New Zealand. National Library Service

“ Costs in New Zealand, per head of population, are bound to be relatively high; vigilance is necessary to ensure that they are no higher than they need be.
It has been apparent that cooperation between local authorities will be the major factor in making economies on a national scale. ”

“ Scientific, Technical, and Commercial Library Service—A recommendation has been made by the New Zealand Library Association that impetus be given to scientific and technical library service, chiefly through public libraries. At a time when increasing reliance is being placed on the efficiency of our secondary industry the necessity of providing the fullest technical information to aid manufacturers will be apparent. ”

“ Difficulties occur from time to time in connection with the service to prisons and mental hospitals. They arise from the lack of supervision of these libraries by trained library staff. Officers engaged in other duties are not in a position to organise the full service which would be of such benefit to patients and prisoners.
From the special TB collection 1,620 books were exchanged at four-monthly intervals for 15 sanatoria and tuberculosis wards of public hospitals. Three hundred and thirteen books were sent on request (250 non-fiction and 63 fiction) . ”

“ The headquarters office at Wellington is responsible for the coordination of the service, for the selection, ordering, classifying, and cataloguing of new books and their dispatch to district offices, the maintenance of a comprehensive collection of children's and young people's books used to meet requests which cannot be supplied from local offices, and the distribution of books to schools and public libraries in or near Wellington city and the Hutt Valley. ”

“ Staff at headquarters are still working under very difficult conditions and there is a continuing and pressing need both for administrative working space and adequate housing for the book collections.
Inter-library Loan—All inter-library loan requests for books and periodicals the location of which is not known are sent to the National Centre. Items which are not found in the Union Catalogue of non-fiction books, the Union List of Serials, or other bibliographical sources are listed in the weekly publication Book Resources, which is sent to 39 libraries for checking. ”

“ Primary pupils of the Correspondence School are provided with individual postal service from district offices. Child welfare institutions, training centres, health camps, and other special groups are given service according to their needs. Teachers' training colleges, young people's groups, kindergartens, and nursery play centre supervisors are also helped. Visits to School Library Service offices by teachers in training are arranged wherever possible.
Assistance to several Pacific Island schools has been continued from the Auckland office by means of extended loans. ”

“ The short course for librarians from smaller centres, held at the Library School from 12 to 30 August 1957, was of great value to the participating librarians. The demand for training is very great and, with such eagerness to learn, the training given is immediately effective.
Cooperation between libraries participating in the Country Library Service has been developing slowly. A little more interest has been shown in the cooperative book-buying scheme fostered by this Service. There are now 22 libraries taking part. ”

“ Exchanges are made at least once a year, with further exchanges during the year for smaller schools to the extent that books and staff make possible. Where satisfactory arrangements for storage and adequate use can be made, exchanges of suitable books are also sent to the smaller public libraries which provide free service in their children's and young adults' sections. ”

“ The shortage of trained librarians continues. Three students from the 1957 Library School professional course accepted positions in public libraries serving centres of under 20,000 population, but they were all replacements for qualified librarians who had taken library work in other fields, so there was no net gain. ”

“ This Service continues to assist in making available material on good overseas practice and New Zealand achievement. Assistance is also given in the design of the interiors of libraries and in specifications for equipment.
The best results are achieved when a local authority and the librarian prepare a written building programme, specifying the functions of the library, the various areas to be provided, the relationship between each, the number of books, readers, and librarians to be accommodated, and the equipment to be housed for efficient service. ”

“ The number of books sent is based on the population of the area controlled by the local authority. Post-primary schools depending, as they do, mainly on their own libraries, do not receive exchanges of books but participate with the other schools in the information and request and other services available. The post-primary departments of district high schools are eligible for all services, including exchanges. ”

“ Index to New Zealand Periodicals—The 1956 issue of the index, the first for which the National Library Service has accepted the responsibility of publication, was printed by photo-offset and distributed. The 1957 issue is being prepared in the same way. The possibility of simplifying production by printing direct from the typed cards is being explored. ”

“ Very efficient lighting without excessive heat problems has been provided by the installation of two large roof lights of double glazed, toughened, anti-sun polished plate, the upper light being held an inch above the roof line with a free flow of air between the panes. ”

“ The postal service has been continued to lighthouse keepers, fire lookouts in State Forests, and a few very remote readers in coastal islands. During the year a total of 1,851 books was issued, mostly by a hamper service.
FREE SERVICE TO MINISTRY OF WORKS, STATE HYDRO-ELECTRIC, AND NEW ZEALAND FOREST SERVICE CAMPS AND STATIONS
During the year 54 camps or stations received visits from the book van, in addition to one receiving hamper service from the Christchurch office. Altogether 7,691 books are on loan to such places. ”

“ The figures shown as basic issues do not include the thousands of books loaned to these libraries on short term through the "request service".
"C" OR HAMPER SERVICE
In places where no library exists and where it is not possible for one to be formed and visited by a book van, a service to properly established groups by means of hampers is provided. During the year 45 of these groups received service, there being 3,325 books on regular loan to them. The hamper service is also extended to six places in the Chatham Islands and to Pitcairn Island. ”

“ During the year, 26,047 requests (an increase of 9.2 per cent) were referred to Wellington. Of the total issues, 4,975 were books belonging to other libraries throughout New Zealand, whose willing cooperation is gratefully acknowledged.
Expenditure—Expenditure under Subdivision XII, vote "Education", for the year was £264,956. This figure includes £94,544 for the purchase of books, of which £45,357 was for books and periodicals on behalf of Government Departments. The expenditure on behalf of Departments represents 12,146 books and standing orders for approximately 11,000 serial publications. ”