SCHOOL LIBRARIES

Evening Star, Issue 24016, 15 October 1941, Page 3

SCHOOL LIBRARIES

SERVICE TO BE EXTENDED (P.A.) WELLINGTN, October 14. A school library service is to be established to lend books to children of primary, intermediate, and district high schools, according to an announcement made to-night by the Minister of Education. Mr Mason. The scheme will be developed and administered for the Education Department by the Country Library Service. “ In its beginnings,” said the Minister. " the new service will be availablechiefly to school children in the country and in towns with a population of less than 10,000, while the_ libraryschemes at present operating in Otago and Taranaki will be assisted by grants of books, and a travelling library for the rural schools of Canterbury and Westland will he incorporated xn the new scheme.” In order to establish the service over as wide an area as passible, said the Minister, a small sum, equivalent to la per pupil per annum, would be required for the present from each school which received books from tlxe library, hut it was intended later that the service should be completely free. The Minister added that when a school joined the scheme a number of hooks equal to the number of children in the school from Standard I. upwards would be supplied. All the hooks would be exchanged yearly, and special provision would be made for children in the lower standards.