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.

Dr Scholefield, with his keen interest in biography, was instrumental in obtaining for the Library many collections of personal papers of New Zealand statesmen. Among these are the papers of Sir John Hall, William Rolleston, and Sir Julius Vogel, not to mention the wonderful papers written and collected by the Richmond and Atkinson families over nearly 50 years. These documents are already proving valuable to political and historical scholars.

Dr Scholefield was also Controller of Dominion Archives and for some years these were housed in the Library. During his period as Chief Librarian, in addition to several editions of Who's Who in New Zealand, Dr Scholefield published his monumental Dictionary of New Zealand Biography and two other works of biography.

On his retirement in October 1947 Dr Scholefield was succeeded by Mr W. S. Wauchop, m.a., who had joined the staff in 1924 as Assistant Chief Librarian. Freed from the restraints of war, and with a larger grant, the Library expanded rapidly. The Library Committee, which had for some years taken a less important rôle in the control of the Library, once again came to the fore. It was instrumental in obtaining much needed space and assisting generally in the progress which took place.

Mr Wauchop was also responsible for obtaining the microfilm camera which is today reducing the bulk of New Zealand newspapers received in the Library to manageable proportions for storage. Great steps forward were also taken in the indexing of New Zealand newspapers and for the first time in its history the Library had a complete index to all news in two (later three) of the more important newspapers in the Dominion. Mr Wauchop retired at the beginning of 1955.

FIRE AND FIRE INSURANCE

No history would be complete without some mention of the fire of the early morning of 11 December 1907 which destroyed most of Parliament Buildings. It began in the old portion formerly occupied by the Library at about 2 a.m. and rapidly spread to the Legislative Council on one side and the House of Representatives on the other. Both these portions were of wood and burned fiercely.

Though the Library was in the brick portion, fire danger had still been considered to be great so that earlier in the year the stackroom windows overlooking the courtyard had been bricked up. In addition, the entrance door was protected by a steel blind.

It appeared at first that the Library was in no danger and no attempt was made to remove books. Eventually, about 4 a.m. the roof of the new committee rooms and entrance was in danger of catching alight, and Mr Wilson decided to clear the building. With the help of some of the staff and the general public, some 15,000 volumes were taken either to the Government Buildings or to houses in Hill Street. Though the rear portion of brick with wooden floors and partitions caught fire about 5 a.m. and damage was done to the roof, the Library was seen to be in no further danger and the clearance was stopped.

Some slight damage was done to these books, but insurance covered this, and generally little damage was done to the Library itself. The removal of the wooden portion has reduced the risk of fire considerably, and although the rear portion still has wooden floors, little of value is stored here. If any future outbreak occurred it is probable that more damage would be done by water. To prevent this a large drain was recently made in the basement to allow water to escape readily.

After the fire there was some discussion on the possibility of using the reading room as the Chamber of the House of Representatives, but Government House was finally chosen. The brick building was repaired and a covered access way provided across Sydney Street from the Library to the Chamber.

At the time of the fire the Library was insured for £4,000, a small portion of its true value. This insurance was continued until 1928 when the cover was raised to £10,000, still much below the cost of replacement. In 1942, with the introduction of war damage insurance and the consequent increase of premiums, it was decided that the Library should, like other Government Departments, not be insured, the Government carrying the risk itself.

GENERAL

Circulation of Books

The first library rules that can be discovered today are those for 1869. Though it is certain that borrowing was permitted before this, members were permitted by these rules to borrow two books for a period of