THE PUBLIC LIBRARY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27213, 17 October 1949, Page 6

THE PUBLIC LIBRARY

Sir,—The extraordinary statements of your correspondents on this subject diu not seem to warrant any reply from mebut as you have now given editorial approval to this ‘‘cut the service and sack the staff ” campaign, it would seem that it is time some common sense and facts were infused into the discussion. When I was appointed to the chairmanship of the Library Committee I made it my business to acquire information from competent library authorities in the Dominion. I was informed that our Library was recognised as probably tne finest public library in the Dominion and that it was also very efficiently run. Since that time my own observations have confirmed these opinions. This city is very fortunate in the librarian and staff of the Library. They are conscientious, painstaking and efficient. The vilification indulged in by your anonymous correspondents can only be described as mean and contemptible. You reluctantly admit that the Library performs good work, but you suggest that its services should be curtailed. What are the facts? Apart from a children’s librarian, the prospective van librarian and the appointment of the bindery staff, there has been no staff increase for 11 years. In other words, you advocate turning the clock back 11 years. Your paper is continually bemoaning the fact that Dunedin is not progressing. -Progress must be educational as well as material. Here is a service which by conscientious work has been built up to be recognised as one of the finest in the Dominion, and what do you recommend?—an investigation “ to cut the service and sack the staff." When a leading paper advocates this sort of thing on the " say so" of anonymous correspondents, no wonder there is no progress. Had your efforts on the other hand been directed towards the solution of the long overdue problem of extra space and accommodation at the Library, it might have had some constructive value. Your editorial makes the statement that the rental collection is “ poor and inadequate ” —a statement culled from your correspondents. This- just is not true. This collection comprises the output of over 800 popular novelists, and, although no attempt has been made to push the rental books, because it is realised that private enterprise can cater for this demand. the fact remains that the rental issues continue to mount Why? Because, obviously, users of the Library have found that this collection is an excellent one. This “ cut the service and sack the staff ” as a solution to the city’s economic troubles may appeal to the Daily Times as a political theory, but I personally cannot imagine anything more futile. Never in the history of the world has there been a greater need for the encouragement of individual thought and study which a library can give, and a good case can be made out for obtaining State assistance so that the service can be extended, but no case can be made out for cutting the existing service. I am sure your unbiased readers will admit that the Library has improved out of all recognition during the past 10 years or so. Its influence on the community has continued to increase—its services are being more widely used and appreciated not only by individuals, but by groups and societies. In conclusion, I would urge citizens who have not done so to use the Library and its facilities. Do not hesitate to ask the staff for help: that is their job. I am sure citizens will find there a wealth of information and material which will surprise them.—l am. etc., T. K. S. Sidey, Chairman, Library Committee.