PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17403, 4 December 1924, Page 7

PUBLIC LIBRARY.

NEW WING OPENED. The new wing of the: Canterbury Public Library was fnjynallv opened yesterday afternoon by Mr 11. D. Ac land, chairman of tin'. Canterbury ( ollego Board of Governors. Tho new building provides up-to-Jat-o accommodation for the juvenile library which is on the ground floor with an entrance from Hereford Street. The chairman said that ’t gave him pleasure to preside at a function which would make a historic day for tho Canterbury Public Library. ' U was interesting to find that in 1859 steps were taken to open a library and reading room, and on August 1 of that year tlio Alec h allies’ Institute was opened. Two years later the trustees purchased half an acre of land, on the river batik for £250. In 1873 (ho land and buildings were transferred to the Superintendent of the province, and the property was then vested in the Canterbury College Board of Governors. The reference library was built in J 893 at a cost of £BBL and tlie gallery was added in 1808. In 1900 power was granted to raise a mortgage arid although this liad been paid off there still remained an overdraft of between £2OOO and £BOOO. • The new wing, however, had been paid for. “Wo owe.” he said, “and always will owe a. great debt of gratitude to the Gammack bequest. The ratepayers have never been asked to pay anything towards their library, which is and always will be a lasting benefit to the eitv.” Mr J. J. Dongall. chairman of the Library Sub-committee, said that tor the first ten years the library was under the control of the Board of Governors the expenditure bad been £22.587 and the income £5678. leaving a deficit, of £16.909. During the last ten years the expenditure had been £34..319 and the income £34.114. ‘leaving a deficit of £205. In the last ten years £7896 had. apart from mortgages. been spent on buildings. The library committee would not he able to do its work if ii were not for tho Gam mack bequest which brought iu about £IOOO a year and would bring in more than that in years to come. It was hoped that it would not be long before the librarv buildings were completely cleared. Tho library was practically self-supporting, and no exorbitant fees were charged. The new juvenile reading room would providc for the children for some years to come, and hi hoped that they would use the room as their right At present the. committee could only spend £IOO a year on hooks for the new department, and bo appealed io all who had suitable books to spare to send them along to the juvenile library, where they would be gratefully received. He wished to pay a tribute to t-ln.* work done by the librarian, Air Bell, who was a man well versed in book matters. The new wing was th-i result of his suggestion and the build ing now was the finest of its kind in New Zealand. The librarian. Air E. J. Bell, in giving an account of the internal working of the library, said that in the last ten years 1.500.000 books bad been issued hv the circulating department Of these 1.100.000 were works of fiction. The best single year was 1922. when 199.007 books were circulated. It was expected, however, that this year would see the record broken. The membership ten years rgo was 1000 and now it stood at 30*00. Tn 1911 there were 20.000 consultations in the reference library, and in 1923 there were 66,000. Auckland wa.s the first town to open a juvenile library, but Christchurch was the first town to have a complete librarv circuit, under one roof. Tlio building now contained a circulating library, a juvenile library, a reference library, a magazine room, a public reading room, and a lecture room. Afr Bell paid a. Tribute to the workdone by the library assistants, and said that, their effort , -had done much to make the library the efficient organisation that it is. The visitors then inspected the new wing.