OUR LIBRARIES

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1408, 8 April 1912, Page 3

OUR LIBRARIES

THE CONFERENCE MEETS. ADMINISTRATION METHODS. The conference of the Libraries Association of New Zealand met on Saturday morning at the Town Hall for preliminary business. TJid delegates were tendered a civic reception. In the absence of the Acting Mavor (Mr. J. Smith), Councillor A. 11. lliiidinnrsh "extended 11 welcome on behalf of the city to the visiting delegates. Those who took any real interest in books, he said, must admit that library work was a most important branch at our social life, and ho was very jjlad to take some small part in it. He leaked lo the development of our libraries as a great feature in our civilisation. The Libraries Association was a comparatively new venture, but it was going on very weir. He understood that the conference was held every two vears, but if they were to keep up with* library development in America they might hiul it advisable to meet more frequently. Referring to the General Assembly Library at Wellington, he said that it "contained tons of books which were absolutely wasted. There were thousands of books'on the shelves which in two or three years would lw obsolete, and it was unfair that the public should not be allowed to use them. There were scientific books on the shelves which would bo read now, but which would not bo read in two or three years. The welcome was acknowledged bv Mr. C. J. Parr, Mayor of Auckland. The conforenco was then constituted for the transaction of business. There were present: Mr. T. W. leys (president), and the tallowing delegates from the library centres of the Dominion—Auckland, Messrs. C. J. Parr, K. Shillington, Miss A. M. Williams; Hamilton, Mr. T. King; Palmerston North, 3ir. H. Haydon; Wellington, Messrs. A. 11. Hindmarsh. M.P., A. R._ Atkinson, J. Trevor, and Professor It. "W. Von Zedlitz; Parliamentary, Mr. C. Wilson; Napier, Mr. J. T. Perry; Gislarnc, Mr. G. N. Baggctt; Sydenham, Mr. H. Baillie; Timaru, Mr. J. M.P.; Dunedin, Mr J. Clark; Dannevirke, Messrs G. J. E. Bickford and T. L. Buickj We=tport, Miss 13. Sievwright. ■

.PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. OX POLICI' The prerfdent dslivered an address to tho delegates on many problems of library .administration. Lovers of books, ho said, must acknowledge the indebtedness of mankind to the labours of the private collector, and amon«.the worthy representatives of the class 'in Xew Zealand ho instanced Sir Gecrje ftrev, Dr. Hccfcen, rud .Mr. A. 11. fiirnbnil. He hoped Mr. Turnbull's uniqiio collection would never be dispersed, as some famous private libraries had been in the past, but would become the treasured possesion of the people of this city and of Xew Zealand. Assembled as they were chiefly as the representatives of nninicipallv-niaintair.ed libraries, they had doubtless" all realised, in view; of the limited funds available, that the acquisition of rare, hooks e.:id old manuscripts must be left to the private collector, who, after all, was tho most rampetent to deal with it oficctive- '.'"• The possession of choice specimens of early printing /uid illuminated manuscripts gave a certain distinction to any library, but. they were obliged as practical administrators to consider the sections in public libraries devoted to the dNnlay of these treasures as coining more within the sphere of museums than of purely library werk. He was considerin" especially the temptation which librarians had sometinu-s fallen under, to pay from very limited 'r?,--'iiirces, lanjo sums of money for first editions of books that had been reproduced both i'i cheap form and in exact fae-simile. Mcney so expended Rave, little 'relurn beyond the privilege of boasting of a pcs;?ss:'on no one else could afford to buy. Tn a recent cata-Ic-nie of a .well-known second-hand hookseller, in- Tondon there was offered fcr sale a copy of Ilia First Edition of Phakcspeji'o's plays, published in 1R23. ,Tlie price asked was .i'27flD. A second impression published only nine years later was quoted in (he same at .£250; the third impression, printed in Iffi-t, at Mm-„ and. the fourth edition. 1-685, at .etTO. The prices of tho book had no relation to the contents of tho book or its value as a specimen of the typography of the period. Another dealer asked .£7O for a copy.of "Haklnyt's V"va?es" in (he original, while an excellent reprint was obtainable in efcht of Ev-rvbod'-'s T iljra'-.v -> f '<•" e shillin? per volume. Xo branch of hookbnyin? called for more exnsrf knowledge than the purchase of rare books. Old Books on Nov; Zealand,

