GENERAL ASSEMBLY LIBRARY. REPORT OF THE CHIEF LIBRARIAN FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH, 1934.

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1934 Session I, H-32

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1934. NEW ZEALAND.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY LIBRARY. REPORT OF THE CHIEF LIBRARIAN FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH, 1934.

Laid on the Table of the House of Representatives by Leave.

To the Chairman of the Joint Library Committee. ■Sir, — I have the honour to report on the operations of the General Assembly Library for the year 1933-34. Accessions. During the year 2,880 volumes were added to the collection from all sources. The accessions in the last few years have been as follow : 1925-26, 1,501 ; 1926-27, 2,162 ; 1927-28, 2,270 ; 1928-29, 2,153 ; 1929-30, 2,906 ; 1930-31, 3,136 ; 1931-32, 3,142 ; 1932-33, 2,176 ; 1933-34, 2,880. The total number of books on the register at the Ist August was 132,900. The Library stock, however, does not amount to that figure. Our loss by wear-and-tear is a very serious matter militating gravely against the preservation of a national collection. Every year a considerable number of books has to be discarded. There are still one or two classes in which we have not yet been able to complete the stocktaking so as to be able to write ofi all books which have definitely been withdrawn. Until that is done, it will be impossible to say how far short of the number on the register the library stock really is. Binding. I am glad to say that the money which has been made available for binding has enabled us to bring up to date many series of official papers of the British Dominions which had been in abeyance for the past fourteen years. Amongst these are the official gazettes of Great Britain and some of the colonies and dominions. These have now all been completed as far as possible. I hope that it will never again be necessary to allow this sort of binding to lapse. Donations. During the year the Library received as a donation from the Right Hon. Lord Louis Mountbatten a copy of a valuable work on naval medals by his father, the late Admiral of the Fleet the Marquis of Milford Haven. Other donations were received from the Consul-General for Japan ; the late Dr. L. Cockayne, C.M.G. ; Mr. William Denny (Dumbarton) ; Dr. A, C. Keys ; Mr. B. Stocker ; the Country Press Co-operative Co. of Australia; the Melbourne Herald Co. ; the Kuo-Min-Tang (Wellington) ; Mr. J. M. Rose, Waitahuna; the New Zealand Racing Conference ; and Miss Nias. Staff and Organization. During the year considerable alterations have been made in the internal arrangement of the Library. This was made possible by giving efiect to a suggestion put forward by me in 1929. The row of committee-rooms on the first floor was made available to us and the necessary expenditure for the alteration was approved. Access was obtained by opening a doorway through the southern wall of the main reading-room and removing as much as possible of the walls dividing the committeerooms. The addition of these four rooms (which we have called A, B, C, and D) has enabled me to move the New Zealand collection from the very unsuitable position on the landing which it had occupied for many years to Room D, which I hope will eventually house the bulk of our New Zealand .books. The fiction has been brought up from the ground-floor to Rooms B and C, and the French

