Yet it does not fulfil the requirements of a national collection as does the British Museum or the Library of Congress, "Washington.

A SUGGESTED MODEL. “To do this satisfactorily would require the formulation of a policy that would make the library a great national collection. The Library of Congress might well be taken as a model. AVhile nominally the legislative library of the United States, it has become its national library. The General Assembly Library should continue to be the library of Parliament, and it should expand the legislative reference section on the lines which have proved so successful at Washington. It should then develop as a great national reference library free to all citizens. In this scheme provision should bo made for unifying the control of all Government libraries such as the Alexander Turnbull Library and the various libraries of the Government Departments. By this unification much duplication and overlapping in book-buying and binding would be saved and the resources of students would be greatly increased. Arrangements should also be made for incorporating in the General Assembly Library the library of the Royal Society of New Zealand and other scientific and professional libraries in Wellington. In these cases it would be necessary to make provision for members’ borrowing privileges to be continued, but in return for this the General Assembly Library would secure for reference purposes the splendid, collections of scientific literature which these societies now possess. “ In any well-designed scheme of a national library system provision would need to be made for a national lending library. The success of the English National Centra! Library which the British Government now so generously supports, and for which new premises were recently opened by the Ring, is something which New Zealand should try to emulate. AVitli tlie ultimate development of a national system of libraries a national lending library will be needed to co-ordinate the work of the local units, and to provide the little-used but necessary books which local libraries cannot buy for themselves. This collection might probably be a separate department of the national reference library, and it should be part of the plan of the national library which New Zealand ought to adopt. “A FAIR START.” " In the General Assembly Library the dominion has a fair start towards a national collection, and being the library of deposit for all books published in New Zealand the Government has tacitly admitted it to the status of the dominion’s national library. All that is now needed is to reorganise the library on national lines. It is suggested that the national library should continue its present function as the General Assembly Library, extending that by developing the legislative reference section, and enlarging the department dealing with archives so that research workers and students of New Zealand history could obtain the help which they so greatly need. In addition to these activities it should bung under its control the Alexander Turnbull Library, which is at present administered by the Department of Internal Affairs. To have two Government libraries under different departments is neither efficient nor economy cal. To strengthen the science sections overtures should be mad© to the KoyaJ Society of New Zealand and similar scientific societies in_ Wellington to transfer their collections to the national library. arrangements being made for the societies to retain their borrowing privileges, in return for which the books would be suitably housed and properly catalogued and cared for. To complete its service, provision should be made for a lending department which would correspond to the National Central Library, London. The report makes the suggestion that to function satisfactorily it may be found advisable to place the national library under the control of a board of trustee This is bow the British Museum is operated, and the Dominion Museum has recently adopted the same plan. INADEQUATE FUNDS. Referring in more detail to the General Assembly Library the report says “ The General Assembly Library is in theory the national library of New Zealand, but its organisation and administration allow it to function only as the library of New Zealand’s Parliament. Founded in 1856 at Auckland, it was transferred to Wellington In 1865, but it was not until 1898 that it was provided with a suitable building, which it still occupies. Architecturally it is notable, being one of the few examples of Gothic in the country. It possesses a line reading hall; but it is now inadequate in regard to book accommodation . “The bcok collection contains 140.000 volumes, and is strong in subjects of sociological interest —political science and economy, public administration and history, with special emphasis on New Zealand affairs. Former librarians laid the foundation of a useful New Zealand section by preserving and binding the files of many of the early dominion newspapers. The present head of the library, although not a trained librarian, has shown indefatigable resource in the self-imposed task of as sombling and arranging a vast array of historical papers and material. They will form the foundationof a good historical collection, especially strong in

archives, which will one day be one of the most important sections of' the library. . . “ The library has never had sufficient funds for its development. Tho normal expenditure on books is only £7OO a year, or about one-third of what is being spent in the Auckland and Wellington municipal libraries; and the stalf is totally inadecpiate for the important work it has to do. A legislative library should be the mental laboratory for members of Parliament and for the principal officers of the Government. To accomplish the parliamentary side of its work alone would p’dail a larger personnel than it has at present, and additional trained assistants are essential to carry out the technical processes in classification, cataloguing, and bibliography which such a library should normally perforin, “ The chief librarian deserves much credit for the work he has accomplished under difficulties and for the plans he has formulated for developing tho archives division, and for the support he has given to the scheme for improving the legislative reference sectmn of the library.”.