! Early books relating to New Zealand, although not very rare, had become dear because, a considerable number of private collectors had come upon the market. Personally, if ha were collecting for a private library, lie would select books for their beauty, rather than for mere rarity. There was very little of beauty aboiit old Xew Zealand books, if Angus's fine lithographs reproducing much of old Maori art were excepted, together with certain portraits in which the characteristic Maori types ■ revealed in tho more.exact portraiture of modern times could scarce bo recognised. But tho collector valued rarity rather than beauty. One effect of the enthusiasm for collecting books on Xew Zealand would be the careful preservation of (ho historical works now. in existence. Old books on Xew Zealvnd brought higher prices here than in England, and he did not believe that tho present, prices could be maintained, because, for the most part, these narratives were extremely sketchy, mid contained little of present-day inte'r- ; est. Excellent editions at a moderate ; price were being issued of such, of them : as were really worth, reprinting, j Under the constitution of the association ' it was . provided Uiat confr--.-o.iir.-s after ; Jf>ll should only lie held biennially, yet i they had taken their functions seriously 1 enough to warrant another after a lapse 'of only 'twelve months. He was not one, J "f those who believe-:! that all work and ; all striving was barren if it could not at ; anv given moment produce tangible re- . suits, but even iudg°d by the severe standard of doiinito.nohioreinent, the brief life of the association had something of value to show. The report of the oroceedinijs of the last conference-had been distributed gratuitously (:n hundreds of libraries throughout Xew Zealand, and ho felt sure the practical advice if. eoi'tair«d would be of service to many neonle who had the management of little libraries without any training for the work. It would also exercise an influence in arousing nublio attention to the value of public libraries as an educational a?e"py. "nd an indispensable fnrtnr in tho intelWhi.tT srowtb of a people. ,In Juno last he had brought before a rntheri'n of school t»n"'<ers Hie impotence of plac'n" school libraries and the evii'nMc to "onnt.rv settlers upon n bettor fnotinT. TTe lied al=o bro'Hit (he subject nnrl'r the notion of the Minister for Education. Definite stens had since he°n taken in some school rp put the system of school travelling libraries into operation.

What Micht Have Been Done. "I believe, however," ho continued, "that we should press upon the Government the importance of making efficient school libraries an integral part of our system of national education. Well-select-ed books should bo used, ns they are in tho United States, for class purposes, making the school work more, interesting and giving the knowledge imparted a wider scope than is obtainable from (ho use of one set of school books, even supplemented by the 'School Journal.' This is already done in some, city schools that have -good libraries. The avidity with which Ihe 'School Journal' has been received proves tho need for a more extensive and varied literature, and my own opinion is that the money expended upon that publication would be better applied in improving school libraries, thereby placing at the disposal of Icaehors and pupiis a wider choice in class reading books. From the figures given in the circular already alluded lo it will be s-oen that .tllUll would purchase enough books, at 3s. a conv. to supply every pupil on the school rolls in Standard IV and higher standards, and if Mr. Fowlds's estimate Hint K per pupil per annum, or say, -ti'M a year, or K 3d. p<r pupil, a- estimated bv Hi- 1 Waugaiuii l.'oinmiilee. would afterwards keep (he system working, there should be no hesitation about embarking upon » venture which provides such a maximum of good for o mini mum of i-osl. WhU-i iciv.: comribniion*, as suEzo.stod by Mr. Fo«'lds, are desirable, scattered districts which stand most in

