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1950 PROFESSIONAL COURSE The course opened on 13th February, 1950, with 16 students approved by the Minister of Education, 13 having a Bachelor's or Master's degree in arts and 2 librarians holding the New Zealand Library Association's General Training Certificate. The Library School is greatly indebted, as in previous years, to the subject specialists, librarians, and members of the National Library Service staff who give lectures and to those libraries which answer our many calls for books. We shall always have to rely on the generosity of other libraries for older books, but we need to build up a permanent collection of our own. Lack of space, which hampers our work in many ways, prevents us from acquiring more than the irreducible minimum collection. SECTION lII—NATIONAL LIBRARY CENTRE Report by the Librarian, Mr. A. G. Bagnall Work has continued throughout the year on bibliographical publications and projects carried out by the National Centre in association with the Book Resources Committee of the New Zealand Library Association. UNION LIST OF SERIALS Preparation of the Union List of Serials for publication continues. During the year many outstanding library holdings of serials were included, the following being completed with the assistance of National Centre staff or by Library School students undertaking the work as a bibliographical project: The Royal Society of New Zealand ; the Royal Society (Wellington Branch) ; the Polynesian Society ; the Cawthron Institute ; the Head Office library of the Department of Agriculture and the Census and Statistics Department. As the result of a request for assistance in publication by the New Zealand Library Association, the Government has undertaken the responsibility of publishing the Union List, and Cabinet approval for the necessary expenditure, the greater part of which is recoverable, has been given. It was decided, that before printing commenced, the typed copy should be circulated to the major libraries for final checking. Typing from the cards and checking has commenced. UNION CATALOGUE During the year 26,373 cards were added to the Union Catalogue, a record number of additions. A start has been made with the photographing of library catalogues to enable titles accessioned before 1941 to be included, using the equipment donated to the New Zealand Library Association by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The Yictoria University College catalogue and the catalogue of the Central Library. Wellington Public Libraries, have so far been done. As soon as staff is available it is planned to copy the Auckland, Christchurch, and Dunedin catalogues. When this stage has been completed, the catalogue will record the non-fiction holdings of the major New Zealand libraries, enabling the supply of titles requested on inter-library loan to be decentralized and to operate more efficiently. INDEX TO NEW ZEALAND PERIODICALS The 1948 Index to New Zealand Periodicals, prepared by the National Centre and published by the New Zealand Library Association, was issued at the end of 1949. Printing of the 1949 Index has commenced. The 1941-1946 cumulation was also issued in December, 1949, so that there is now a nine-year coverage available for New Zealand periodicals. Entries from over 50 current periodicals were included in the 1949 Index.

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