Tine Greatest Library City of the South

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 182, 22 October 1927, Page 17 (Supplement)

Tine Greatest Library City of the South

Auckland Readers Have Best Service In a Hemisphere Eight Libraries Attract Half a Million Visitors

(Written (or THE SUN by

IAN DONNELLY)

H STUDY of history shows that Individuals, rather than parties and alliances, have led the movements bringing with them the greatest communal good. When the world, a nation, or a community is ready for the acceptance of a new idea, one man of vision, in whose mind that idea has crystallised earliest, becomes leader, and the others follow him. He must

be a man of vision with unassailable | faith in the vision that he sees. Such a man was Sir George Grey. | Statesman, soldier and scholar, he j found time in his active administrat- j ive life to spend in cultured ease among his pictures and books at Kawau. In his scholar’s dreaming, doubtless he saw a city growing on the Waitemata, and knowing the joy of commerce with literature, he must have felt at times that it would be for the good if the people of later days in that city of his dreams, knew also the joy which supported him in times troubled and tranquil. He visioned a city in which the intellectual needs of the people were cared for, knowing, in his great wisdom, that ■was the way to enlightenment. No man has made a greater mark on this country than Sir George Grey, and although he has been dead 30 years, his influence is yet felt. But nowhere is that influence more potent than in Auckland. Without him the city may have had its libraries, but the founders of the system, lacking his inspirational aid, could not have driven on so far as they have done. The Auckland library system gives the community better reading service than any other municipal library south of the Line, and although there are

single libraries in Australia to match the Auckland central library, no Australian corporation has a system which performs such community service. There are seven branch libraries in the suburbs, and each of these has complete library equipment. Reading rooms, a department for children, and a reference section in addition to the circulating department. The First Library The story of the growth of the city’s libraries is the story of the growth of the city itself. In 1842, when the population of Auckland was 2,895, a movement was started for the establishment of a meeting place for community gatherings. The result of this was the founding of the Mechanics’ Institute, which for 38 years served as library, lecture hall and meeting place for the citizens of Auckland. In 1880, when the population of the town was 16,000, the old institute, which had served the people well, had grown too small for the needs of the day. The City Council purchased the building and renamed it the Free Public Library. When this library was first opened the total books in stock was 6,000, but it was not long before the authorities came to realise that the old building was unsuitable for library purposes and a decision the City Council made in 1882 was the origin of the present system. Sir George Grey offered his collection of books, pictures and curios to the city and the authorities were confronted with the problem of having these precious gifts properly housed. Finally it was decided to erect a new building and the foundation stone of the Central Library and Art Gallery was laid on June 4, 1885, and the official opening took place on March 26, 1887. At the date of opening there were 15,000 volumes in the library and among these were many literary

rarities which now change hands in auction rooms for figures running into thousands of pounds.

The Grey Collection “Show me the library, and I will tell you of the man,” wrote the bibliophile, Percy Fitzgerald, and those who wish to come closer to the character of Sir George Grey have -only to go to the Grey collection at the central library. In the chastely furnished room that shelters it is a monument to the taste of a great man. Life goes on outside the windows, trams clang past, and the purposeful throng goes by. But inside there is peace and the greatest geniuses who have enriched our tongue with poetry and prose are ready to speak to us through their books; the books which stand marshalled there in the guise that their authors knew them to wear. The romance of old books is enchanting, for books are the physical survivors of great days. They have

cheated mortality, and although their writers are dead, the last links have not, and never shall be, broken. Mankind goes its bartering way; the air is conquered; distance is annihilated, but these mute yet eloquent survivors of other times will always have their friends. In the Grey collection are some of the most famous books printed in England. There are the first, second and fourth folios of Shakespeare, the first of which brings up to £IO,OOO at auction in these days, and even the second has a four-figure value. Another rarity is “Poems,” written by Will Shakespeare, Gent., and printed at London by Tho. Cotes in 1640.

