Part 2

The overtures to the British Government first made in 1858 do not finally seem to have succeeded until 1883. In this year Lord Derby in a circular dispatch to all colonies offered to exchange British official papers for those of the colonies to be sent to the British Museum. The Library Committee jumped at the offer; it had since 1874 been buying sets of parliamentary papers and immediately approached the Cabinet to authorise that New Zealand publications should be sent. As a result the Library possesses an extremely valuable and still growing collection of British official papers.

The Library was in addition receiving New Zealand newspapers and publications of all kinds and it had other exchange arrangements with Canada and the Australian States. Until 1884, 81 newspapers were being bound regularly out of 153 received, but in this year because of the lack of space and the expense the number was reduced to 24. For all this the Library was adding to its holdings of newspapers at a fairly rapid rate.

The increase in the number of books necessitated an increase in storage space. The first attempt was made in 1869 when a motion was brought before both Houses asking that the Library building should be added to in order to provide additional room. The matter was deferred until a general enlargement of the buildings took place. This was done in the recess of 1872-73, and the Library was given the old smoking room, but only after a division when an attempt to have a proper building for the Library had been defeated.

There was genuine concern on the part of the Committee for the safety of the Library. In 1875 the building caught fire which was only put out by the efforts of members. Two days later the Committee passed a motion stating that the time had come when the erection of a proper Library building could no longer be delayed. Sir George Grey was asked to move the motion in the House. This was passed and a Royal Commission set up to superintend the construction, £5,000 being voted in the Estimates for the job, which it was thought would take two years and cost £14,000.

Nothing was done before the session of 1876 and the Committee set to work again. Several resolutions concerning the Library, its location, and the calling of competitive designs were passed, but though the Government proposed to put £7,000 on the estimates towards a Library, it was not done. The resolutions seem to have confused rather than helped the situation.

The session of 1877 began with no further progress. To the Joint Committee's requests for information the Minister of Public Works replied that no designs had been settled on and in any case competitive designs would involve reconstruction of the whole block. More debate ensued and finally the sum of £2,500 was placed on the Estimates and a second Royal Commission set up to superintend the erection of the building. The money was not voted, however, and the Commission did not meet.

The Library now occupied three rooms, with a further office for the Librarian, but the growth was continuous. Two more rooms were taken over from the Legislative Council in 1881 and temporarily the Library could shelve all its books.

No success had rewarded the Committee's desire for new buildings in the seventies, but in 1882 it seemed that luck was in its way. £20,000 was placed on the Estimates for the partial reconstruction of the buildings which were to include a new Bellamy's as well as a new Library. Only £10,000 was voted, however, and this was spent on Bellamy's. The new building had a bad effect on the Library, cutting off the sun and making it damp, though the Committee had a consolation prize, receiving the old Bellamy's for book storage.

So the matter dragged on. In 1886, on the initiative of the Premier, £5,000 was voted for a new building, plans were prepared as quickly as possible and tenders called, but none was accepted before the end of the financial year so the vote lapsed.

By now the Committee seems to have been almost reconciled to the fact that there was little immediate chance of a Library being erected. Frequent requests were however made for something to be done and the slightest possibility of a surplus in the Consolidated Fund always raised hopes. Assurances were frequent that Cabinet was worried about the housing of the Library, and whenever possible an extra room was given.

In 1885 the Library was located in six rooms, some remote. More were given later, though some were taken away. In 1892 the Librarian reported that the building "simply cannot any longer accommodate the books". But it was to be nearly 10 years before the new building was to be ready for storing books.

The situation was indeed growing more and more desperate. Many books, particularly old novels and duplicate periodicals, were given away to hospitals and libraries, and files of newspapers were no longer preserved, while much of the Library stock could only be located with difficulty. In 1897 the Library was spread all over the building with many of the rooms outside the control of the Librarian. Books were stored in two Ministers' rooms, the ladies' tearoom, and two committee rooms. A motion was brought up in 1896 to dispose of certain of the lesser used books, but it was defeated and steps were taken to case the books and house them elsewhere.

Economic conditions were somewhat better in 1897, and to the Committee's joy, Cabinet showed signs of approving the construction and plans were eventually sent to the Library Committee for approval.

The Government had selected Mr Thomas Turnbull as architect and he was instructed to draw up plans not only for a Library but also for committee rooms and an imposing entrance to the buildings generally. On the last day of the session they were approved, but as the vote was for only £7,000 the Library Committee drew a line across the plan and said the committee rooms were not to be built.

