LIBRARIAN’S REPORT. 
———— 
The Chief Librarian, who was appointed to his office in May 1909, 
and commenced his duties on the first of June following, respectfully 
submits a report of the work of his department during the past year. 
The appended tables of statistics shew the extent and variety of the 
work accomplished, and will bear favourable comparison with the 
statistics of preceding years. The total issues of volumes in the 
Reference and Lending Libraries amount to 3,032,825. In addition 
to that large number the estimated issues of periodicals in the 
Reading Rooms reached the total of 1,660,777, and 1,536,369 
persons visited the rooms to read the newspapers. 
The issues in the Picton Reading Room shew an increase which 
would undoubtedly have been larger if statistics could have been 
taken of the use of the books exhibited on the occasions of the Darwin, 
Tennyson, Johnson and Gladstone centenaries. There was also a 
large selection of books on Finance, Political Kconomy, and Consti- 
tutional History placed on open shelves in the Reference Library 
at the time when those subjects were occupying the attention of the 
public. The books were regularly used, and if they had not been thus 
placed at the disposal of the readers, many of them would have been 
applied for over the counter and included in the statistics of issues. 
The decrease of issues in the Brown Reading Room is partly 
explained by the fact that the Room was closed for three weeks for 
painting. 
The Staffs of the Reference and Branch Libraries were actively 
engaged for a period of four months in stock-taking, of which a report 
was submitted to the Committee in the Autumn. 
For many years senior members of the Reference Library Staft 
have been so much occupied in organising Branch Libraries and 
compiling their catalogues that the Catalogue of the Reference 
: Library had not received sufficient attention. A Sub-Committee was 
