Manawatu Evening Standard. MONDAY, FEB. 22, 1937. A NATIONAL LIBRARY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 69, 22 February 1937, Page 6

Manawatu Evening Standard. MONDAY, FEB. 22, 1937. A NATIONAL LIBRARY.

Tiik resolution passed by the Library Association s Conierenee commending to the Government, focal bodies, and the people generally the national library scheme deserves most whole-hearted attention. The matter has been urged in surveys conducted in the Dominion by the Carnegie Corporation, a tribute to wnose help was paid by Mr T. D. Hail, Clerk of tne House of Representatives. As Dr. Guy Scholefield (chief librarian at the General Assembly Library) pointed out, in a complete library system there must oe one library at least of a national character, the resources of which are not restricted to town or district. The General Assembly Library, as he mentioned, has already developed some of the functions of a national library, and for more than half a century it has been a library of deposit for the official publications of British and foreign Governments. It is undeniable in the institution of such a scheme that the General Assembly Library could be developed to satisfy the. ideal. The point was rightly stressed that a central library is able to provide books which the average city or town library cannot afford to buy. Generally, New Zealand is not as forward in library facilities as it should be, and the matter is one upon which too great stress cannot be laid. As the result of publicity arising from the Carnegie Corporation surveys, the public realise this defect in the national life and it must, be a'duty to rectify it. Public-spirited citizens have made valuable contributions at times, notably in Wellington and in Dunedin, but a great deal can be achieved through the co-operation envisaged in the conference’s resolution.

The public library movement in Britain dates from the passing of the Act in 1850, chiefly through the efforts of William Ewart, M.P. for Dumfries, authorising the local authority to strike a rate for the purpose. Mr Andrew Carnegie also stimulated interest by presenting buildings to municipalities , adopting the Act, a beneficence lie extended to this Dominion. To-day the movement is a real force in the national welfare, and there is a valuable system of co-ordination between the public libraries of London and the counties. The greatest of all is the British Museum Library founded in 1753, with its valuable collections acquired since Sir Hans Sloane’s became the nation’s property in the year mentioned. Here must be deposited by English publishers a copy of every new book or

periodical issued. Other great libraries are the Bodleian Library of Oxford, the University Library at Cambridge, and the National Libraries of Wales and Scotland, and Trinity College, Dublin, each enjoying the right to receive from publishers a copy of each new book and periodical. There are also the Patent Office Library, the National Art and Science Libraries at South Kensington, the Guildhall Library, the London Library, the National Library in Dublin, and the Museum of Science and Art in Edinburgh. In the United States are the great library of Congress with its three million volumes, and those in the great capitals of New York, Washington, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco. The United States has more than 800 libraries with over 81 million volumes, and it is a leading- nation in this respect. Continental capitals have also their collection of tremendous historical importance. All are most effective instruments in the life of each community. A greater recognition of this is required in New Zealand, and the way to obtain it is by giving expression to the conference resolution .