Demolition of the old building was undertaken in February 1898 before tenders closed. When they were opened, they were found to be so much in excess of the estimate that all were rejected and it was decided to carry out the work under the cooperative system. The lowest tender for ordinary construction was £42,000 and for fireproof £45,300; the others were considerably higher.

On 13 April 1898 the foundation stone was laid by the Premier, Mr Seddon, and when the session began the walls were almost complete. Because of the noise it was decided that the work would have to cease. All may have been quiet there, but it was very much otherwise in the House. On the second day the Leader of the Opposition gave notice of a motion that the House regretted that His Excellency's advisers without the necessary authority had greatly exceeded the specific appropriation of £7,000, such action being a dangerous subversion of the House's control over public expenditure. There was an acrid debate but the Government survived.

As a result of the attack, however, the Premier decided to abandon the idea of a three-storeyed building and to limit expenditure to £25,000. The Library Committee initiated another debate in which members tried to get the Government to reconsider its decision. It was unsuccessful but during the debate some of those who had condemned the spending of more than £7,000 advised the Government to keep to the original plans.

The architect was upset at the change and stated that the alterations had destroyed the symmetry of the building so that it was no longer a monument to his ability. As a result his name was removed from the foundation stone, and today the building, which was said to be the finest example of Victorian Gothic in the country, does not bear the name of its designer.

The Library was completed in 1899, but took some time to dry out and it was not until early 1901 that it was occupied. It is a fine building, but has many defects from a library point of view. The main reading room is probably one of the most beautiful rooms in the country, but the high windows reduce considerably the book capacity as well as allowing too much bright light on to the stock, and on to the readers.

THE EARLY LIBRARIANS

Ewen McColl, the first Librarian, died in 1881. It is hard at this time to evaluate his work, indeed the Committee was very much in control and he was its instrument. It is probable, for example, that the fine collection of newspapers of the time was due as much to the initiative of the Committee as to the Librarian.

He was succeeded by Angus MacGregor, a Scot, who had been associated, it seems, with the Dunedin Athenaeum and appears to have been a man with somewhat wider interests than his predecessor. During his time the Library bound its large collection of pamphlets, many of which are now of great value, and in addition absorbed the more worthwhile books from the Wellington Provincial Library. He also began the accessioning and shelf marking of the books. The Library was beginning to become an organised collection.

Mr MacGregor resigned in July 1885 and spent his later years as a teacher. He was succeeded by Mr James Collier, another Scot and a graduate of St. Andrews and Edinburgh. He came to New Zealand in 1882 and had previously been an assistant to Herbert Spencer and was compiler of the first and last volumes of the _Descriptive Sociology_.

He early realised that there was little likelihood of a new library building, but his reports show that he grasped the essential aims of a library, and particularly a legislative library. His reports deplored the lack of copyright deposit in New Zealand, while he did much to make the resources of the Library available to students.

One of his main tasks was to build up the collection relating to New Zealand in the Library. This has always been essential material and in his day the Library began to fill the gaps, a task which is not yet completed. Collier's interest was great and he compiled the first New Zealand bibliography, published by the Government Printer in 1889.

His health was not good and after sick leave in 1889 he resigned in 1890. A few years later he went to Australia and until his death in 1925 was engaged in writing, being the author of a life of Sir George Grey and of _The Pastoral Age in Australia_.

The Library Committee advertised the vacancy and recommended the appointment of the Hon. J. W. Fortescue, then Governor's Secretary. The choice did not seem popular and there was some argument in the House whether or not it was legal to appoint an officer when the salary had not been voted. As a result the application was withdrawn. Though this may have been a bad thing for the Library, it was a good one for other reasons. Today Sir John Fortescue is known as the author of the monumental _History of the British Army_ as well as other books, and for having been the Royal Librarian at Windsor.

The Committee then appointed Mr H. L. James, B.A., Acting Librarian. Mr James had joined the staff in 1889 and continued as a member until 1923. He was a born librarian, hampered by devotion to detail and the desire to do the almost impossible. Generally whatever he did was sound and has stood the test of time. For 10 years until January 1901 he was in charge. Though two attempts were made to appoint him Librarian, and one (in 1891) to appoint the Serjeant-at-Arms, Colonel De Quincey, Librarian, it was not until 1900, when the new building was almost completed, that the necessity for further staff made some additional appointments necessary and a Chief Librarian was appointed.

Mr James' main monument is the _Library Catalogue_. The first catalogue had been printed in 1862 in London, and it lists a good working collection for Parliament. Other editions appeared in 1872, 1875, 1880, and 1884, each having one or more supplements.

