GENERAL ASSEMBLY LIBRARY. REPORT OF THE CHIEF LIBRARIAN FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH, 1937.

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1937 Session I, H-32

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1937. NEW ZEALAND.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY LIBRARY. REPORT OF THE CHIEF LIBRARIAN FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH, 1937.

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

To the Chairman, Joint Library Committee. I have the honour to report on the operations of the General Assembly Library for the year 1936-37. Accessions. During the financial year, taking advantage of the increased book-buying grant, we were able to add to our stock "from all sources 4,240 volumes, as compared with 2,826 the preceding year and an average of 2,516 for the previous eleven years. The total number of books accessioned to the end of May was 141,670, but, as I have pointed out in previous reports, this is not to be taken as the stock of the Library at present, since there is an inevitable reduction year by year owing to wear-and-tear and loss from other causes. The generous increase in the grant from Parliament has enabled us to make purchases during the year under review of books which in the depression period we were quite unable to acquire ; to maintain the heavy purchases called for in the field of sociology, history, and official publications ; and gradually to make up leeway in the acquisition of technical library books, reference books, and standard texts which in the past have had perforce to be neglected. In our acquisitions we are careful to keep in touch with the Alexander Turnbull Library, the Wellington Public Library, and the library of Victoria University College so as to avoid duplication in the purchase of expensive books of which it is not necessary to have more than one copy in Wellington. The system of interlibrary loan, which is being steadily developed, makes such books reasonably available to any who may require them. Donations. The Library has been particularly fortunate this year in the number and quality of the gifts which it has received from a variety of sources. Outstanding amongst these is a fine collection of historical records and commemoration books of the liveried companies of the City of London. Following on my visit to London in 1935, I initiated through the High Commissioner an approach to the whole of the London City Guilds in the hope of securing a full set of their published records. This mission was carried out by the High Commissioner's Office very efficiently, and the invitation was received in a most generous spirit by the city companies. As a result we have been able to display during the last few weeks a unique collection of these interesting volumes, many of them in fine bindings and all in the best condition. A few of the city companies apologized for the absence of old records in terms that sound almost humorous to us who live in a country only discovered to European eyes in 1642. and not inhabited by Europeans until 1800. The Dyers Company, for instance, remarks that "practically all the records of this company were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666." The Vintners Company says that while it has a great number of records dating back "to immediate post-fire and indeed some earlier " they have never been transcribed. The Scriveners Company has " no records of interest, as they were destroyed in the Great Fire of London," on which occasion also the Fletchers Company lost all their records. Also following my visit to London we have received as a gift from the directors of the New Zealand Shipping Company the logs of the last few voyages of their vessels which were lost by enemv action in the Great War. Our portrait collection acknowledges as its most interesting acquisition for the year an engraving of Joseph Somes, deputy-Governor of the New Zealand Company and owner of the ship " Tory," which brought the expedition of the New Zealand Company to prepare the way for the colony in Port Nicholson. This is the gift of Sir Thomas Colyer-Fergusson. His Excellency the Governor-General (Lord Galway) presented us with two autographed books by the Duke of Portland, " Memories of Racing," and " The Red Deer of Langwell and Braemore." Mr. T. W. Rhodes, formerly Member of Parliament for Thames, made a valuable addition to our newspaper collection of a number of volumes of the Coromandel Sun and Coromandel News.

