=23. Duties of Committees.=--To a considerable extent these are fixed by the delegation of powers granted and the standing orders adopted. But there are certain broad principles which should be observed by library committees in the ultimate interest of their work. The chief of these is that the committee is concerned rather with library policy than with library administration; with what shall be done rather than with how it shall be done. The administration, planning, arrangement, methods, etc., of a library are technical matters purely appertaining to the librarian; and many libraries are stultified by well-meant and conscientious interference in details of this character by library committees. The committee has the right, and it is its duty, to expect the results of its policy to be visibly effective in the library service, but it should confide the means of obtaining those results to its librarian; only in this way can the special training which librarians now bring to their work be made of maximum use to the community. With the modifications implied in these principles the duties of the committee cover: 1. General oversight of buildings, staff and the work of the various departments of the library. 2. Careful supervision of the selection of books. 3. Compilation and revision of public rules and regulations. 4. Regular checking of accounts and expenditures, including those of all officers. 5. Regular meetings on fixed dates. 6. Every member of committee should become acquainted with the elements of public library administration, and for this purpose should possess copies of all the live Acts of Parliament. =24.= To cover the work effectively, various sub-committees are necessary, which should be small, but large enough to give each member of the committee an actual interest in some definite department of library work. Usually the sub-committees appointed include a _Book_ Sub-Committee, which undertakes the examining of all lists of books suggested for purchase; an _Accounts_ Sub-Committee, to which all financial matters are committed; and a _Staff_ Sub-Committee, which is concerned with the appointment, dismissal, remuneration, and training of the employees. Some of the large libraries have a _Buildings_ Sub-Committee to regulate the proper maintenance of library properties; _Lectures and Extension_ Sub-Committee; _Branches_ Sub-Committee; and such other groupings as the local circumstances warrant. In most cases, however, the needs of the authority are met by the three sub-committees first-named; and the multiplying of sub-committees is not desirable where there is not enough business to keep them interested and occupied. BIBLIOGRAPHY =25. Adoption of Acts:= Fovargue, H. W. Adoption of the Public Libraries Acts in England and Wales. 1896. (L.A. Series, No. 7.) Greenwood, T. Public Libraries, 1891, p. 76. Library Association. The Establishment of Public Libraries, 1909.