TURANGANUI LIBRARY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19122, 17 September 1936, Page 16

TURANGANUI LIBRARY

INCREASED ISSUES MORE NEW MEMBERS Further increases in membership, and particularly in the children’s section, were reported to the monthly meeting of the Turanganui Library Committee, at which Dr. A. L. Singer presided over a full attendance of members. The meeting was not a lengthy one, but some interesting recommendations from both (.lie finance and book sub-committees were discussed.

The librarian Aliss K. -M. Instone, reported that 6913 books had been issued for home reading during the past month, ,he figure being well above that for August of last year. Eighty-four novels, of which 60 are in the new bindings, had jeen added to the stock of the library, md 25 damaged copies bail been taken ml of stock. In the non-fiction section. 1 hooks had been added.

.Membership figures continued to iw .-rouse, a total of having been enrolled ,n the various categories. During the month 15 members had ceased then- subscriptions, mainly owing- to their departure from the district. The new table for popular boons had proved a satisfactory addition to the facilities of tile library, and had been favourably commented upon, the report indicated.

In the reference section, fairly constant use had been made by subscribers of the .lictionaries and encyclopaedias, but the remainder of Ihe stock nad not been in seen demand. The juvenile department had experienced a busy month, tne membership having reached 160; 844 books had been issued, nearly doubling the issues of last August, The librarian mentioned in her report the resignation of Miss 1. Little, to take up another appointment, Miss Little having! been a member of Ihe staff Tor the past year. SUPPLIES OF .MAGAZINES

The committee discussed magazine issues, in connection with which it, was decided to ask members, through the medium of a questionnaire, to indicate their preferences in magazines and periodicals. It- was suggested that if the tastes ol readers could be consulted, it might prove worth while lo increase the orders tor magazines, in order to promote ,Loil circulation among the subscribers, did also to offer further inducements to subscribers to use the reading-table. The book committee offered other suggestions for improving the stocks and interesting subscribers, and the finance committee made its recommendation as ,o the allocation of funds in hand or to become available during the remainder ot the financial year. Tne chairman commented that the progress made in remolding stocks, by adding new volumes and withdrawing the more damaged and also obsolete books from circulation, was most, encouraging. The amount now available for the purchase of new books was beyond anything in the previous experience of the library committee during nis connection with it.

Members of the commitee generally agreed that the selection of the new standard minting for Turanganui Library nooks had been a happy one, and that it had proved popular with subscribers.