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Mr. J. 0. Wilson, D.S.C., since being released from the Royal Navy, lias been doing ■useful work in England, where he has visited the British Museum and other important libraries and has had helpful conferences with the officials of the Public Record Office and H.M. Stationery Office. He then crossed to the United States, where he spent some time in the Library of Congress and the United States Archives. Mr. I. K. MacGregor, who has been released from the Fleet Air Arm, is also in England on a similar tour. He proposes then to take the regular course at the Library School at Columbia University, New York. The experience these two officers are thus gaining is likely to be of considerable value to the Library. Mr. Wilson will rejoin the staff in August and Mr. MacGregor in the middle of 1947. By that time it is hoped that the staff will be restored at least to its pre-war strength. Appointments made recently include W. C. M. Jess, M.A., E. E. Carter, and 0. J. Dumbell. I would like once more to acknowledge the very fine service done by every member of the depleted staff during the war years. Private Manuscripts We have received some interesting additions to this collection, both in original manuscripts and typewritten copies. Notable amongst the former is a quantity of letters of Sir William Fitzherbert (1810-91) up to the time of his departure from England for New Zealand in 1841. These are particularly valuable for the light they throw upon social conditions in England between 1820 and 1840, upon college life at Cambridge, and medical studies in England and France. Sir William was afterwards Superintendent of Wellington Province (1871-76) and Speaker of the House of Representatives (1876-79) and of the Legislative Council (1879-87, 1887-91). The letters are presented by his grandson, Mr. W. L. Fitzherbert (Palmerston North). Donations Gifts were received from the Board for the Netherlands Indies (New York), the British Electrical and Allied Industries Research Association (London), British Museum (London), G. P. Brown (Auckland), Canadian Parliamentary Library (Ottawa), Canadian Trade Commissioner (Wellington), Chief Postmaster (Wellington), Chinese Ministry of Information (Australia), Consul-General of Belgium (Wellington), Consul-General of Switzerland (Wellington), Croatian Cultural Benevolent Society (Auckland), E. Rumbold Dibdin (Chester, England), Mrs. Freitas (Tauranga), French Legation (Wellington), High Commissioner for Canada (Wellington), High Commissioner for the United Kingdom (Wellington), C. H. Isaacson (Wellington), W. J. Jordan (London), King George Jubilee Trust (London), L. R. Poutawera (Wellington), Miss Helen Rigg (Christchurch), E. H. Schnackenberg (Kawhia), P. Shaw (Wellington), W. Tailby (Rarotonga), United States Information Library (Wellington),V. B. Willis (Wanganui), Mrs. W. A. Wilton (Mangonui), R. T. Wright (Wellington), and the Zionist Council of New Zealand (Wellington). Interloan Our operations on interloan —i.e., lending to other libraries—were on the same scale as in the preceding year. We lent 805 books (as compared with 863 in the preceding year and 618, 499, and 491 in earlier years). The number of borrowing libraries was also about the same (32, as compared with 33). The principal of these, the Country Library Service, received 545 volumes from our stock (as compared with 537) ; Wellington Public Library received 65 (compared with 52); Palmerston North Public Library, 22 ; Dunedin Public Library and Alexander Turnbull Library, each 18 ; and Victoria College, 14. Four others received more than 10, and six more than 5.

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