RURAL LIBRARIES

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 75, 21 December 1937, Page 5

RURAL LIBRARIES

— PreBB Association.*

New Service to Provide Books for Country Readers

(By Telegraph

WELLINGTON, This Day. An announcement tliat Mr G. T. Alley, Christchurch, has been appoiiited National Direetor of Eurai Libraries under the Government's new scheme to assist country libraries was made by the Minister of Education, the Hon. P. Fraser, in an interview yesterday. Other appointments have yet to be made to the subsidiary positions which are involved in the scheme, including the positions of field librarians, and full details have yet to be announced by the Minister. However, the scheme follows closely on the lines of a statement issued by the Government earlier in the year about its proposals for the extension and improvement of library facilities generally, but particularly in the Country centres where libraries are virtually non-existent. This ncw service will be known as part Of the proposed national library service, for which a sum of money was placed on the estiinates. The present pfoposal will provido for those people who at ti e moment have no adeqiiate libfary service. The Government planS io giVe these people a loan service of bOOks in place of money grants provided under the old scheme of library assistanfee. Instead o? allocating a small subsidy as in the past, the assistance wrill take the form of regular loan supplies of book to country libraries from central sohrces, which will be attaehed to the General Assembly library i Wellington. The two basic features of the new scheme will be skilled assistance to small libraries by a special staff and these loan services of books cafefully chosen. Ultimately the Government hopes to introduce a national library scbetrie along the lines of those operating itt other countries, notably in Great Bfitaill and- Denmark, and this new developnlent is regarded as one of the fifst important stcps to\Vhrds that