"The present Librarian was appointed in 1877, starting with a stock of 3,500 books in the Lending Department and almost none in the Reference Department; whereas the present stock consists of 11,500 for Lending and 5,000 for Reference purposes, about 1,200 of the latter, with 1,650 pamphlets, pictures, &c., being of a local character and purchased with fines imposed for detaining books beyond the time allowed for reading. "The number of borrowers in 1877 was 1,540, whereas the number in 1887 was 3,550; the number of issues of books in the same period increasing from 27,000 to 77,000--about 10,000 of the population of the city over 14 years of age having taken advantage of the boon afforded by this department." The report draws attention to an increase in the hours of the lending library, which hitherto had been 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m., to 11 a.m. till 9 p.m. every week-day except Thursday. The establishment of a juvenile department as a means of stimulating interest in the Library was one of the first suggestions made by Mr. Easter after his appointment, and although the Committee did not entertain it then he did not abandon it, and the subject was raised in the press and in Committee in 1885. As a result the Mayor, Mr. John Gurney, who was keenly interested in the proposal, offered to give 100 pounds on condition that an additional 150 pounds was raised, but he died before the establishment of the scheme. The Chairman of the School Board, Mr. (afterwards Sir) George White, who was a member of the Committee, promised to raise the matter at a School Board Meeting, but the scheme, to be financed by public subscription, did not come to fruition until 1889. In that year the total amount of subscriptions reached 276 pounds : 14 : 9, and 3,667 volumes suitable for juveniles were obtained. Batches of books were forwarded to every elementary school in the City, and the head teacher in each was made responsible for the distribution of the books to the scholars in standards IV and upwards. The tables published in the annual report for the year ending March 1890 show that 3,621 books were sent to 38 schools, and that the total issues for the first seven months was 52,312. In the report for the year ending March 1893 the Committee reported: "The Juvenile Department having proved a source of labour and cost much beyond what was anticipated, a Sub-Committee appointed to report on the subject recommended that the School Board should be asked to contribute to the expense of repair and renewal of books, and to urge upon their staff increased care and vigilance in the management of the Department. This expense the Board report they are unable legally to incur. Pending this decision the distribution of the books was suspended, but the Committee have now decided to continue the circulation for another twelve months."