E.—lo.

1915. NEW ZEALAND

EDUCATION: SUBSIDIES TO PUBLIC LIBRARIES (PAPERS RELATING TO DISTRIBUTION OF). [In continuation of E.-10, 1914.]

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

I. Extract from the Thirty-eighth Annual Report op the Minister op Education. As in previous years the sum of £4,000 was voted by Parliament in 1914 for distribution to public libraries. The libraries participating are such as belong to the public in the sense of not being under the control of an association, society, or club whose membership is composed of a section of the community only, and if within a borough the reading-room must be open to the public free of charge. The only other important stipulation made is that the receipts from subscriptions and donations during the year to the funds of the library seeking to participate in the vote must not be less than £2. This is regarded as a very low minimum to ensure that a certain amount of local interest is taken in the library. In the New Zealand Gazette of the 12th November, 1914, a notice was inserted *■ stating that £4,000 had been voted by Parliament for distribution to libraries. Forms of application were then sent to all the libraries known to the Department. There was presented to the Department by each library applying for participation in the vote a statement of the method of management, the books belonging to the library, and the accounts for the preceding year. The amount received by each library during the year in the way of subscriptions, donations, and rates is taken as the basis of calculation in distributing the vote. To this amount is made a nominal addition of £25, but no library receives credit for a larger income than £75 —that is, in no case does the amount on which subsidy is based exceed £100. In this manner the interests of small libraries in country districts are protected. The number of libraries among which the subsidy was divided in March, 1915, was 380, the vote'yielding a subsidy of 4s. 10-96d. in the pound on the nominal income, and the subsidies paid ranging from £6 12s. 7d. to £24 lis. 4d. The number of libraries participating in the vote shows a decrease of twenty-one as compared with the number aided in the previous year. This is largely accounted for by the fact that many applications had to be refused owing to the income from subscriptions, &c, having been less than £2. Many applications were also received too late to be considered. In order that the purpose intended to be served by the vote may be attained, it is made a condition that the whole of the subsidy granted to each library must be expended in the purchase of books.fflt isf further enjoined upon the authorities in charge of the libraries that a due proportion of the books purchased shall be books having a permanent value. There is still room for very great improvement in this

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