Three volumes printed by William Caxton, the father of printing in England, are in the collection, and few collections in the ■world have such choice copies as these. A complete Caxton, if found in these times, would be worth a king’s ransom, but few such are found now, and the ones in Auckland, though incomplete, must be among the best surviving. The earliest is “Polycronicon,” printed in 1482, and the next is “The Golden Legend” (Lives of the Saints). This was printed in 1484, and the first part,

of it contains an abridgment of j Old Testament. The text of the | volume ends with this note by the printer:— Which werke I have aecomplisshed at the comman tiemente and requeste of the nohle and puyssante erle and my special good lord, Wyllyam, erle of Arondel, and have fynysshed it at Westmestre the twenty day of Novembre the year of our Lord MCCCCLXXXLLL. and the fyrste yere of the reygne of Kynge Rychard the thyrd. By me Wyllyam Caxton. In addition to the books Sir George Grey deposited valuable manuscript in the library, and among the most interesting items is the journal of Sir Joseph Banks, who was botanist with Captain Cook on the Endeavour. The journal lies open in its case at' the page where the following entry is made; “October 11, 1769, 6 a.m. Weighed and stood out of the bay, which was Poverty Bay, on account of our meeting with no refreshment there.” The oldest volume in the library is a manuscript of Lessons from the Gospels, in Greek, which dates back to the Eleventh Century, and i 3 the work of some monk. A book of great association value is a manuscript of

the New Testament in Latin, done by Thomas a’Kempis, author of “The Imitation of Christ,” -which has been dated roughly at 1840. The Commentaries of Gregory the Great on the Book of Job is a beautiful manuscript written by an English scribe before the end of the Fourteenth Century. It was bound early in the Fifteenth Century for King Henry V., and is the oldest specimen of English Royal binding yet discovered. “De Peclaris Mulierlbus,” a dissertation on women, is believed to have been written by the famous Boccaccio himself about the year 1370. Other manuscript is rich ore for the scholar, as, indeed, is the whole collection, but now in taking leave of Sir George Grey, it must be remembered that he was the spiritual father of the present library system. Without his gift there would not have been the necessity for the new building, and apart from retarded development, the city -would have been poor where now it is rich. Grey, the man of vision, saw that he had the opportunity to inspire those who followed him and he seized the opportunity that men of lesser sight would have let pass. Mr. Henry Shaw, in 1913, following Sir George’s example, presented his valuable collection of books and manuscript to the city. His gift includes a remarkable collection of Oriental illuminated work. Among Mr. Shaw’s books is the earliest printed volume in the library, Augustine’s “De Civatate Dei” (1467). The great hall which houses the reference section of the central library is filled with students and casual readers at almost any time of the day. Here may be seen seekers old and young searching for the eternal truths that are held between the covers of books. The young university student sits beside the old man who is spending the twilight days profitably; the rich and the poor are side by sidethe search for knowledge making the greatest democracy of all. Auckland has reason to be proud of Its reference library, and a betteone could not be found in any British city of equal size. Every section is strong, and the student will find what he seeks there, no matter what his subject is. During the past year the number ; of books consulted in the Reference | Department was 115,000, and the total J number of visitors to the reading

room was 164,196. The number of volumes in the department is 51,102. Making Children Readers One of the most pleasing presentday educational tendencies is toward

the removal of the old mental and spiritual restrictions on the development of the child. Under the old system a teacher’s work was well enough done if the child was grounded in tho rudimentary subjects, but no note was then taken of the child who did not respond as readily as his fellows to treatment such as this. It was a fatal, stifling system, and it is only during the past few years that the rights of the individual have been adequately recognised. Of course, a universal Dalton system is not yet practicable in New Zealand State schools, but in the encouragement of reading among the children something is done to help the development of the individual. That this could be done through reading was realised first in Buffalo, U.S.A., and there a system of co-operation between libraries and schools was first tried. Similar work was begun in Auckland in 1916, and during the past ten years many young men and women who are now revellers in the joy that good literature gives learnt their first lessons In literary appreciation through that system. The work is undertaken solely by the city, and all that the Education Board is asked to provide is the cases to hold the books. City library officials select the books and give the schools expert advice in cataloguing and library routine. The schools act as the distributing agent by placing the hooks in the classrooms, and the only obligation on the teacher is to guide the children in their reading as much as possible. Each year the books are sent back to the library, rebound and put into good physical condition. This serves to remind the children that

