BAY OF PLENTY BEACON Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY, SEPT. 25, 1950 A BETTER LIBRARY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 15, Issue 100, 25 September 1950, Page 4

BAY OF PLENTY BEACON Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY, SEPT. 25, 1950 A BETTER LIBRARY

Lack of an adequate public library is Whakatane’s legacy from rapid growth. The need for something better has been realised to the extent that a better library will open next Monday. The new library will still not be adequate for the town’s needs but it will be the nucleus around which the better institution will grow. The Borough Council and its Library Committee, in planning this library, has made provision for steady further improvement. Though made as attractive as possible, the present premises will not forever be large enough or convenient enough. If the library is to give continued and improving service to this fastgrowing town and district, much larger premises, designed for the purpose, will be needed before long. Unfortunately, when Carnegie endowed libraries throughout New Zealand with handsome buildings, Whakatane was but a settlement. We do not know if the Carnegie Corporation of New York still makes such grants but why not make an application? * Or why not make provision for library accommodation in the Community Centre.

Now that the town has the beginnings of a good library, it is to be hoped that foresight will result in its keeping pace with the growth of the district.