FREE LIBRARIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 February 1940, Page 3

FREE LIBRARIES

ADVANTAGES OF SYSTEM ‘ STRESSED MEETING NEEDS OF PUBLIC. LOCAL BODIES' ATTITUDE. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. "It is now generally accepted that the purpose of a public library is to provide for the informational and recreational requirements of the community. with the emphasis on the former." slated Mr John Barr, president of the New Zealand Library Association. in his presidential address. "In New Zealand, on the informational side, we fall short of the standards set up by British and American libraries. In our case the emphasis has been placed on the recreational at the expense of the informational. As one who believes that the informational side of our work is vastly more important than the recreational. I deplore having to make such an admission. The reason for New Zealand public libraries standing on the wrong foot is due to the subscription system which is still the rule rather than the exception. Unless they become free libraries they will continue to work under severe disadvantages. "It has always puzzled me why local authorities hesitate to make the change. From the economical angle the free system has everything in its favour. It means that the money invested in free libraries will return big - dividends in a more intelligent community. The only sound argument I have over heard advanced for the con-

“ tinuation of the subscription system is , j that it is perfectly reasonable to levy } a charge for supplying light, ephemeral , ) reading which is so often the 2 major portion of New Zealana i 3 public libraries. /f that was the only service that public libraries could perform, I would agree. > I contend, however, that public iffiraries should not be supplying light, ephe- ( moral literature, but should provide an all-round service of books designed i .to meet the cultural, vocational and re- j I creational needs of the people, parti- I I cularly from the angle of continuing 1 education after the normal school and < 1 college periods have passed. If light, ephemeral reading is wanted, charge ; for it by all means, as other forms of ( entertainment arc charged for, but do j

not make a charge on learning. That i should be provided free, as other edu- ’ cational facilities are freely provided. ' Better still allow the bookshop librar- £ ies to supply this service of light reading material, and give the public lib- * raries the opportunity of providing t good "informative reading, which is jtheir proper function. t “It may be worth while reminding you that the public library movement C which commenced in England nearly a £ hundred years ago, and on which New £ Zealand’s public libraries were found- ! ed, was a free library movement. In 'England and other parts of the United t

Kingdom, the libraries have always been free in all departments. In New Zealand, it is only the reference and reading room facilities which have been made free. The reason which the promoters of the public library movement had in mind was to provide enlightenment for the community, and to this ideal England has remained faithful. In New Zealand, on the other hand, the local authorities have been content to provide free reference facilities'only. “In trying to discover the reasons for this divergent policy, I have come to the conclusion that when the idea of lending out books was first considered in New Zealand, the people who were interested thought only in terms of reading as entertainment, and the authorities decided that entertainment should be paid for as all other kinds of entertainment were paid for. It was an unfortunate decision which posterity has paid for dearly, for with the increase in the importance of public lending libraries all over the world New Zealand has lagged further and further behind. Fifty years ago, wlien New Zealand towns and cities were much smaller than they are today, this mattered little. But at the present time it matters a great deal. If the subscription system were abolished, thus freeing library authorities from the tyranny of subscribers ■ who demand light reading in such large quantities results comparable with those obtained in other countries which have adopted a free library system in toto could be achieved. Proof of this can be seen even in a few places .in Now Zealand which have had the foresight to adopt the free system. Similar results have taken place in South Africa during the last decade, and the inspiring results of the new system there arc well worth the attention of anyone interested in library progress. The association has endorsed the free library principle for over fourteen years, the first resolution in favour of it having been agreed upon at the Dunedin Conference in 1926. But more emphasis must I be placed upon it and strenuous work must be undertaken until it becomes the universal practice. A wise decision was taken at the last conference when a committee was appointed to prepare a case for free libraries. This committee’s report is a sound piece of work, and it is to be hoped that it will full’ll its mission of education; for that is really its purpose—-to make known the advantages of free library service for the Dominion. "Despite the disadvantages affecting' New Zealand public libraries through the prevailing subscription system, so mu'ch progress has been made in library development in recent years that I refuse to bo anything but optimistic lor the future. The beginning of these developments is due largely to the interest shown by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. From 1932 onwards the librarians of the principal City library systems and of the University College libraries have all benefited by study overseas. This has resulted ;n equipping the men and women in key positions with a first-hand knowledge of library development abroad. The benefits they have received have per- | colated through the whole library service in the Dominion. It has raised the standard of work and engendered enthusiasm in an unparalleled degree.”