The Sun 42 WYNDHAM STREET AUCKLAND SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6. 1930 AN IMPORTANT JUBILEE

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1070, 6 September 1930, Page 8

The Sun 42 WYNDHAM STREET AUCKLAND SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6. 1930 AN IMPORTANT JUBILEE

rit’TY years ago, when Auckland had a population of 10,000, *■ tlie municipal authorities took over control of the old Mechanics’ Institute, Auckland’s original library, which dated

from 1542. To 1880, then, can he traced the origins of the system which favours Auckland now with the best library service enjoyed by any city south of the Equator. Other cities may have larger and more pretentious buildings. There may possibly he finer and more valuable collections of early manuscripts and rare editions. But among the cities of the Southern Hemisphere Auckland stands alone in the service it has given, through its libraries, to the mass of the people as distinct from any one section of students or bibliophiles.

The library and its branches spread the light of knowledge through City and suburbs. The establishment of branch libraries has been one of the most successful phases of Auckland municipal endeavour. With the growth of the City, people in the suburbs might have been in danger of losing touch with the literature available to those living closer at hand. The formation of the branches, which now number seven, allowed suburban dwellers to maintain their contact with the libraries and, through the libraries, to widen tlieir acquaintance with the best sources of entertainment, inspiration and knowledge. Not only have the suburban libraries preserved the high literary standards maintained in the central library, hut in tlieir different styles of architecture they set a standard consistent with their importance as cultural assets of the community. The harmonious exteriors of the Kemuera, Parnell and Grey Lynn libraries are a wonderful contrast to the weatherboard walls of the old-time Mechanics’ Institute, yet, as it is to the City’s acquisition of that longestablished institution that all subsequent progress can he traced, the jubilee now being celebrated is one of the most important in the annals of the City.

Although the Mechanics’ Institute was taken over in 1880, it was not until five years later that the present building was opened. Housed in the Mechanics’ Institute were 6,000 volumes, round which grew the present magnificent collection. There are probably catalogues still available of the materials which the first library committee of the council found on its hands. A good deal of it had to he discarded through age, hut in the meantime the council had embarked on an energetic policy of enlarging its collections. Some very fine gifts were made, and when the new building was opened, five years later, the collection had already grown to one of 15,000 volumes, among which were many literary rarities which now change hands at book auctions for prices running into thousands of pounds. The greatest individual benefactor of the library was Sir George Grey, who made to it a gift of the magnificent collection of hooks, diaries and manuscripts which he had gathered about him in his seclusion at Kawau. Behind all those who have been associated with the library, and whose vision and enterprise have made it such an important influence in the life of the community, stands this splendid figure who, more than any other individual, gave Aucklanders a reason to take a pride in their libraries. Sir George set an inspiring example, and other hook-collectors have since followed in his path, one of the finest collections being that presented to the City by Mr. Henry Shaw in 1913. In the satisfaction felt at tli? achievement of a jubilee of an institution so important as the library, there are certain lessons and reflections that the present generation must absorb. As a vital factor in the intellectual life of the community, the library system of which the City is so proud must be guarded as a trust inherited from earlier generations of citizens. The same vision, foresight and earnestness which actuated the citizens of sixty or seventy years ago, in preserving the old Mechanics’ Institute through the storms and stresses of its early career, should influence the people of today, and the administrators of their affairs, to spare no effort in making the library a still greater power for good. A jubilee comes as an occasion for rejoicing, but it brings with it a renewed sense of responsibility. There are directions in which, with 1 the expenditure of money, the central library could be brought more up to date, and its facilities for catering to the public improved. The time is not far away when the reference department will have to be enlarged. It is to the credit of Auckland people that this important department of the library is full at many honrs of the day. They are not merely using the library as a source of pleasant fiction and a means of passing an idle hour, but also as a place for the improvement of the mind and the cultivation of a broader outlook. While the jubilee, focusing attention upon the library, shows the vast progress made in the past, it may also show where there is room for improvement, and emphasise the necessity for the library, in justice to its farsighted founders, keeping abreast of the times.