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Zealand'" iTr *7* a copy of "Letters from Early New S SS -wr, Si'r S?olm'bluu aôut Tir v* ;™ M " «»> public,,,», of J United St. J the <w ItaLta B tk' a History of the Bank for One Hundred Years"; from the Henry George FoundaXn London u set of their publications; and from the executors of the late F W Oaklev 'books of «l pprngs »,„1 New Ze.l.nd p.rli.m.ntery cartoons. V.riou, politic! orLisa.S' in Great Britain responded generously to our request for a regular supply of their party literature ■ and' we have also received regularly from one of thp lar,riii,r n ■ n «erature, and the following: American Library Association, A. D Amos P A "R l /w ir 2 »s tees H M. Chapm (Rhode Island), Commonwealth Dried Fruits Exnort fYmtml ~rL (Sydney), Brigadier MffiKS), Sor of Empire Service (8.8.C.), Empire Parliamentary Association, G. M (AuckkndT Branch), ETS(pSSL^S, nT iSsr-Jts % %' ills R The valuable collection of trophies, addresses, portraits, &c„ belonging to the late Rieht Hon . J. Seddon, Prime Minister of New Zealand, which was deposited with Parliament bv the family some months ago, is at present housed in the Library. The trophies are dispkved n7w I 7 case m the mam reading-room, and the other portions of thecdSection wffl lILT f opportunity presents. The portraits form a valuable addition to our ItS K v attaining considerable proportions. portrait collection, which is Deposited Collections. mg I: b s,f« sns w Ti,f e f/rn entailed is not excessive and the arrangement promises to be satisfactory t K +V, society's books are more readily accessible to thek Members and at the s me V addition to the scientific sections of the General Assembly lihrarv T+ V available as an cataloguers have overtaken the leeway in our own work to be able to'complete th° P 't7 S °° n a # deposit, which will make it of greater value to all interested cataloguing of this Staff Wobk. The protracted recess since Parliament was prorogued in October mfi W a •overtake a good deal of work which had been awaiting for such an opportunity' P nT V 0 been made with the shelf list, which is now approaching completion THs task wHeh o^® 88 ! j making about 130,000 cards, was commenced some years ago in the hope that theexistit Vff u carry it out as time offered from routine duties Proems LrW •? , existm B staff could the work being essentially of a clerical 7? f whom the work has been brought almost to completion The shelf list will he nfJ t I ? to the cataloguers (whose work is concentrated on the first floor) and to users ? under present conditions have only the catalogue on the ground flLrTo consult 7 ' messengers c£L Trt Tl Good progress has been made with the portrait index, and since the end nf • 1 ,1 Sinclair Papers, which were presented to the Library some years aao bv [),- HiJi tave been properly arranged, short-calendared, and bound, Thfs is a small bS mthi «1 214 letters and journal.. Dr. Sinclair .a. Colonial Seor.to 184«6 and .to f noted Z 'T," and the papers throw much light on the early political history of AT™ 7 1 j f scientist, exploration in both Islands. 7 political History of New Zealand and on scientific

