LIBRARY SERVICE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 19886, 14 March 1939, Page 4

LIBRARY SERVICE

BOOKS FOR SCHOLARS

SUBSIDISED READING

HEADMASTERS' APPROVAL

Warm, approval of the school-library scheme promoted over a year ago by the Turanganui Public Library Committee, in conjunction with the school committees of the town and suburban area, was offered by headmasters who attended a meeting held last evening to discuss the future of the scheme. Their approval was endorsed by two chairman of school committees who also attended the meeting. The scheme provides for the creation of a pool of books suitable for children of school age, and the circulation among the contributing schools of all the books in the pool by a system of exchanges. In this way each school receives into its library in the course of the year far more books than it would be able to add to its stocks by its own efforts. The scheme is financed by contributions from the schools served, and a subsidy from the Turanganui Library funds.

Primary Schools' Decapitation

To date" over £loo' has been expended in the purchase of book stocks, and the pool now consists of slightly fewer than 500 books. Last night's meeting was held to consider how the opening of the intermediate school would affect the scheme, the majority of the books purchased to date having been found more suitable for the children in the upper standards. These children will be removed from the town and suburban, schools to the intermediate no later than the beginning of next school year, and the question has arisen as to how the books remaining in the hands of the committee may -best be circulated.

After some discussion it was decided to invite the intermediate school committee to contribute to the scheme, and also to extend the circulation, if possible, to include some of the nearer country schools.

The headmasters recommended that in further purchasing, attention should be given primarily to books of a type suitable for pupils of the lower standard's, particularly those of Standards 111 and IV.

The scheme having proved its value in augmenting the individual school libraries 1 , the .committee decided to approach the Government, through the HaWke's Bay Education Board, with an offer to make its advantages available to as. many additional schools as possible, the Government contributing a subsidy on the amounts spent by the library committee.