SCHOOL LIBRARIES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24738, 15 October 1941, Page 9

SCHOOL LIBRARIES

NEW EXCHANGE SERVICE • ESTABLISHMENT ANNOUNCED (0.C.) WELLINGTON. Oct. 14. A school library service, to be developed and administered for the Education Department by the Country Library Service, is to be established to lend books to the pupils of primary, intermediate, and district high schools. An announcement to this effect was made to-day by the Minister of Education. Mr H. G. R. Mason. “ The Government," Mr Mason said, " has always been keenly interested in the provision of more and better books for school children, and has now managed to make arrangements for a supply of books to schools far superior to anything attempted in New Zealand before. At the start the school library service would be available chiefly to school children in the country and in towns with a population of fewer than 10,000, the Minister said. The library schemes at present operating in Otago and Taranaki would be assisted* by grants of books, and the travelling library for rural schools of Canterbury and Westland would be incorporated in the new scheme. For the present. In order to establish the school library service over as wide an area as possible, a small sum, equivalent to Is per pupil a year, would be required from each school which received books from the library. The main cost of the scheme and the charge for transport one way would be met out of money provided by Parliament. It was intended that later the service should be completely free, Mr Mason said. When a school Joined the service a number of books equal to the number of children in the school from Standard I upward would be supplied. All the books would be exchanged once a year, and, in addition, part exchanges might be made once or, in the case of smaller schools, twice a year. The school would thus receive a new library of books at regular intervals. “ The books supplied will be drawn from a rich field of children’s literature, Mr Mason said. " Special provision is being made for the children in the lower standards. Most of the books will be in story form, but some books of information will be Included, and it is hoped later to offer a full junior reference ser r vice. In the meantime, the schools are urged to use the library grants which are available to them through their boards for the purpose of building up a collection of reference books."