vourable consideration of
the proposals contained in the report on 11 April 1958.

In the meantime the work of the Royal Commission on Local Government
Finance is being followed carefully, as its findings will have
considerable bearing on the problem of library finance.

An effort is also being made to foster among local authorities the
willingness to cooperate, but progress in this field is slow.

_National Library Proposal_--The report of the Working Party of the
Public Service Commission on the National Library proposal was earlier
considered by the Government, which had approved it in principle. The
House of Representatives last year approved the terms of reference of a
Select Committee to be appointed to make recommendations for "ways and
means of carrying out the decision of the Government to establish a
National Library" and to consider various other associated matters. The
decision to appoint such a Committee was reaffirmed in February 1958,
the Committee was named shortly afterwards and has since met on several
occasions. Independently of any solution of the accommodation problems
of the Service which such a move might bring, the proposal merits the
most careful consideration.

_Book Stock_--During the year, 19,283 fiction and 35,573 non-fiction
were added to stock, a total of 54,856. Of these, 10,442 separate titles
of non-fiction and 205 fiction titles were added to the headquarters
collection, which now contains approximately 135,000 titles together
with 11,000 volumes of periodicals; 15,305 volumes were
withdrawn--12,134 fiction and 3,171 non-fiction--making the net
additions 39,551. The total of headquarters and Country Library Service
stock now amounts to 652,308, comprising 176,600 fiction and 475,708
non-fiction. As at 31 March 1958 the stock of the School Library Service
was 1,091,189 the grand total of stock in the Service as a whole being
1,743,497.

_Request Service_--All libraries and groups receiving library service
from the Country Library Service and all Government Departments may ask
for special short-term loans of books of an informational type from the
headquarters stock of this Service and, in addition, the headquarters
stock is used extensively to satisfy inter-library loan requests. (See
also the report of the Librarian, National Library Centre.)

BOOKS REQUESTED AND SUPPLIED
Year Ended 31 March Increase