WANGANUI CITY LIBRARY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 168, 19 July 1939, Page 6

WANGANUI CITY LIBRARY

BIG CHANGE FORESHADOWED ROOK CLUB TO PRO\ IDE REVENUE. Important changes in the method of financing lhe Wanganui Public Library were foreshadowed last night by the chairman of the’Library Committee, Cr. J. Siddells, who, speaking to a report, of the committee placed before the City Council, referred to the opposition libraries were experiencing in many parts of New Zealand from privately-owned book clubs. If what the Library Committee has in mind is brought about the Wanganui Library will establish a book club in its lending of fiction and make lhe non-fiction departments free. As a first slop in the change the juvenile library is to be free as from October 1 next, to children between the ages of seven and 17 years attending city primary or secondary schools. “We have reached the highest wc have ever been in membership of the library,” Cr. Siddells said, “and that goes to show that the Wanganui Library is being well conducted. I have seen many libraries, but few are as well run as this one in Wanganui.” He dealt with the financial aspect of making the juvenile library free and said that a:s lhe library account was better than main - other accounts the council had to deal with, the committee had no fear on that score. As it was intended to make that section free the committee had decided to postpone for six months consideration of a proposal to introduce the Buffalo system. Referring to the lending of books by privately-owned book clubs, Cr. Siddells said that, it was becoming unfortunate that ratepayers were supplying up-to-oate libraries, reference and otherwise and with newspapers to be read by visitors to the city and by other people, and book clubs were making profits. In Palmerston North the library had been made free, and the revenue obtained from lending books on a book club system had gone to make up the loss in membership fees. He was not. at liberty to mention th* amount received by way of revenue from the book club organised by the Palmerston Municipal Library, but it was considerable. The Wanganui committee recommended that the council seriously consider establishment of a book club, to be run in conjunction with the library, with a view to the ultimate inauguration of a free leading library of non-fiction. “I would congratulate Cr. Siddells on his attitude and that of the committee to this matter," said Cr. H. Lawrence, adding that if the reference department was made free it would enable many who desired to read other matter than “yellow-backs” to do so without a strain on their finances.