FEWER BOOKS FOR LIBRARY

Taranaki Daily News, 28 January 1933, Page 5

FEWER BOOKS FOR LIBRARY

EFFECT OF EXCHANGE BATE.; NON-FICTION MORE POPULAR- ,■ . . An effect of the increase in the exchange rate which will be brought directly home to subscribers of the Stratford Public Library is that the higher cost of books will mean a decrease of about 60 in the total number of books added to the library in a year. Four hundred books a year have been put into the library in the past. Now the - number added every month will drop and the decrease at the end of the year > will bring the total down to 340. Of the total added in a. year about 25,. .; to 30, representing 10 per centrw; money the committee has to spend/ ar«r< for the non-fiction section, which con js tains a large /proportion of' travel and; ■ biographical works. A number of peo« ; . pie who used to read fiction almost ex>' : dusively now turn to the non-fiction'sec- 4 /, tion for reading matter, according to ’a ,- statement made yesterday by Mr. -bf/, Macalister, chairman of the library com-, mittee. ' $ He added that the committee endeav T , cured to obtain that type of book ten in a bright and attractive in past years the committee raised: extra - money for that kind of book, but m view of the times no efforts in that direction had been made recently. The problem . with which the committee was faced was that of finance, and-, as books in the,. non-fiction category were too expensive, perhaps as much as £1 Is a copy when first issued, it was necessary to wait, till the issue of the first reprint beofre : the funds available would justify purchase, generally at about 7s 6d. The CQ i rn “ j mittee had paid £1 10s for a volume that it was particularly desirous of adding to the shelves, but that price could not be paid except on rare occasions. j were 300 volumes in the section without the books of reference, he said.

Why buy new clothes when the old ones can be renovated equal to new at the cost of a few shillings? We have been dyeing and cleaning garments for over 20 years. Let us have your soiled or faded suits, costumes, dresses, etc., to renovate and you will be surprised at the result. We also renovate and reblock felt hats. Why not have yours done at J. K. Hawkins and Co., corner Devon and Liardet Streets, New Plymouth. ’Phone 685. Mrs. Rudkin (Everybody’s) is our Stratford agent.