Growth of Reading.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 13 January 1939, Page 4

Growth of Reading.

The increase in the reading public in England through the growth in the number of libraries was mentioned by Miss Nelle Scanlan, the well-known New Zealand novelist and journalist, now living in London, when discussing books and reading in the light of present tendency, in an interview in Christchurch. She is on a holiday visit to the Dominion. “In America during the depression buying of books fell off enormously, but in England many people who were accustomed to travelling stayed at home and found reading one of the cheapest forms of entertainment,” she said. “This gave reading a tremendous impetus, the effect of which has gone on steadily ever since. Large numbers of libraries have sprung up all over England. There are libraries in every little town and village, where books are borrowed for twopence. This means that many people who could not afford to pay 7s Gd for a novel are now reading a great marty books, and when they are thinking of giving a present they know more about what books are suitable to buy.”