EDUCATION: SUBSIDIES TO PUBLIC LIBRARIES (PAPERS RELATING TO DISTRIBUTION OF). [In continuation of E.-13, 1908.]

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1909 Session II, E-10

Errata. — For E.-13 at head of pages, fad E.-10.

1909. NEW ZEALAND.

EDUCATION: SUBSIDIES TO PUBLIC LIBRARIES (PAPERS RELATING TO DISTRIBUTION OF). [In continuation of E.-13, 1908.]

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

Extract from New Zealand Gazette, Bth October, 1908.

I. Subsidies to Public Libraries.

Education Department, Wellington, 6th October, 1908. NOTICE is hereby given that the sum of £3,000 has been voted by Parliament for distribution to public libraries. The distribution will take place on the 4th February, 1909, and no olaim will be entitled to consideration that shall not have been sent in in due form and received by the Secretary for Education, Wellington, on or before the 27th January, 1909. 1. A library to be entitled to a subsidy must be public in the sense of belonging to the publio, and of not being under the control of an aasociation, society, or olub whose membership is composed of a section of the community only, and if within a borough it must be open to the public free of oharge. The reoeipts for the year from subscriptions and donations must not have been leee than £2, exclusive of moneys reoeivtd from endowments, or from Government, or from Borough or County Councils, or for special building purposes, or as rent, hire, or consideration for the use of any room, or building, or land belonging to the institution, in respeot of none of which will subsidy be allowed. The net prooeeds of conoerts, lectures, or other entertainments on behalf of the current expenses of the library will be regarded as voluntary contributions. A eubsidy will not be given to more than one library in the same town. 2. In the division of the vote a nominal addition of £25 will be made to the amount of the income of eaoh library derived from subscriptions, donations, and rates, and the vote will be divided according to the amounts thus augmented ; but j no library will receive oredit for a larger inoome than £75— : that is, in no case will the augmented amount on which distribution is based exceed £100. 3. The whole of the subsidy must be expended without delay in the purchase of books for the librarj. i. Application to share in the distribution must be by means of a statutory declaration by the Chairman, or Secretary, or Treasurer of the institution on behalf of which it is made, and must be aocompanied by a statement of the receipts and expenditure of the institution for the year ending on the 31st day of December, 1908; and such declaration must be on the form provided for the purpose, ■. which form shall be as follows:—

Declaration. I, [Name], of [Place of abode], [Occupation] , do solemnly and sincerely declare that I am Chairman [or Secretary, or Treasurer] of the [Name of institution] ; that during tne year ending on the 31st day of December, 1908, the reoeipts of the aforesaid institution fur ihe maintenance of the library only were as follows : From rates levied by a local governing body under Part I of "The Libraries and Mechanics' Institutes Act, 1908," or "The Municipal Corporations Aot, 1908," pounds shillings and pence ; from the subscriptions of members, pounds shillings and pence ; and from voluntary contributions other than members' subscriptions, pounds shillings and pence ; that the library is public in the sense of belonging to the public, and is not under the control of an association, society, or club whose membership is composed of a section of the community only; that the information hereinafter furnished by me in the appendix hereto is oorrect in every particular; that the abstract of accounts is a true statement of the reoeipts and expenditure of the institution for the year herein speoified; that the whole of the subsidy received during the year was expended in the purchase of books for the library; and that by the rules of the library it is open to the public free of cliarge. And I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true, and by virtue of " The Justices of the Peace Act, 1908." (Signature.) Declared at , this day of , 190 , before me— , Justioe of the Peaoe [or Solicitor, or Notary Public]. [Here affix and cancel a stamp at 2s. 6d.] [Note. —The words relating to last year's subsidy and to free admission may be struck out if they are not applicable. The words in braokets are not part ot the form, but indicate matter to be inserted or substituted.] Copies of the form of application may be obtained from the Secretary for Education, Wellington, and from the Seoretary of any Education Board. GEO. FOWLDS, Minister of Education.

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11. Extract from the Thiety-fihst Annual Eepobt of the Minister of Education. By a vote of last session a sum of £3,000 was again granted for subsidies to public libraries. Notice thereof was inserted in the Gazette of the Bth October, 1908, and forms of application were sent to all libraries known to the Department. The method of distribution of the vote was the same as that adopted in previous years—viz., a nominal addition of £25 was made to the amount of the income of each library derived from subscriptions, donations, and rates, provided that the receipts for the year were not less than £2, and the vote was divided according to the amount thus augmented; but no library received credit for a larger income than £75—that is, in no case did the augmented amount on which distribution was based exceed £100. In accordance with the Gazette notice, the day appointed for the distribution of the subsidy was the 4th February, 1909, and the amount of the vote was divided among the 437 libraries from which applications, each accompanied b,y a statutory declaration on the proper form, had been received at that date. The vote, as thus dealt with, afforded a subsidy of 3s. 3-sd. in the pound on the nominal income, and the subsidies ranged from £4 Bs. 10d. to £16 9s. 2d. The number of libraries participating in the vote shows an increase of twenty as compared with the number aided in the previous year. In order that the purpose intended to be served by the vote may be attained, it is made a condition for participation that the whole of the subsidy granted to each library in the previous year shall have been expended in the purchase of books. The following table shows the distribution according to the education districts:—

Summary of Distribution of Public Libraries Subsidy.

Education Districts. Number ol Libraries. Income. [ncorne upon whic] Subsidy is based. Subsidy. Auckland Taranaki Wanganui Wellington Hawke's Bay .. Marlborough .. Nelson Grey .. Weetland North Canterbury South Canterbury Otago.. Southland Chatham Island 112 14 33 20 32 5 27 4 6 70 22 51 40 1 £ 8. d. 2,938 11 6 390 5 11 1,654 11 11 4,812 4 4 1,366 3 2 137 5 6 736 6 3 360 2 9 118 7 3 1,777 16 5 627 5 8 846 7 10 345 0 2 4 0 0 £ s. d. 4,297 19 1 660 14 11 1,574 10 9 1,142 19 1 1,510 16 5 242 19 6 1,233 7 7 304 12 6 268 7 3 2,671 12 5 980 19 1 1,964 8 11 1,345 0 2 29 0 0 £ s. d. 707 8 4 108 15 1 259 2 6 188 2 3 248 13 5 39 19 10 203 0 2 50 2 9 44 3 4 439 14 1 161 9 1 323 6 3 221 7 5 4 15 6 Totals 437 16,114 8 8 18,227 7 8 3,000 0 0