CORRESPONDENCE.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 70, 19 February 1884, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

(We do not hold ourselvea responsible for the opinion expressed by our correspondents). THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —I notice in your Saturday’s issue, in the report of proceedings at a meeting held for the formation of a Young Men’s Institute, that Mr. J. S. Browne made a speech in which he referred to the Public Library and its management in rather strong terms of censure. Fix st, I would submit, Mr. Browne is in the book-trade, and he has a circulating library, composed principally of yellow-backs, which he wishes the public to patronise at £1 a year, and, of course, a Free Public Library and Reading-room does interfere somewhat with his business. This may account for his hostile attitude. Mr. Brown is reported to have said :— “ Look at our own Library, for instance, — there were never more than four oi’ five persons present of an evening.” Mr. Browne is wrong, or short-sighted, or something ; for I have seen a dozen present, and the librarian reported to the Committee that the average daily number during one month was fifteen. Mr. Browne is reported to have “ strongly condemned the way in which fine offices had been built in front and only a very small room in the rear for a library.” Wrong again ; there are two rooms in the rear; one is a small room 12 x 14 feet with a chimney where men like Mr. Browne can enjoy their pipe with a little improving conversation, when perusing the newspapers; the other room is the reading-room and contains the library. It is a good-sized room—about large enough to contain the whole of Mr. Browne’s business premises, yellow-backs and all. You must stretch the truth a long way to call it [a very small room. It is large

enough for the requirements of the place at present as a Public Reading Room. Mr. Browne said “ He felt sure this sort of thing had never been contemplated by the Government when the grant was made, The ground had been very improperly applied.** Improperly applied I what does he mean ? The section was set aside by the Government for the purposes of a Public Library and Mechanics’ Institute, and the section would have remained set aside and unoccupied until this day if no one had done more than Mr. Browne to get a building erected upon it. Mr. Browne does not know, and probably does not care to know what trouble the Library Trustees had to raise sufficient money to erect the present building ; but the result is that Gisborne has now a comfortable free public reading-room open daily to all (many larger towns are not so well off), with a very fair library of books, which are being con* tinually added to by liberal-hearted persons. And the institution is appreciated by the public, as shown by the fact that, whereas at the last annual meeting of members the number was twenty-five, now there are over ninety subscribers who are willing to pay for the convenience of taking the books and papers home to read. I think this must have been the sort of thing contemplated by the Government when the grant was made. The Inst paragraph in Mr. Browne’s speech we can all heartily agree with. “He would advise a few gentlemen to form themselves into a Committee with a view of improving that institution ” (meaning the Public Library). Mr. Brown is right at last. It is the desire of the Library Committee that the institution should be improved as much as possible. Individuals are not perfect, neither are associations of individuals ; they can only act up to the light that is in them, and, should any person or association of persons be inclined to help, there is ample scope for them. There are many desirable things to be done yet, shortness of funds being the only hindrance. A room suitable for a museum, for displaying properly the local shells, specimens of minerals, and other curiosities donated by Mr. G. Johnstone, Mr. D. Johnson, and others, is required. A social-hall and lecture-room is very much wanted. Class-rooms are also needed. There is ample room on the section for their erection. Mr. Brown can help us in this direction, and we can have no doubt but that he will do so after that speech of his.—l am, &c., J. Bigley,