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In connection with the first of these a bulletin was issued, and, with the interested co-operation of the Government Printing Office, the desire was realized of making it an especially fine piece of printing in itself. Many favourable comments were received from correspondents abroad upon this enterprise. (4) Copying of Manuscript. Although for some years the practice of copying manuscript, both that on loan and in the library's possession, has been followed, it is becoming more and more apparent that it is the best form in which to have original material. Obviously the readability is improved considerably, and the thorough and discerning indexing makes it simple in use. Several of the volumes of missionary letters and journals lent to the library by the London Church Missionary Society have been copied during the year. Those of William Puckey and Benjamin Ashwell covering the years 1831-1868 give an account of the founding of the settlements at Kaitaia and Lower Waikato ; John A. Wilson lived at Tauranga, Opotiki, Puriri, and Auckland, and gives an account of each, as well as a very interesting record of the Maori Wars. He accompanied Governor Grey to Taranaki in 1861 to offer peace to the insurgents, and was instrumental in securing better treatment for prisoners of war. These deal with a similar period, 1833-1865. The copying of other missionary letters is continuing, especially those of Spencer, who was stationed at Rotorua, and Baker, of Turanga (Gisborne). In addition, the manuscript letters of F. E. Maning, the author of " Old New Zealand," are being put into more readable form. Maning was a Native Land Court Commissioner, and his witty, delightful letters cover the period from 1872 till the date of his death, about ten years later. Another valuable addition to the manuscript of the library was the unpublished work written by George Pritchard, British Consul at Tahiti at the beginning of last century, giving an account of the aggressions of the French in the Society Islands. It is a most important and authoritative mass of information, easily consulted now that it has been typed and indexed. The journal of Charles J. Pharazyn, describing life on a sheep-farm in 1842 and 1843, has been completed ; likewise the journal and letters of Captain Frederick G. Moore, who came to New Zealand in 1841, traded round the coasts, and was present at the establishment of Nelson. This journal also gives some account of journeys into the interior from Nelson, when the first surveys were being made. (5) Alterations, &c. Demands upon the book accommodation required much rearrangement as a consequence of the acquisition of the Kinsey Collection. Special funds were made available for alterations and for further steel shelving, and provision was made for a new reading-room that improves reading facilities. About a thousand volumes of general reference are on open access here, with a selection of recent accessions. Thus far about half of the Kinsey Collection is satisfactorily shelved, but the rest will receive attention in the coming year. A special room has been devoted to the art section, so that reference in a field of growing interest is facilitated. (6) Staff. Two additions to the staff were made during the year, and this help makes for a more economic use of the personnel. Work can be better delegated, and new activities, such as indexing of certain important material (as distinct from its cataloguing), is now within reach. In May, 1936, Mr. Johannes C. Andersen, appointed delegate to the P.E.N, conference at Buenos Aires, was granted leave to go abroad to England and the Continent pursuing to some extent at the same time literary and library interests. He was away nearly six months and made a number of contacts of use to the library, and from which already benefit has come in the form of donations. Mr. Andersen's resignation, tendered some time before, at the end of the financial year, took effect and the staff, both present and past, together with representatives of the Department of Internal Affairs, gathered to bid him farewell after his fifty years of service to the State, nineteen of which have been spent in the Turnbull Library. How it has prospered in these years the annual reports in the past have recorded, and the esteem in which the library is now widely held bear witness. (7) Donations. When Sir Joseph Kinsey died at Christchurch in May, 1936, he left a large and splendid collection of books which Lady Kinsey has now handed over to the State for custody in the Turnbull Library. It is difficult properly to assess the true worth of this collection, for, being a " collector's library," it partakes of other than a reference interest. Thus the material that appears spectacular is not necessarily that which a reference library uses a great deal. The measure of a library's value is the extent to which cultural education of a useful or entertaining nature can be provided for its readers, and in considering the Kinsey collection it is apparent that it is in the rank and file of this army of books that its strength reposes. The Polar and Butler groups are splendid, but of use only to the specialized research worker. The former is increasing in general interest without doubt, but the true worth of the Kinsey library is its wide range of art reference material. If in this there is special emphasis it is on, oriental art, and, moreover, the general group of Japan is quite appreciable. It is relevant here to remark that the works of Lafcadio Hearn are present in good force. Apart from the demand in the Turnbull Library for New Zealand and literary material it is observed that the art books are most frequently studied. There is an increasing interest for these books, and to meet it a rough catalogue of 1,200 entries, mostly of hitherto unlisted material, has been compiled for more convenient reference.

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