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and German sections and portion of the art books have for the present been set up in Rooms A and B„ Some new shelving was obtained for those rooms, and it is hoped that improved finances will make it possible to furnish them completely in the next year or two. These changes have made possible a redistribution of the various departments of library work. The accessioning of books is now concentrated in Room B, and the circulation (which previously was divided between two floors) is now all carried out at a new desk on the landing. The space made available in the staff-room on the ground-floor has been utilized for the expansion of the reference work. The changes so far made appear to have improved considerably the conditions of work. The Library is being used to an increasing extent for reference purposes by members of Parliament, public Departments, and the general public, and for research purposes by students from all the University colleges. The fine collection of official papers and newspapers held by this Library is essential to the completion of any research in New Zealand history or economics. In this connection we hope within the next few weeks to publish, as an aid to research workers and librarians, a union list of the newspapers preserved in all the main libraries of the Dominion. During the year authority was obtained for the appointment as a part-time assistant of a student reading for a degree at Victoria University College. This system is in operation at some overseas libraries, and the experiment might with advantage be extended in order to give young students an opportunity to. acquire useful experience during their undergraduate years and to provide the Library with assistance in certain routine library and archive duties which is much needed. International Exchange. Arrangements have been entered into with the Department of Internal Affairs under which the General Assembly Library will in future act as agent in New Zealand for the International Exchange Service. It is already the Library of deposit for much International Exchange material, and it "is hoped that the concentration of the responsibility for the exchange service in one institution will be to the advantage of the Dominion. Recess Privileges. The number of persons who had the privilege of using the Library during the recess was 1,031, as compared with 1,238 during the previous recess. The vocations of the recess privilege holders were as follow : Accountants, 27 ; advertising-agents, 3 ; agents, 7 ; analytical chemists, 4 ; architects, 3 ; artists, 3 ; auctioneer, 1 ; bank clerks, 9 ; barman, I ; barristers and solicitors, 48 ; blacksmith, 1 bookseller, 1 ; brewer, 1 ; brokers, 2 ; builders, 3 ; business managers, 19 ; carpenters, 2 ; chef, 1 ; chemists, 8 ; civil engineers, 8; civil servants, 152 ; clergymen, 15 ; clerks, 91 ; commercial travellers, 8 ; company secretaries, 18 ; custodians, 2 ; dairy-produce tester, 1; decorator, 1; dentists, 5 ; domestic duties, 117 ; draughtsmen, 8; drivers, 2; electrical engineers, 6 ; engine-driver, 1 ; engineers, 10 ; engraver, 1 ; farmer, 1 ; fitter, 1 ; forester, 1 ; grocers, 4 ; hairdressers, 3 ; Health Inspectors, 2 ; indentor, 1 ; insurance managers, 4 ; interpreters, 2 ; journalists, 27 ; laboratory attendant, 1; labourers, 12 ; law-clerks, 11 ; library assistants, 6 ; lift attendant, 1 ; manufacturer, 1 ; master mariner, 1 ; mechanics, 3; medical practitioners, 9; merchants, 2 ; messengers, 7 ; meteorologist, 1 ; motor-engineer, 1 ; moulder, 1 ; music-teacher, 1 ; musicians, 2 ; naval officer, 1 ; no occupation, 12 ; nurses, 6 ; photographer, 1 ; police constable, 1 ; postal officials, 9 ; printers and compositors, 24 ; publisher, 1 ; racecourse inspector, 1 ; railway officers, 5 ; readers, 6 ; retired, 63 salesmen, 20 ; School Inspectors, 2 ; school-teachers, 57 ; sharebroker, 1 ; shipping manager, 1 ; signwriters, 2 ; social workers, 2 ; stenographers, 9 ; stevedore, 1 ; steward, 1 ; storemen, 4 ; students, 41 ; surgeons, 4 ; surveyors, 2 ; taxi-owner, 1 ; theatre-manager, 1 ; tiler, 1 ; trade-union secretary' 1 ; tramway employees, 12 ; typists, 26 ; University lecturers, 3 ; veterinary surgeon, 1 ; waiters, 5 ; warehousemen, 6 ; wireless operator, 1. In general, the recess privilege holders were careful to observe the rules of the Library, and, beyond the work devolving upon the staff, very little difficulty was experienced. Though it is pleasing to see such good use made of the Library by serious readers, it is impossible to ignore the implications of this extended circulation of our books. The wear-and-tear, particularly on newly accessioned books, must militate against the permanent value of the Library both for parliamentary reference purposes and as a national collection. Even with the advantage of the Copyright Act and the international exchange, the book-buying vote is quite inadequate to keep up to date with current publications a Library which covers such a wide field. The unduly rapid dilapidation of books, calling for withdrawal or replacement, is a matter that we cannot afford to close our eyes to. I have referred in previous reports to the difficulty of maintaining the stock with such a small vote. The demand in the last few years for sociology and history has been very urgent, and it is obviously a demand that must be met. These two classes alone account for more than 50 per cent, of our expenditure on books, and I am constantly having to forego buying books which the Library should possess. For several years the vote was £900 (with the addition of a small sum from private Bill fees), but during the last two years, when the demand for books has been particularly urgent, the vote has been only £750, and its purchasing-power has been further reduced by the exchange. We can only hope that, as a result of the visit of Mr. Ralph Munn and Mr. J. Barr, on behalf of the Carnegie Corporation, there may before long be such an expansion of free library service throughout the Dominion that the General Assembly Library may be able to devote its attention more definitely to its duties as a Reference Library for Parliament and the country and the custodian of the National Collection. For the first time for many years we ended the financial year without a credit balance. As the annual vote is not available until the end of the parliamentary session, we must necessarily buy very carefully during the first half of the current year.

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Archives. The work of the archives has not made as much progress as I would like. During the year a considerable quantity of obsolete departmental files has been transferred to the archives. Some of. these were weeded forthwith and made available for search, but in the absence of any personnel definitely available for archive work progress necessarily must be very slow. During the year Miss C. Mas, daughter of the late Admiral Sir Joseph Nias, who commanded H.M.S. " Herald " in New Zealand in 1840, presented to the archives through the High Commissioner some interesting papers and other articles belonging to her father. Library Committees. During the financial year the following meetings of the various Library Committees were held Legislative Council, 1 ; House of Representatives, 1; Joint Library Committee, 2; Selection Subcommittee, 1. I have again to record my warm appreciation of the very efficient work done by the Library staff during the year. I also appreciate very much the helpful co-operation of the Library Committee. The balance-sheet for the year, with the auditor's certificate, is attached. I have, &c., G. H. SCHOLE FIELD, Chief Librarian. GENERAL ASSEMBLY LIBRARY ACCOUNT. Statement for the Year ended 31st March, 1934. Receipts. £ s. d, Payments. To Balance .. .. .. .. 200 X 4 By Purchase of books and periodicals in— £ s. d. Annual grant .. .. .. 750 0 0 United Kingdom .. .. .. 674 6 4 Refunds (lost books, &c.) .. .. 419 9 New Zealand .. .. .. 220 16 5 £ s. d. United States .. .. .. 28 8 9 Balance, Bank of New Zealand 0 11 Australia .. .. .. .. 14 0 5 Cash in hand .. 1 11 7 Insurance .. .. .. .. 17 10 0 Petty expenses .. .. .. 0 2 0 1 12 8 Bank charge .. .. .. .. 10 0 Less cheque not presented.. 2 12 6 Debit balance, petty cash .. 0 3 0 2 15 6 1 2 10 £956 3 11 £956 3 11 G. H. Scholefield, Chief Librarian. • Examined and found correct. —G. F. C. Campbell, Controller and Auditor-General. Approximate Cost of Paper.—Preparation, not given printing (410 copies), £3 10s.

By Authority : G. H. Loney, Government Printer, Wellington.—l 934.

Price 3d.\

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