FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY: LENDING DEPARTMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7340, 29 May 1885, Page 5

FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY: LENDING DEPARTMENT.

At the meeting of the City Counott felt evening,

Mr. Uftok moved the following,*•**»-. tion :—« That with the view of Council to practically consider the question of establishing a lending department in coonection with the Free Paplie Library, the Town Clerk be instructed to aek the mealcipal autboritiea of Melbourne, Sydney. Newcastle-on-Tyne, Lirerpool, Sheffield, and Nottingham to supply this Council with information as to management and mode of working the Public Lending Librariea rothote places." In moving the resolution, Mr. Upton ■aid that in a few days the foundation stone of the Free Pablic Library would be laid. To make the Library of aw, arrangements ahould be made for a certain portion of the Library to be lending. "A portion of the Library would, of course, be purely for reference, bat a large proportion of b oo *' were useful only when they were read. Books of the claw he would lend would be such as Froude's History of Eogland. That was a book which' every Englishman ought to read. How could a working man re"ad this book unless he took it home to read ? A Free Library should be useful for the greatest number, and not for the few. The great majority of the people in every place consisted of working men; therefore the Library ahould be accessible to working men, and that could only be done by allowing them to take out books to read. This would necessitate duplication, and even triplication of books in some instances. There was a lending portion of the Library in Melbourne, and he believed also- in Sydney. In Newcastle-on-Tyne there was a lending department. Mr. Cowen, M.P. for Neweastle-on-Tyoe, said recently in the course of an address that in the Newcastle-on-Tyne Library there were 1,500,000 issues of books* and only sixteen books had been lost. That meant that each book must be lent 66,000 times bofore it was lost. He hoped the Town Clerk would not confine his enquiries to the places mentioned if he learned of others from whioh information might be obtained. He should like very muoh that when the Oounoil opened the Free Public Library, .they would open it in such a way as would make it available to the largest number of people, viz., the working people. Mr. Cbowther : Free of charge 5' Mr. Upton said that was a matter of detail he wished should be ascertained. He believed that in one town a small fee for handing the book down was made. Let the Council enquire of towns which had lending departments in operation for some time, and who could give the best information en the subject. At the suggestion of Mr. Gabeatt, " Leicester " was added to the motion..

The motion wae carried with an addition proposed by Mr. Mackeohnie, that inquiries be made as to the number of books lost, and the coat of losses each year.