need of assistance cannot be expected In respond very liberally to an iippe.il of this kind, and moneys mi culbclcd -iiould be supplementary to the State -ysteni. "The organisation i.f travelling libraries is another branch of work thai -liould be carried out tinder the direction of the State, and tho further eonsiderntion I have been able to give the. subject bus strengthened the opinion expres-yd tn the motion which I submitbd to our conference last year, that the American system of library eommis-km or hoard is the best method of dealing with this matter, f have, therefore, again placed that notice on our order miner, and will deal with it at greater length when tho motion comes up for discussion. The sum voted annually by Parliament in aid of public libraries would achieve much belter results if administered by such a body. Moreover. 1 may point out that .000 or ,£IOOO is unite inadequate tor the purpose. Twentyseven years ago the sum of .iGlWtl was voted for public libraries, an amount more in accordance with the grants made in Australian States for the saino object. In New South Wales in 1010 the subsidies paid to public libraries on the basis of 10s. per £ on cash contributions from members and on net proceeds of bazaars, amounted to .CT1,051. In New Zealand, during the last ten years, the number of libraries has increased from 1119 to 405, and the income on which subsidy was granted from to .£15,951, yet the subsidy remained stationary until 1010, when it was increased to £4000 after being stopped altogether one year. But even the present subsidy would give much better results if the Parliamentary votes were ndniiniitercd by a library board. The Parliamentary Library. "One other matter which will engage our attention is that of the position of tho Parliamentary Library, and I hope the proposal, of which Mr. 13arr has givea notice, to restrict the issue of books from this library to members of parliament and throwi it onen to the- public during tho recess as a National Reference library, will meet with a better reception that it did last year. J was glad to notice that the liUvarinn, in his Insi report to Parliament, drew attention to the inconvenience and cost entailed by tho extension of recess privileges to non-mem-bers, which immensely increases the wear and fear of the books, reduces the value of the library for reference purposes, and prevents i(s develonmcnt upon the lines that would be followed if the creation of a great National Reference, Library were the chief object in vieiv. Wellington possesses such excellent municipal libraries that the time has surely passed when it was either necessary or desirable to use the Parliamentary Library in a way for which, so far ns I can (earn, n.o precedent can be found in any other cani.tal city in the British Empire or the United States. "One other sphere in which our association aims at accomplishing some useful work remains to be considered. Last year, as a result of our efforts. ;in jmprovement was effected in the hours and pay of Auckland Library assistants. So far, advantage has not been taken of the rule incorporated in our constitution for the creation of local associations ot library workers. No doubt the scattered nature of library centres forms a difficulty, but if the cities gave a'lead, the country librarians would probably respond, and relations, both pleasant and profitable, might be established by an in terchange of correspondence and occasional meetings. It cannot bo too strongly impressed upon persons engaged in library work that improved efficiency will probably bring batter pay. Librarian's and library assistants in England are realising this, with the result that qualification by examination is favoured by all intelligent assistants, who desire to improve the status of {heir calling. There mWit easily have been found in some of the" smaller towns of .England and Scotland a few years ago faithful librarians who were expected to be pradigies of lrarninfr, and to guide the uninsiructcd in the paths oi literature on u salary of 2(ls. to 255. a week. Happily, although there is still ample room for improvement, the Library Association has done a great dcr.l to advance not only tho status and qualification of librarians, but also their remuneration; and the proper training of librarians for (heir duties is --»arlv receiving an increasing amount o'f"iiUoiiiion. In Sydney the city authorities now t;ivo preference in their appointments of ladv library assistants to university graduates, and the supply has b:en sufficient for requirements. When the conference last year decided to hold this meeting in Wellington, member? vera influenced (o a considerable extent by tha hope that wo should be, able to promote the public libraries movement by a personal interview with the Minister lor Kdticntion. Wo had the assurance of Mr. Fowlds that he was "in entire sympathy with the suggestion to j provide libraries far our public schools." and there was goad reason to hope that the inquiries which were being made by the Education Department would lead to the adoption of a national scheme. Beeeirt rolitieal changes, and the unsettled condition of the affnirs in relation to the Executive, render the present an tinfavourable time for approaching Ministers, but we must bear in mind that this conference is not likely to meet again for two_ years; meanwhile, public feeling mav again lapse into its former arathetie state on this question. I trust, therefore, that an effort will be made to bring under the notice of the Prime Minister and the Minister for Education flis wants of country districts with respect to libraries, anil especially to imnress upon tho Government the pood public service which might be rendered at little cost to the State'by (ho creation of an administrative body consisting of representative men who are specially interested in libraries, and who would bo willing to give their time and knowledge freely for the promotion of tho work, if the requisite executive machinery were provided to make their labours effective. In tho brief time at our disposal we can only deal with broad general principles, but a permanent library board, guided by the experience of t.he'twentvfivo American States where the public libraries aro controlled by representative bodies of this description, might easily formulate a scheme that would nlace our entire library system on a better footing. If we accomplish this we shall indeed more than realise the expectations that were'eherished by the founder; of this association two years ago.

OTHER BUSINESS. The annual report, read by Mr. H. Baillie, was adopted without discussion. It traversed a great deal of the ground covered by the president in his address. Two papers were read, one en "St.ata Library Commissions in the United States." by Miss Charlotte Templeton,.secretary of the Nebraska Public Library Commission, and one on "Librorv Conditions in the Old Country," by Mr. Jas. Duff Brown, Islington Public Libraries, London. After the conference rose the delegates werejfhown over the Fire Brigade Station, and in the afternoon they wore the guests of the city on a tramcartour. Thev were also invited to visit Jlr. A. H. Turnbull to view his collection of books. Tho first business on Monday will bo Mr. Parr's motion concerning; the Parliamentary Library.