IMPRESSIONS ABROAD

Manawatu Standard, Volume LV, Issue 176, 25 June 1935, Page 2

IMPRESSIONS ABROAD

ADDRESS TO ROTARIANS. BY PROMINENT LIBRARIAN. Taking as his subject a general review of his recent visit to America and Great Britain, Mr J. Norrie, chief librarian of the Wellington Municipal Library, was the speaker at yesterday’s gathering of the Palmerston North Rotary Club. His visit abroad was made to enable him to study libraries with particular reference to their architecture and their technique. Mr W. S. Carter was the chairman and introduced Mr Norrie to the gathering. Speaking of New York, Air Norrie touched on the impressions of the skyscrapers, “like streets standing on end,’’ and said they had proved thei? usefulness. But besides advances in building America had gone ahead in other ways, including the adoption of the simple decimal coinage system-. The difference of value in tiro dollar- and the pound tended to make the American think in millions, which difference was, however, in some ways a good thing. Speaking of the railways, the lecturer said that the principal railway stations in New York, the Grand Central and Pennsylvanian route termini, were palatial and known as depots. Below the streets were the subways which honeycombed the rock. American hotels did not give service but sold it, said the speaker, who added that the best of them surrounded their guests with every possible luxury, but expected payment for those comforts. There were few knives used, mostly forks, and fish forks and knives were practically unknown. At the hotels the visitor “checked in” instead of registering and asked for the “elevator” and nor the lift. Scones were, “soda muffins” or “hot discuits” and a chemist’s shop was known as a “drug store.” Those stores were to be found on the premises of the best hotels. Drapers’ shops were “dry goods stores” and a reel of cotton was termed "a reel of thread.” American trains were not cheap, neither were they nasty. All were numbered and the prominent ones named. The named trains had built up a justifiable reputation. THE LIBRARIES. The most important fact about libraries in America was the spirit of altruism which had prompted people to make gifts to the libraries, continued Air Norrie. The libraries did a certain amount of advertising in some cases. The speaker proceeded to describe in a lew words tne magnificence of the libraries in the chief American cities. 1t had been a revelation to him to see what great strides had been made both in England and America, not only in library technique, but also in library architecture. Those who had reached high positions in his own profession he had found most charming. In both the United States and England he had been impressed with the kindness of all the visitors. Although it had cost £450.000, the great Central Library building at Manchester had impressed him as being a building which would cost th® city more than was justified, Air Norrie commented. The speaker concluded by referring to the proposed federation of libraries in New Zealand by which books could be exchanged between libraries and could be made available both to those w-ho lived in the heart, of a city of in the furthest backblocks. Air Norrie spoke in appreciation of the proposals which had been advanced, and which, he said, were to be given a trial, being sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation. The thanks of the club were expressed to the speaker by Air - S. Rawle, who said that he had no doubt that New Zealand would benefit from “Mr Norrie’s visit to England ancl America. Alessrs J. S. Carter (Moutoa. Shannon) and R. AY. Jacobsen (Auckland) were welcomed as visitors.