FREE LIBRARY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 200, 16 August 1940, Page 3

FREE LIBRARY

SERVICES OFFERED BENEFITS OUTLINED Of interest to the people of Whakatane and district is a booklet received at this office from Mr G. S. Allen, officer in charge of the Country Library Service. Entitled "The Case For Free Library Service," the pamphlet sets out the benefits of the service offered. Briefly, the position is that the Country Library Service offers the Whakatane Library a changing supply of 260 books, of which at least half must be non-fiction., Part or whole of this supply is changed three times a year. The local Librar ian decides how many books shall be changed and, with the assistance of the Library Committee, chooses the books for the new supply from the shelves of the Country Library Service travelling book van. A Request Service. Participation in the service does not mean that the local library stops buying books itself, it continues to purchase as before and gets the Service books as Avell. Isn addition to the books chosen from the travelling van a 'request service' is available for practically any book desired. This means that any resident wanting information on his hobby or trade, house or garden, foreign affairs or local history, games and sports, health or any other of people's multitudinous interests would'he able to get it if the local library were attached to the Country Library Service. The advantages- of this 'request service' to, the more serious rea'der need no exposition. Three Conditions. No charge whatever is made to boroughs for the scrvice. It is free but it t is available only if certain conditions are fulfilled. These conditions are made to ensure that the max'miira use is made of the service g'ven. 7'hey are:—• (1) The local library must be under the control of the local Council. This dors not prevent interested people who are not members of the Council being co-opted to the committee. (2) No subscriptions'- must be charged to local residents. Borrowers living outs.'de the boundaries may still be charged subscription, A charge may be ma,de to all borrowers for extra books. A pay collection may be maintained for the supply of fiction of a light, popular tj r pe. (3) The local Library must be maintained at a reasonable standard of 'efficiency. Usually this involves an expenditure upon the library of about 2s per head of population. There is nothing new pr revolutionary in this idea of free library service. It is an accepted principle in Great Britain, the U.S.A. and Canada, New Zealand needs the bene fits which adequate free library service would bring, if only to complete in a logical and economical way the educational facilities now so liberally provided.