OAVERSHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11113, 14 May 1898, Page 6

OAVERSHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY.

The annual meeting of the members of the Caversham Public Library was held in the Library on Tuesday evening. The attendance was moderate, owing to the bad weather. < ..The Chairman (Mr J. Tennant) expressed I groat satisfaction at the progress of the library, and; at the manner iv which it had bsen conducted daring the year. The' report of the outgoing committee stated ■ j that there were 129 subscribers last year, as against 107 during 1896. There was a-slight , increases of annual and family ■subscribers, but the bait' 7 yearly ouea . showed a' decrease. , Begred • was expressed Ithnfc .; more of. the subscribers,, of whom -there-. were 64 last year, did not avail themselves > of" the /privileges "of full membership, and so having a voioo in the management of the institution. True,: there had been an increase of four iv the actual membership—24- as against 21—but the proportion of actual members to ..non-members was' very small, being as 1 to? 2§. Although the total number of members I last yeas was the same as in the previous year, i the subscribers had remained more ■ constant j during the past 12 months; conuequently, the j library had been much more freely.patronised. / I The number of books on.the shelves is "1918, j against 1830 the previous year. The increasa j represents all new purchases, and in making j the selection regard was specially had to kesp- j ing the library as well supplied witu tha best; j publications as the fuuds permitted. These t purchases had cost £19 8s 6d. When making j the last selection of, books an experimental los j of 33 volumes in paper covers was obtained, j and they were bound locally for library pur- j poses. These books actually cost only Id each mere,than the committee had been ia the habit of paying for hooka imported in cloth backs, but whiuh were found to k ? u.j f)j~-j™ fb.it: nuvaf. of thani came to pieces very soon if there was any real run on them, when they had to be rebound at a cost of aboat Is 3d per volume. The funds in hand would allow of from £8 to £10 being spent iv new Knr.w. u,,j- m.~ 0..,«-~;i-~.i<. ranmnrnendful that I new books be secured as they come to hand j j uutil a snfHeient number be obtained to pay for j having them bound in thft name way that the I last lot were. Since the library v,-as reopened !in May, 1890, there bad bgpu £193178 5d spent, and most of tho money had «ona in pui-chasing j books. During the 50 nights that oho library j was opened last year 3888 book* were circulated j amongst subscribers, baiiig au increase of 134-4, j being at the rate of nearly 53 per cant., whiie | in two. yours the iasue had uiare than doubled, j The jnooma from Biibsoriijtions wns £25 15s, ; against £17 13* 9d in 1896.' ■ Special mention deserves to be made of the i »el£-demiac services of Messrs Frye sad Ford, '.

who have acted as honorary librarians.for three years, and mianed only two night 3 (these were holidays) during the whole of that period. It is mainly to their efforts that the library has been kept going and brought up to its present state of usefulness to a large number of the community. The committee for the ensuing year comprised the Rev. D. Dutton, Meß3ra O. Frye, R. B. Hill, A. Kenaard, -G.'Nutting, R. Rutherford, and J. Teunant. Mr R. W. Rutherford was re-elected hon. treasurer and Mr C. Ford hon. gecretary.