Report of the National Library Service for the Year Ended 31 March 1958 | Page 7

schools planning new libraries or reorganising existing libraries. The visiting of schools to give help where needed and to discuss the use of books is still limited by staff shortages.
Except for small parcels which are sent by post, books are distributed in hampers or cartons by rail or road transport from 15 centres--North Island: Whangarei and Hastings public libraries; offices of the Country Library Service in Hamilton and Palmerston North and of the School Library Service in Auckland, Napier, New Plymouth, Wanganui, and Wellington. South Island: Greymouth, Timaru, Dunedin, and Invercargill public libraries; the office of the Country Library Service in Christchurch and of the School Library Service in Nelson. Schools are usually served by the nearest School Library Service office.
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. To enable children at smaller country schools to see and to choose for themselves from a wide range of books, the possibilities of service by book van are being considered.
Since its establishment schools joining the service have paid a subscription at the rate of 1s. per pupil (Standard 1 and upwards) for each of the first two years. Ministerial authority was given during the year to discontinue this levy.
Schools borrowing books are asked to accept responsibility for (a) safe-keeping of books while on loan to the school, including books issued to members of staff for school use; (b) return of books when due; (c) payment for books lost or damaged beyond fair wear and tear; (d) payment of freight and postal charges from school to School Library Service office.
Books are made available to special institutions controlled by the Education Department. 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. Under this system the schools receive an original bulk loan which they check annually, reporting losses and returning damaged and worn books for replacement, wherever possible, by new titles, so that loans will not degenerate into collections of old books. The schools concerned were listed in last year's annual report. The desirability of extension of this service is constantly in review.
During the year members of the staff acted as librarians at the usual teachers' refresher courses. Appropriate collections of books always create considerable interest. Discussions at these courses have been helpful in the selection of books and have brought about an increased awareness of the uses of books in a wide range of schools.
Below are tables showing details of the School Library Service as at 31 March 1958. The figures for the number of "schools" and "pupils" include those for primary schools and post-primary departments of district high schools but do not include those for other post-primary schools as these do not receive general exchanges of books. (Figures in parentheses are for the previous year.)
Schools Pupils Receiving (Standard 1 Exchanges and upwards)
Education Board schools 2,004 (1,973) 252,469 (241,148) Departmental schools and institutions 211 (216) 13,996 (14,270) Private schools 275 (260) 31,852 (28,175)
Totals 2,490 (2,449) 298,317 (283,593)
Year Ended 31 March Books Supplied 1958 1957 In exchanges to-- All schools, Standard 1 to Form II 676,637 648,816 District high schools, Form III to Form VI 34,452 32,439 Public libraries, children's departments 34,639 30,926 Public libraries, young people's sections 22,724 22,307
Total for exchanges 768,452 734,488
On request and in loan collections, including indefinite loans-- Primary 263,374 244,175 Post-primary 72,956 78,358
Totals 1,104,782 1,057,021
Book Stock--Additions to stock were 70,228 fiction and 48,789 non-fiction. Withdrawals were 47,645 fiction and 11,834 non-fiction. The stock now stands at 1,091,189, of which 656,911 are fiction and 434,278 are non-fiction. One thousand four hundred and sixty-nine new titles were added during the year.

SECTION III--LIBRARY SCHOOL
1957 PROFESSIONAL COURSE
At the end of November nine diplomas and five certificates were awarded to 14 students who completed the course. For health reasons one student accepted under the Colombo Plan returned to his own country at the end of the first term. Of the successful students two returned to the libraries in which they had been employed before attending the school, three were appointed librarians of smaller public libraries, four joined the staffs of city public