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lias recently been given by the Customs Department to a recommendation from the New Zealand Library Association that the powers of the Bureau be extended to include recommending special licenses for fiction ; libraries will now be able to obtain all their import requirements, fiction and non-fiction, by means of special licenses.) Union Catalogue.—The Union Catalogue, which started in 1941 with a copy of the Country Library Service Author Catalogue as a basis, has been receiving notification of accessions from all the University and major public libraries since Ist January, 1942. Since the last annual report 10,000 new entries have been filed into the catalogue, making an approximate total of 40,000 entries. In addition to checking, copying, and filing entries received from other libraries, the Union Catalogue staff has also checked lists circulated by the Book Resources Committee. The function of the Union Catalogue as a clearing-house for inter-library loans is one which is hampered by lack of records of holdings of libraries, other than Country Library Service, prior to 1941 ; in spite of this, however, some service has been able to be given when the requests have been for material published since 1938. New Zealand Book Resources Committee. —A full account of the work of this committee was given in the last annual report. The main work of the committee, which met once only during the year, was carried out by the libraries which have co-operated well in checking their stock against the lists circulated. This checking has been undertaken to discover gaps in the stock of New Zealand libraries, gaps which it is proposed to fill by purchase by this Service of titles held to be essential. The Standard Catalog for Public Libraries, sections 500 and 600 ; the Library Association, County Library Section, Readers' Guides ; Aslib, 1937-41 ; Mudge, Guide to Reference Books ; Technical Book Review Digest; A.L.A. Book List (technical subjects) have been checked on an eliminative basis. One thousand nine hundred and twenty-one volumes to a value of £1,103 sterling have been ordered from the titles which have not been located in any of the main libraries. Eight, hundred and seventy-one titles have been rejected because they have been out of print, not now of value, or covered by moije recent publications. Of the number ordered, only 31 had come to hand, and 8 more have been reported out of print. New Zealand School Library Service Details of the scheme were given in the last annual report, but it can be noted briefly that the aim of the scheme is to provide a circulating library service for children in towns with a population below 10,000. Books are bought and processed by this Service, and distribution is carried out as far as possible on a district basis. Entrance to the scheme is graded to some extent by the levying of an annual charge on schools, equivalent to Is. per child served, but it is hoped that when the size of book stock permits and coverage of schools is complete the charge will be removed. At 31st March, 1943, service was being given as shown in the table below : — , , .. „ , Schools Children Books Education Board. servecL 9erved _ issued> Auckland 143 11,853 12,497 Canterbury .. .. • • • • • • 136 4,329 4,839 Hawke's Bay .. .. •• ..43 3,014 3,130 Nelson .. .. .. • • 24 1,298 1,362 Southland .. .. .. •• ..15 973 1,004 Wanganui .. .. .. •• 115 5,195 5,689 Wellington .. .. .. . ■ 26 1,339 1,385 Total .. .. •• ..502 28,001 29,906 At that date 102 schools had applied for and were awaiting service as books became available. The book stock at 31st March, 1943, was fiction 31,817, non-fiction 11,040, a total of 42,857. Of orders placed overseas, 536 titles, representing 9,510 copies of books on order, had been reported out of print or unobtainable. In March, 1942, the Travelling Library for Rural Schools for Canterbury and Westland was incorporated in the School Library Service and the best of its stock of books was taken over for use in the new scheme, the first despatch of books under this scheme being made in the Canterbury district in March, 1942. The first despatch of books to other districts was made in April, 1942. The Otago and Taranaki Education Boards, which maintain their own schemes, received grants of 938 and 1,000 books respectively to assist in the extension of service to Standards I, 11, and 111. Although the scheme was begun at a most unfavourable time from the point of view of overseas supplies, book orders have come to hand in reasonably large quantities, as can be seen from the number of children served, shown in the table above. A minimum of 20 books has been sent to all schools irrespective of their roll number from Standards I-VI respectively, even where this was less than 20 pupils. This ensures that there is some reasonable selection available for children in very small schools. A duplication system has been worked out for each centre so that when exchanges are made schools will not receive titles they have already had. It is hoped that' four years will pass before the same titles are again received in any school. Books are sent in cartons or hampers to the nearest railwaystation, the school taking delivery from there. Schools receiving a loan of 30 books or less get a complete exchange three times a year ; schools receiving loans up to 100 books, two part exchanges and one complete exchange per year, while those receiving loans of over 100 books get one part exchange and one complete exchange per year. Before the first exchanges were made duplication records were completed and the work of exchanging was decentralized on a district basis, exchange centres being set up in towns which had a free junior 2—H. 32A.

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