books should be respected and cared j for. It is good to know that the city is i prepared to spend £SOO a year on this work, and through it 21 schools are served. Last year 71,979 volumes, were issued, and as all the books combine literary quality with good healthy instruction, incalculable good is being done. A child leaving school with a dawning literary appreciation

: has built for itself a shield against | many of the world’s bitterest on- ’ slaughts, and in addition to that has found the way to intellectual pleasure, which is the most enduring of all. The younger children, who are not] • able to be cared for under this system l are not entirely neglected, and for-

their entertainment and instruction; story-tellers give their services at the j branch libraries. On story-telling mornings the eager little groups may be seen in their room at these libraries listening with “wide-eyed wonder” to the tales that are being told. “Tales, forsooth, holding children from their! play.” All children like to hear romantic stories, but when they are told In an attractive way by experienced people knowing something of the child psychology, there is a probability that they will later be encouraged to search out stories for themselves, and then it follows other readers are enlisted. At the Central Library there is a Children’s Department with a stock of 2,164 volumes, and every day eager young readers, exploring beyond the limits of their school libraries, may be seen there at their business of selection. A plentiful supply of periodicals of interest to children are also stocked

| and the latest “Chums” serials can be i followed by those whose tastes inS cline toward adventure. Five of the i branch libraries have departments for ' children, and the total number of ! books available is 6,426. | From this it will be seen that the j effort of the city is to catch its readers | young, and Sir George Grey -would probably give an approving smile if , he could know of it-

Serving the Suburbs The Central Library alone is enough to make Auckland a proud city, but perhaps the most important part ot the work is done in the branch . libraries. They serve the people in ■ the suburbs, who under ordinary cir-

cumstances would be denied library rights, or, at least, would be handicapped more in commerce with literature than their city fellows. The City Council, realising this, provides for their need, and there are now seven branch libraries. The districts so served are: Epsom. Grafton. Grey Lynn, Parnell. Point Chevalier. Remuera and Ponsonby (through the Leys Institute). Following the idea of the old Mechanics’ Institute, the library is the community centre of these districts. Each building has a meeting hall, and during the winter months concerts and lectures arranged by the library authorities are held there. Speakers, with specialised knowledge of certain subjects, address the people, and through this much valuable information is imparted. The library buildings are all attractive architecturally, but the finest and most up-to-date is that at Remuera, which was opened in July. 1926. Last year the number of books issued from the lending departments of the city libraries was 536,402, and the extraordinary growth of library work in Auckland is shown by the returns of 10 years ago, when 119.867 volumes were issued. In 1913, when Mr. John Barr, the present director and librarian, took charge, the total

was only 40,000. The fiction issued from the libraries is the best available, and only books of literary merit are placed on the shelves. Of late there has been great interest in travel literature, and as an example of this, Lawrence’s “Revolt in the Desert” may be quotedAlthough there are several copies of this at the Central Library, nearly 40 subscribers are on the waiting list for the book. That the libraries are doing community service is shown by the numbers of visitors attracted to the reference departments and reading rooms at the eight libraries. Last year the total number of visitors was 595,920; of this number 292,474 visited the reference department. 242,680 the newspaper rooms, and 60,766 the children’s rooms. These figures show that the people of Auckland appreciate the library ! facilities given them by the City

Council. Aucklanders have the best library service south of the Line, and tha ' City Council, which carries out this work without cavil or dispute, is performing at least one great municipal service, a service which would have the approbation of the country’s greatest statesman, a man who knew that the intellectual needs ol the people must 1 be served if progress was to be made.