However useful they were from the members' point of view, they were not the best examples of the cataloguer's art. In 1890 the Committee authorised a new edition and the supervision was entrusted to Mr James, the work of compilation being done by Mr B. E. Stocker, M.A. The manuscript was completed in May 1894, but the cost of printing was so great that the length of the entries had to be cut again and again. The first volume was issued in 1895 and the second in 1897.

Unfortunately the catalogue does not give the Dewey Class number for the books. This system was adopted in April 1898 and has provided a more systematic arrangement of the books.

The staff, which consisted of a single full-time member in 1866, had in 1886 grown to three full-time assistants with two extra assistants during the session. By 1899 the staff was five assistants and a mailman. The latter was employed because for many years the Library also served as post office. Stamps were sold, and an extra assistant was employed for fetching and posting mails. The Library Committee frequently suggested that the day had arrived for the Library staff to be relieved of these duties but it was not until 1923 that the post office moved to its present location. About 1910, however, a mailman was provided by the post office, though he still worked under the charge of the Chief Librarian.

As the day when the Library would move to its new home drew nearer the question of staff became more important, particularly the question of a Chief Librarian. It was thought impracticable to have Mr James appointed, and during the session of 1899 the matter was seriously considered. A subcommittee recommended that a Chief Librarian (at a salary of £400) be selected in England and that certain other additions be made. The question of an English appointment was vigorously debated until finally in September 1900 selection in New Zealand was recommended. The position was advertised in the _New Zealand Gazette_ and Mr Charles Wilson, former journalist, and M.H.R. for Wellington Suburbs for two years, was appointed. Mr Wilson, who was a member of the Library Committee, had not sought re-election in 1899.

As Mr Wilson did not take up his new duties until February 1901, the task of making arrangements for moving into the new building fell to Mr James. Though the building was completed in 1899, it was at first too damp to hold books, and later the shelving was not ready for the stock. Mr James, however, went steadily ahead with classification while a barrage of correspondence aimed at hastening the day for entry into the new home was maintained.

THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

When the Library entered its new quarters it possessed 52,000 volumes. Ten years later it had grown to 80,000 and by 1921 to 102,000. This growth of between two and three thousand volumes a year was reduced somewhat in the twenties and in 1931 the stock was 123,000. Accessions increased during the depression years and after, so that in 1941 they totalled 159,000. Another increase occurred during the forties and an average of 5,000 volumes was added annually, bringing the number of volumes in the Library in 1951 to 200,000. It took over 60 years for the first 100,000 volumes to be added, but only 31 for the second, and early in the present financial year the quarter-million mark was passed, so that the third hundred thousand should only take 15 years.

Again the growth was not without its problems. As early as 1908 the problem of housing the stock was again causing worry, but for a few years it was solved by better arrangement of the shelving. By 1915 the situation was again difficult and approval was given for the removal of the Valuation Department from the attic, the provision of stairs, and the adapting of the area as a stack room. This provided welcome relief, but only for a short while until in 1926 the attic space over the main reading room was shelved and provided a makeshift storeroom for books.

The next expansion came in 1933 when the committee rooms adjacent to the main reading room were taken over and portion of the walls removed to give an open area. In 1938 the Library took over the remainder of the attic and portion of the first floor vacated by the Health Department. Though other alterations were made to increase shelving, no further space was taken over until 1950 when a further committee room was given to the Library. About the same time earthquake risk and alteration to the building caused the removal of books from a portion of the attic to the basement where further space had been made available. Other rooms have more recently been provided to store the books and periodicals in the Library and constant ingenuity is necessary to see that the most economical use is made of the area available.

The reasons for the expansion of the Library can be found in the increased interest in libraries generally, and in the increased vote which resulted. The fund received £600 until 1920 when it was raised to £800. It was reduced to £700 in 1922 and remained at that figure until 1929 when it was raised to £900, though it suffered the depression cuts.

These amounts were not sufficient to adequately finance the purchase of books needed for the service the Library was expected to give, and in 1938 the grant was once again raised, this time to £1,250. Further increases were made in 1947 (£2,000), 1949 (£2,250), 1952 (£3,000), and 1955 (£4,500).

In addition there has been considerable expansion in the exchange arrangements, Government publishing having increased considerably in the United Kingdom and the United States. Arrangements for the exchange of official publications with Australia were made in 1952, while during 1957 the Canadian Government made the General Assembly Library a select depository for its publications.

