THE CALL FOR BOOKS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18468, 3 August 1923, Page 11

THE CALL FOR BOOKS.

MAYORESS' WAR COMMITTEE.

RECORD OF GOOD WORK.

OVER 6000 VOLUMES HANDLED.

; The annual meeting of the Mayoress'i i War Memorial Library Committee was ! '-■ held in the ; Town Hall council chamber '' yesterday, Mrs* J. H. Gumson presiding 1 over, a. good attendance. ■■ /.;; ■ ■ • '[ The report of the secretary, Miss H. J ißasten, stated that over 2000 bound books, ' : 4000 magazines. 256 scrap-books, and 271 • children's books had been distributed by the various sub-committee's during the " year. ; A feature had been the introduction jof the special ' request department, by which a large quantity of instructive and . educational reading matter had been dis- , tributed. . Requests were still coming in. > and Macauley's Essavs and Dickens' works , were so much in ; demand that the comr mittee would be glad to receive copies of ~ these. '.'■ :,..'/,. ..'.. .. '■ ' > < The committee was a firmly-established I institution, said Miss Basten. and the j demands upon the services of its members 5 wore becoming increasingly heavy. Several . of the.sub-committees had been adding to > their membership, but even so, there were # many and special requirements that need t individual attention. Offers of service j from women • willing to take sole charge a ,of some special detail of the general work (y, would be gladly received. v When the comi mittee commenced operations it was said I; that such a purely voluntary organisation could only be a kind of tide-over, and, the 6 time was not far distant when Government s assistance should be sourrht to place the 9 work on that plane of efficiency, financial . stability, and permanent existence which P its importance deserved. ' ' , The report of the Navy > League i sub- . committee stated that 850 magazines and £ novels bad been distributed among various f ships' librai-ies,'and a considerable number t of- parcels of varied reading . matter m ' despatched by means of warshins to lonely j islands of the Pacific. The sub-committee . had- also recently undertaken to visit sick men in the Auckland Hospital, and to take them books and magazines. ■~.•)■' ; An excellent. record of work among solj dier, settlers, working camps, and sick . soldier and sailor patients in hospital, was furnished by the St. John Ambulance sub-committee, whose total distribution ~of books and magazines exceeded 1600. , ; The- Victoria. League sub-committee reported that 600 books and 1000 magazines 'had been, issued during the year, also ? numerous children's books, coloured pic- ] 'tures, and Christmas calendars. The 'd£s--1 tinations were wide and varied, including . native and European schools, lonely sett- ! lers and back blocks stations. ..■''. The - Civic League, '.-assisted '.: by the • Grammar .School Old Girls' Association, 1 the diocesan girls and the Query Club, ' also reported good work among the child- ' ren in > orphanages, Niue Islanders, and ' others, the total number of r books sent out ! being over 500. -,' ~..''' The Mission to Seamen sub-committee, 1 which attends to the needs of mission ' ship crews, lighthouse-keepers and mission • stations,' stated that over, 1000 illustrated ' papers, magazines and books had been * distributed. Similar encouraging reports ' were received from the Philanthropic Tiv > jititutions Committee, fi which supplies ' literature to the Knox Home, Blind Instii tute, St. Mary's Home, and Sailors' Home, > and from the Grammar and Diocesan Old • Girls' Associations, Query Club and 5 Y.W.C.A. Service Club, each of whom have made up a large number of attractive scrap books, calendars, and paper dolls' outfits for the children.