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Reference and Research. The parliamentary reference work, which is centred in the reference-room on the ground floor, grows in proportions every year. Owing to the transfer of Mr. Odell it is at present under the supervision of the Assistant Librarian, with a senior assistant and a junior newly appointed. There is a steady increase also in the amount of reference work done by the library for Government Departments. The Library continues to be used to an increasing extent both during session and recess by students and researchers from every part of New Zealand and from oversea. Copyright. The copyright division has grown in importance in the last few years, and now occupies almost the whole time of one assistant. Following a suggestion made at the Library Conference, we are supplying monthly a selection from the copyright entries for publication in the journal New Zealand Libraries. The decision a few years ago to separate the annual copyright list from the general accession list has proved of great service to librarians both in New Zealand and oversea. During the last few years this list has also been published independently of the general accessions. The same practice will be continued, but it is proposed this year, as a matter of convenience, to make the separate copyright publication cover the calendar year instead of the accession list year (which ends on May 31). Interlibrary Loans. There has been a steady development of this service, especially since the discussion at the Library Conference. Constant demands are received at the General Assembly Library, as the national library, for the loan to other libraries throughout the Dominion of books which are asked for by their readers and which they feel it is inadvisable to purchase. Books lent by us in this connection are sent on strictly reference conditions and are returnable at. once on telegraphic demand if required in our Library. The interlibrary service has worked quite smoothly so far. Though the General Assembly Library will in the nature of things lend more than it borrows, we have on several occasions been able to borrow from other libraries out-of-the-way books which were wanted urgently by members of Parliament. International Exchange. As the agent for New Zealand of the International Exchange service, the General Assembly Library received last year from abroad 3,668 packages and 16 cases of official and scientific publications, all of which had to be redistributed by our staff to Departments, libraries, and private addresses throughout New Zealand. These consignments, which came this year from Great Britain, the United States, Belgium, Spain, and China show a steady increase in bulk each year. The Library has also to receive and despatch oversea publications sent from New Zealand under the exchange system. Publications. The annual accession list was as usual in the hands of members when Parliament opened. In view of the great interest being taken in forthcoming legislation on social insurance and superannuation the Library has just published a new Select List on Social Insurance (compiled by R. S. Odell, 8.A., and J. 0. Wilson, A.L.A.). This list, which has already been of considerable service to members, has also been commented upon favourably by libraries in the Australian Commonwealth. A previous list on this topic was compiled by Mr. A. D. Mcintosh in 1929. The Union Catalogue of New Zealand Newspapers, on which the Chief Librarian has been engaged for some years past, is now in the Printing Office awaiting the return of proofs from checking by other libraries. It is hoped to publish it within a week or two. In view of the Centennial Celebrations the Library is also engaged on the compilation of a union list of official papers (both British and colonial) touching on the early history of New Zealand. This also should be available within a few weeks. Library Furnishing. The Library is once more feeling acutely the congestion due to restriction of accommodation. In view of the doubt as to when a new library will be possible, fresh plans have had to be made to relieve the pressure and enable the work to be carried on in the meantime. Further cellar accommodation, which became vacant during the year, has enabled us to move out a quantity of books, both duplicate official stock of our own and a mass of publications which constitutes the stock of the Royal Society of New Zealand. A considerable quantity of new shelving (in wood) has also been authorized for erection on all floors, including increased shelving and cabinets for newspapers and periodicals in the newspaper-reading room. To facilitate the movement of books from floor to floor a new lift is being procured to replace the antiquated lift which for years past has been more or less out of use. The shelf list and other departments of the catalogue the growth of which is inevitable during the next few years will be housed in a new catalogue-cabinet of modern design in wood. This is placed for the present on the first floor (room A), close to the cataloguers. Staff. During the current year the staff has lost the services of its reference assistant (Mr. R. S. Odell), who has been transferred to the Prime Minister's staff. Mrs. Hamilton is still on leave, and Miss McPhee seconded to the High Commissioner's Office. The vacancies have been filled by the appointment of the following : Mr. G. L. Gabites, ; Mr. B. D. Zohrab, B.A. ; and Mr. I. K. McGregor (from the Wellington Public Library). Mr. Wilson, by passing another examination of the English Library Association, gained his diploma of A.L.A. On the whole we have been fortunate in keeping our staff intact, but staff work has suffered considerably through absence of members on leave.

