and Stations 9
Hospital and Institutional Library Service 9
Loan Collections 10
Periodicals Service 10

School Library Service 10
Loans to Smaller Public Libraries 11
Information and Request Service 11
Book List 11
Assistance to Islands Schools 13

Library School 14

National Library Centre 14
Inter-library Loan 15
Central Bureau for Library Book Imports 15
Libraries of Government Departments 16
Book Resources Committee of the NZLA 16
Union Catalogue 16
Bibliographical Section 16

The Hon. the MINISTER OF EDUCATION.

Wellington, 16 July 1958.

SIR,

I have the honour to submit the following report of the activities of
the National Library Service. The report covers the work of the Service
as a whole and its four divisions--Country Library Service, School
Library Service, Library School, and National Library Centre.

The functions of the Service may be summed up as the provision of such
assistance to any New Zealand library maintained directly or indirectly
from public funds as circumstances and policy permit. More specifically,
help is given by a lending service to rural, borough, and county
libraries, by the provision of books for school libraries, by advancing
professional training through the Library School, and by maintenance of
records of all library holdings of books and periodicals, as well as
other facilities and stock to aid the cooperative use of this material.

The National Library Service was formed in 1945 from the Country Library
Service by Cabinet decision with the strong support of the New Zealand
Library Association. During the war the Country Library Service had been
given responsibility for several tasks of national scope, such as the
War Library Service, the C