RELIEVING CONGESTION

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1058, 23 August 1930, Page 10

RELIEVING CONGESTION

PLANS FOR UTILISING LIBRARY MR. BARR’S PROPOSAL i Packed away in the storerooms of the Auckland Public Library are numberless interesting papers and books which cannot be displayed because of the congestion and lack of space. - Now that suggestions are afoot to provide the City with a new art gallery in the proposed arts block of the university, some attention has been turned to the future use of the present gallery. Mr. John Barr, City Librarian, has been looking ahead to the time when his hopes of extending the present library will be realised. His idea, an excellent one, is to convert the whole of the present art gallery block into a large and efficient library. His suggestion, of course, can be only a nebulous one at the present time. Nothing definite has been done nor can any changes be made until a new art gallery is provided. This will have to come and the library will have to be extended in the future to make room for the ever-increas-ing public demands. The congestion in the present library makes for inconvenience. Space is at a minimum and many of the books and papers cannot be put on the shelves. The officials of the library are forced to work in restricted space, which adds to the general difficulties of caring for a splendid collection of books, periodicals and papers. VALUABLE COLLECTIONS Auckland possesses one of the most valuable, if not the most valuable, collections of bound newspapers in New Zealand, but this cannot be displayed to its best advantage. The New Zealand collection, probably the largest in existence today, can only be housed in a restricted area at present. This leaves a great deal to be desired as the New Zealand section is always in demand by students of Dominion history and by visitors interested in the early days and the progress of the Dominion. Mr. Barr has taken a plan of the present library and re-arranged the various rooms to make the whole building a public library worthy of the City of Auckland. Curiously enough, his plans conform almost exactly to those of a splendid new library which is being erected in Bolton, England, and which conforms with all the requirements of a modern library. According to Mr. Barr’s plan the present entrance to the library would still remain the main entrance to the building. A change, however, would be made in that the present annex used tor the children's department would be turned into the main vestibule. Thfe main stairs would lead into the vestibule by extending the present stairway. SPACE AND FREEDOM From this vestibule doors would lead through into the room which now houses the Mackelvie Collection. This would become the lending department, capable of holding 35,000 volumes. A screen would be thrown across the entrance to this room, allowing for plenty of space and complete freedom in entering and leaving the building. The present new gallery, which is reached up steps from the Mackelvie collection, would become a room for housing special collections of books, such as the Grey and Shaw collections. This in itself would be a decided advantage, as these valuable books are not able to he shown adequately at present. The old statuary room of the Art Gallery, where the print exhibitions are held, would become the schools’ branch. It would be much larger than the present room. The galleries at the entrance to the present art gallery, now housing pictures of the Grey collection, the City Council collection and the work of New Zealand artists, would be transformed into two rooms by removing the two present walls and erecting another in the middle. One would become the magazine room, with space for 90 readers, and the other would become the New Zealand section with accommodation for 10,000 volumes and 75 readers. This would enable all the works on New Zealand to he displayed beautifully and make them available at ail times. The gallery which now contains al! the Maori heads painted by Goldie would be utilised for housing the bound newspapers and periodicals, a very fine collection which cannot at present be shown. LIBRARIAN’S QUARTERS The room occupied by Mr. Barr himself would become the art section and the chief librarian would be installed in a new room, part of which houses the more valuable collections of books. Ample office accommodation could also be provided here. This at present is lacking and the officials work in-space as congested as in every other part of the library. The deputy librarian’s room and a room for catah -uing purposes would be made by dividing the room which now houses the Reade collection of pictures and antiques. A corridor would lead from the present upper hall of the library through the Reade room and the existing entrance to the art gallery. This would give access to most of the principal rooms of the proposed new library. ALWAYS CROWDED If Mr. Barr’s plans are ever realised it will enable him to relieve the present congestion in the reference library by withdrawing the magazine section to new quarters. Anyone visiting the library can see instantly how necessary such relief is, for the reference section is always crowded. Similar rearrangements could also be made on the ground floor of the library. Congestion in tile newspaper room, which is just as acute as in other parts of the building, would be relieved by using for this purpose one of the two present rooms of the lending library. The other room would be turned into the children’s department. Mr. Barr’s reconstruction plan provides for every emergency, including store rooms and other necessary accommodation which does not concern the public. It is a comprehensive and well-designed plan which, if it were ever realised, would provide for the public’s use for many years to come and give Auckland a library which a city of this size really requires.