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Recess Privileges. The recess privilege holders who used the Library this year (exclusive of full privilege holders, Government Departments, house officers, libraries, and others) totalled 1,079. A comparison with previous years shows that the number of people using the Library is well maintained : 1934, 1,031 ; 1935, 1,085 ; 1935-36, 590 ; 1937, 1,079. The recess of 1935-36 was only of three months' duration. The vocations of recess privilege holders were as-follow : Accountants, 28 ; advertising agent, 1 ; agents, 13 ; airmen, 3 ; architects, 2 ; artists, 5 ; auctioneer, 1 ; bank clerks, 9 ; bankers, 3 ; barristers and solicitors, 23 ; bookbinder, 1 ; bookseller, 1 ; broadcasting announcers, 3 ; brokers, 2 ; builders, 2 ; business managers, 2 ; caretakers, 2 ; carpenter, 1 ; chauffeur, 1 ; chemists, 4 ; civil engineers, 6 ; civil servants, 158 ; clergymen, 22 ; clerks, 150 ; commercial travellers, 4 ; company directors, 10 ; company managers, 6 ; compositors, 6 ; contractors, 1 ; customs officers, 3 ; cutter, 1 ; dentists, 2 ; designer, 1 ; dietitian, 1 ; domestic duties, 181 ; draughtsmen, 8 ; dressmaker, 1 ; driver, 1 ; economist, 1 ; editors, 2 ; electrical mechanics, 2 ; electricians, 6 ; enginedrivers, 2 ; engineers, 8 ; farmers, 2; financial agent, 1 ; grocer, 1 ; hairdressers, 3 ; harbour board employees, 4; health inspector, 1 ; importer, 1 ; inspector of schools, 2 ; insurance managers, 6 ; journalists, 30 ; laboratory attendant, 1 ; labourers, 4 ; 'law clerks, 6 ; librarians, 3 ; lecturer, 1 ; lighthouse-keeper, 1 ; machinist, 1 ; manufacturers, 2 ; master mariners, 2 ; mechanician, 1 ; medical practitioners, 11 ; merchants, 3 ; messengers, 3 ; meter-reader, 1; meteorologist, 1; Monotype operator, 1; motor-drivers, 6 ; municipal employees, 2 ; music-teachers, 2 ; musicians, 4 ; native interpreter, 1 ; naval officer, 1 ; no occupation, 16 ; nurses, 13 ; organizer, 1 ; painters, 4 ; photographer, 1 ; plumber, 1 ; porter, 1 ; postal employees, 6 ; printers, 13 ; railway employees, 3 ; research workers, 3 ; retired, 63 ; ruler, 1 ; salesmen, 9 ; school-teachers, 64 ; seaman, 1 ; secretaries, 14 ; shipping clerks, 3 ; shop-assistants, 4 ; social workers, 2 ; soldiers, 3 ; stenographers, 10 ; stevedore, 1 ; stock agent, 1 ; storemen, 3 ; students, 33 ; surveyors, 4 ; traffic inspector, 1 ; trade union secretary, 1 ; tram-conductors, 6 ; tutor, 1 ; typistes, 23 ; university demonstrator, 1 ; warehousemen, 2 ; waterside worker, 1 ; wireless operator, 1 ; writer, 1. New Zealand Library Conference. The conference of the New Zealand Library Association was held in Wellington in February, the Hon. the Speaker granting permission to meet in the social hall at Parliament House. Under the new organization of the Association the General Assembly Library is entitled to three delegates. It was represented on this occasion by the Hon. P. Fraser, the Hon. T. Brindle, and the Chief Librarian. The conference was a great success, and keen interest was shown in the address of the Minister of Education and forthcoming developments in which the General Assembly Library must take a leading part. In conclusion, I wish to express my appreciation of the cordial support which has been given by the whole staff during the year. All have taken a lively interest in new developments, which have laid fresh burdens upon themselves. I would thank also the Joint Library Committee for its helpful co-operation, the High Commissioner and staff for the very efficient manner in which they have attended to all commissions for the Library, and to librarians throughout New Zealand for hearty co-operation in many irksome points of detail submitted to them. Attached is the statement of receipts and expenditure for the year, with the certificate of the Auditor-General. I would point out that though the accounts show a credit balance of £433 at the end of the year this sum was exhausted by July. It has been arranged that in future a quarter's instalment of our grant will become available, and in September another instalment, so as to obviate depleting our account. I have, &c., G. H. SCHOLEFIELD, Chief Librarian.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY LIBRARY ACCOUNT. Statement foe the Year ending 31st Mabch, 1937. Receipts. Payments. £ s. d. Purchase of books and periodicals in— £s. d. Balance .. .. .. .. .. 224 7 9 United Kingdom and United States .. .. 1,052 17 10 Annual grant .. .. .. .. 1,250 0 0 New Zealand .. .. .. .. '138 16 0 Private Bill fees .. .. .. .. 175 0 0 Australia .. .. .. .. 16 8 9 Refunds for lost books, &c. .. .. .. 5 710 Foreign .. .. .. 11 5 7 Petty expenses .. .. .. .. 014 7 Bank charges .. .. .. .. .p0 10 0 Interest .. .. .. .. ~ 019 Cheques .. .. .. .. .. 010 0 £ s. d. Balance, Bank of New Zealand .. 467 17 6 Less cheque unpresented .. .. 34 6 5 433 11 1 £1.654 15 7 G. H. Schole field, Chief Librarian. Examined and found correct.—J. H. Fowler, Deputy Controller and Auditor-General.

Approximate Cost of Paper.—Preparation, not given; printing (490 copies), £4 15s.

By Authority: E. V. Paul, Government Printer, Wellington.—l 937.

Price 3d.

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