New Zealand. General Assembly Library

“ There must always be a certain degree of wear-and-tear upon the volumes, either those used during the session or during the recess; and there are unquestionably a large number of volumes in the Library which urgently stand in need of being rebound, rebacked, or otherwise repaired. The number, too, of periodicals of various kinds, the back numbers of which are of great value to members, has largely increased of late years, and, as a substantially increased charge is now made for binding, the annual vote for this purpose is being found markedly inadequate. ”

“ The number of books lent to recess-privilege holders for the year 1924-25 was 6,135, as against 6,587 in the previous recess period. As a rule, the class of books taken out by recess-privilege holders (and here it may be noted that the New Zealand General Assembly Library is the only legislative library in the world from which volumes may be taken out during the recess) is of such a character as proves that the privilege is greatly valued by the best class of readers. ”

“ Class 920-929 (Biography, &c.) : This class also was last taken in 1918, when fourteen volumes were reported as missing. Since that time 360 volumes have been added to this class, making the total number in this section 4,157. At this stock-taking the number unaccounted-for is twenty-two, several of which are quite recent accessions to the Library. It is difficult to believe that many of these books are lost to the Library, as, of the fourteen reported lost at last stock-taking, several were found in their places upon the shelves. ”