WAIMATE THE LIBRARY

Timaru Herald, Volume CLIV, Issue 22671, 26 August 1943, Page 3

WAIMATE THE LIBRARY

Juvenile Section Council Endorses Proposal The proposal to establish a juvenile section in the municipal library has been crystallised owing to the recent display in Waimate of exhibits from the Timaru Juvenile Library. At Tuesday night’s meeting of the Borough Council a decision was made to confer with other local bodies on the subject. In presenting the report ol tne Library Committee, the Town Clerk (Mr B. S. Runciman) said the committee was anxious to start the section if at all possible, but the finance question was the main concern. The report stated that the question 'of starting the juvenile section was governed by the matter of finance, and it was recommended that application be made to the Education Board for a grant toward establishment and annual maintenance. If this grant was available, the committee suggested approaching the County Council. Farmers’ Union and Women’s Division, Women’s Institutes and the schools to see what assistance they could give. "Children have joined the library and we will have to provide something for them,” said the Mayor (Mr W. F. Boland). Or. G. R. Watters (chairman of the Library Committee) said he had made inquiries regarding assistance from the Country Library Service, but had been infoftned that it could do nothing for the borough institution. The school could be supplied when books were available, but would have to wait its turn. In any case, it was a big thing to be handled by the School Committee. Referring to the possibility of a grant from the Education Board, he said it would amount to about £7 a school, but it was not known how many schools would enter into the scheme of things. "If we could get £lOO we could start the section, but we would need an annual sum for maintenance,” said Cr. Watters. "Nothing kills a library section quicker than the lack of new literature.” Cr. H. H. Leathwick said he considered the question should be deferred until books became chenper. The Mayor: We have been leaving things over so long that unless we make a move now we will never get anywhere. Cr. Watters said a number of those who would use the section would lx? children of county residents, and the County Council might be prepared to assist in starting the section. There was accommodation in the library for about 500 books. Cr. R. H. White mentioned - a discussion about the librarians’ award, and said the matter should be held over until the outcome of the conference was known. The Mayor: We have just had a community week and we should now make a community effort to get this going. It is most essential. The main thing is to arrange a conference of local organisations at an early date and to get on with the job. Many people may make gifts of well cared for books and others may possibly help with monetary donations. The meeting adopted the Library Committee’s report and voted the sum of £25 towards the cost of establishing a juvenile section. Librarian’s Award Earlier the Council discussed a communication from Mr T. Nuttall, secretary of the Canterbury Local Bodies’ Industrial Union of Workers, who forwarded a copy of proposals concerning an award to cover librarians and library assistants employed by local authorities in Canterbury. The Town Clerk said that in the main the proposals differed little from the previous awards excepting in the case of salaries. The clauses regarding hours of work, holidays and annual leave were practically the same. A long discussion took place regarding the financing of the library and the effect of the proposed award. It was mentioned that the Borough Council was allowed to rate up to £2OO to run the library, but it was actually costing something like £3OO. The proposed changes would impose a big strain on the Council if cited as a party to the agreement as it stood, and would force the Council to withdraw and hand over the library to some other body. Cr. Watters said it was proposed to hold a conference of interested bodies at Ashburton, and the Library Committee had appointed Cr. R. G. A. Sawell and himself to attend.

Housing Restrictions Lifted The new water-main is now in operation, but there is still about a week’s work necessary to complete the job, stated the Town Clerk in a report. He said that a cross-connection had to be installed at Butcher’s Lane, and this would be done when the fittings arrived. The water pressure had never been below 801 b since the completion of the pipeline as compared with a pressure varying from 251 b to 601 b at this time last year. He suggested that the restrictions on hosing be lifted, but added that if there was a long dry spell and the flow at the headworks was reduced the restrictions would have to be imposed again. Cr. A. G. McHardy declared that the trouble came from those who used the water for irrigation purposes. He expressed the opinion that they could permit hosing during a restricted period all the year. The Town Clerk: It would be better if you left it open to reasonable use. If people would not leave their taps on all night or till the water ran out into the channels in the streets it would be all right. If they allowed hosing in a restricted period there was a danger of too big a draw off and the consequent loss of pressure. It was agreed that the restrictions be lifted. State of Cycle Track

The question of repairing the cycling track at Victoria Park was the subject of a deputation to the Council when Messrs D. McDonald, A. J. Hoskins and W. A. Dunstan presented a request from the Caledonian Society for repairs to the track before deterioration advanced too far. After a discussion, in which it was stated that parts of the foundation had perished, Mr Boland said the Council desired to preserve the track but thought it wiser to leave it until after the war and then renew the surface. If the Society thought otherwise, the Works Committee could meet them and make an inspection. This course was adopted, and Mr Macdonald, in thanking the Council for their reception of the deputation’s request, said that a mutual agreement could perhaps be reached. He added that the Council was taking a comonsense view of the position.