LIBRARY SYSTEM

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22424, 21 May 1936, Page 13

LIBRARY SYSTEM

EXTENDING FACILITIES

RURAL DISTRICT SERVICE

REPORT BY DR. SCHOLEFIELD •

MAIN POINTS OUTLINED ,

[BY TELEGRAPH —SPECIAL BEPOBTEB]

WELLINGTON. Wednesday

The extension of library facilities to the rural districts of New Zealand was discussed by the chief librarian of the General Assembly Library, Dr. G. H. j Scholefield, in a report presented ia the House of Representatives to-day. Dr. Scholefield recently returned from abroad after visiting Parliamentary and national libraries in Australia, South Africa, Great Britain, several European countries, Canada and the United States. His overseas visit was the outcome of an invitation from the Carnegie Corporation of Now York, and one of the aspects of library work -he was commissioned by the last Government to study was the improvement of rural library services in the Dominion. ,

Dr. Scholefield said the following.cardinal principles could be accepted as governing the efforts of modern, library reformers:—All libraries, whether municipal or county, reference or. borrowing, should be completely .free to users; all the non-fiction book stocks of the Dominion should be available within reasonable limits'. for the use of all serious readers; residents of .rural districts however remote were entitled to as efficient a lending service as those in the towns within practicable limits. Avoiding Wasteful Duplication

" The financial • resources of - the Dominion," added Dr. Scholefieldj "will not permit us to attempt to create a rural library service de-rovo, both books and personnel, thus duplicating much of the foundation book stock and failing to utilise the all too limited trained personnel of .the New Zealand library service. It would be a grave dissipation of resources in books and money to set up system. It would inevitably cause a permanent and wasteful duplication of effort. ' " #

"To avoid-that we should, impossible, overcome at the very outset some of the problems whifch faced the English pioneers 20 years ago and. endeavour to airrange that all existing libraries within a district shall be brought into co-operation and the general book stock most advantageously employed." >' v Local Bodies' Rating Powers

The national service which the more advanced countries to-day aimed at and which it was highly desirable New . Zealand should develop, provided for the more serious reader, the large class of men and women who desired something other than fiction. For this class of people the district would organise an inter-lending service, through which the whole of the resources of existing libraries in the district would be made accessible to serious readers who could not obtain what they required in their own locality. "The development of a sound national library service in New Zealand calls first and foremost for an early amendment of the library law," Dr. Scholefield continued. "In the .first instance, to enable municipalities to free their libraries from the necessity of charging a subscription in order to make the libraries really free the present limitation of the power of rating for libraries must be removed. Extending Power to Oountles "At the same time the law should be amended to extend to counties the power of raising library rates and to empower both boroughs and counties to co-operate in library service, forming such mutual associations'as may seem most advantageous. This will make . it possible to serve the outlying parte of library districts either through a. district bureau, which would be housed in the most central municipal library, or through the municipal library itself assuming the duty as part of its regular activities. It is very that any amendment of the Act should leave it open to a particular district' to adopt the special form of co-operation that appears most suitable to its conditions.""

The report was presented by Mr. W. J. Lyon (Government—-Waitemata) on behalf of the Speaker, Hon. W. E. Barnard, who is chairman of the Joint Library Committee.