Another source of material for the Library has been by gift either of individual books or of collections. They have been many and varied, and it is safe to say that the Library would not possess the wide variety of stock it does had it not been for the kindness and generosity of many donors.

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT

The Copyright Act has also provided the Library with an increasing amount of material. Like so many other of the Library's activities, this was foreshadowed in the days when James Collier was Librarian. In his report for 1888, he suggested that the time was ripe for the enacting of a Colonial Copyright Act. Whatever was done about this there was one thing that ought to be done immediately and that was the passing of a law making provision for the deposit of one copy of every colonial publication in a central library, which library could only be the Parliamentary Library.

A letter was written from the chairman of the Library Committee to the Premier asking for instructions to be given to the Solicitor-General to prepare a Copyright Act, but nothing was done. The matter was raised again by the Acting Librarian in 1891 and 1894. In 1895 Mr W. Hutchison, M.H.R. for Dunedin, introduced the Literary Copyright Act requiring the deposit in the Library of two copies of works published in New Zealand. Nothing came of the Bill, which was discharged, though the Library Committee in welcoming it had, however, considered one copy sufficient.

There the matter rested until 1903 when two vigorous supporters of the Library, the Hon. R. McNab and the Hon. John Rigg, introduced the General Assembly Library Bill requiring publishers to present two copies of their books to the Library. The Bill passed without difficulty and became law on 30 October 1903. Though there was some argument whether the Act required the deposit of issues of periodicals, the Act was generally welcomed, and increased the amount of New Zealand material reaching the Library.

There has been little change in the provisions affecting deposit, though the previous Act is no longer in force, and has been replaced by section 52 of the Copyright Act 1913.

In the 55 years during which deposit has been required the Library has taken its responsibility for preservation seriously and now possesses thousands of volumes not only of books, but of newspapers, periodicals, and pamphlets. In addition, every attempt has been made to obtain material which for various reasons was not obtained at the time of publication. While not by any means perfect, the New Zealand collection of the Library is probably without equal.

THE LIBRARIANS

Mr Charles Wilson had a considerable interest in literature as such and contributed a literary column to a Wellington weekly for many years. Though he had an excellent knowledge of literature, library technique generally in New Zealand was not at its best, and not all the work done in the Library was of the highest standard.

He was responsible for further attempts to buy the more important New Zealand books still missing from the Library and for housing them in special cases where they were available for consultation but were not permitted to leave the Library. From this has grown the special New Zealand collection with its own rooms.

Mr Wilson introduced the present system of alternate weekly shifts for the staff working nights. Previously the staff worked broken shifts which meant that some often had "all nighters" without breaks and were called on to make their appearance fairly early the following day. If the House sits late, the present system relieves the night staff when the House rises or at 8 a.m. and they are not required till 5.30 p.m.

Stocktaking was a major task of the staff. The Library did not possess a shelf list and the system used was slow. It did, however, indicate that constant vigilance was necessary--and still is--to prevent books going astray.

Mr James continued as Assistant Librarian until 1923. His later years were marked with frequent periods of illness which told on the standard of his work.

Mr Wilson retired in March 1926 and his successor, Dr G. H. Scholefield, O.B.E., commenced duties in May. He was even then the author of two books on New Zealand and the Pacific and had been New Zealand Press Association representative in London. For the next 22 years the Library was under his care. Hampered by depression and war, the development of the Library was not as rapid as it could have been.

The principal change in the Library during this time was probably in the staff. Members of the staff, mostly in senior positions, had held degrees, but generally they had not been recruited from university graduates and had picked up such library technique as they could at work. A university degree now became essential, and in addition, outside studies of library science were favoured as being of value both to the member of the staff and to the Library. Mr A. D. McIntosh, now head of the Department of External Affairs, for example, was given leave in 1932 after receiving a Carnegie grant to attend the Library School at the University of Michigan.

Dr Scholefield was also responsible for the introduction of women to the staff. Though a Mrs North had been employed as a clerk for six months in 1900, the hours of duty had made the Library a man's world. In 1926 Miss Q. B. Cowles, from the Turnbull Library, was the first of the many young ladies who since then have been members of the staff.

The other change was in the reference service. The Library came to be called on more and more for research and information. These calls came not only from members of Parliament, but also from Government Departments and from the public. The staff naturally had to be more highly trained to carry out these tasks and had to spend more time to answer the inquiries. After Mr McIntosh's return the reference staff was reorganised and a collection of quick reference books made. In addition, not only did the staff carry out research but it began to summarise and rewrite the results of its research ready for immediate use by honourable members.