544 PROCEEDINGS OP SECTION I. 



on the practice obtaining in England), that the Library should be 

 both circulating and reference, and that a subsidy from the railway 

 funds would he requii-ed. 



The Commissioners promptly approved of the proposals, and 

 very generously gave a subsidy of <£300 — £200 for the purchase 

 of books and £100 for furniture, etc. In addition to this subsidy 

 they gave the free use of premises — two commodious rooms-— one a 

 Library, the other a Reading Room, adjacent to the Spencer- 

 street Railway Station, and also allowed many minor facilities, 

 free transit of book parcels, &c., &c. On it being pointed out by 

 the representatives of the Library that the supply of literature 

 was inadequate for the number of subscribers, within the last 

 month they readily gave a second subsidy of £300, making a 

 total of £600. Roughly stated, the income from subscriptions is 

 £250 per annum, so that tJie Victorian Railways General Library, 

 now in existence Kve months, started with a credit of £850 ; 

 £300 of this sum is as yet unspent, for the balance the catalogue 

 shews a total of 2,500 volumes, exclusive of the usual supply of 

 pamphlet, magazine, and periodical literature. About five hundred 

 of these are for reference, comprising woi'ks on the various arts 

 and sciences. Cyclopaedias, Dictionaries, Catalogues, Guides, and 

 Proceedings of Societies, while the 2,000 in the circulating branch 

 include Arts and Sciences, Biography, Fiction, History, Miscel- 

 laneous, Natural History, Poetry and the Drama, Religion, 

 and Voyages and Travels, under a systematic classification — A, B, 

 C, D, E, iP, G, J, and K. 



The number of subscribers now enrolled is 1,080, and these are 

 scattered all over the colony, many being found in survey parties 

 in the remotest coi'ners of the "bush"; about three hundred 

 parcels of books are sent to these country subscribers each month, 

 many of these parcels consist of several works, and it is very 

 creditable to the traffic authorities who supervise the transit, that 

 during the five months the library has been in existence not a 

 single loss has occurred. 



I suppose it is seldom the public take thought of the lonely 

 life a stationmaster or porter leads hnndreds of miles away from 

 centres of population, where he may have only some two trains 

 a day to attend to (for some people station masters and porters 

 only exist — like the donkey — to be kicked), but this same public 

 is certainly aware of the solace and comfort to be derived from 

 a good book. Employes of all ranks, no matter where they may be 

 in the colony, can, for the very moderate subscription fee, avail 

 themselves of the books (which will shortly be increased in number 

 to 4,000 volumes), and thereby begile the tedium of their hours, 

 while adding to their stock of knowledge ; when this is considered 

 no explanation is necessary to make the general public understand 

 the great value of a large and comprehensive library in connection 

 with railway services. 



