ble.

The reasons for the expansion of the Library can be found in the
increased interest in libraries generally, and in the increased vote
which resulted. The fund received L600 until 1920 when it was raised to
L800. It was reduced to L700 in 1922 and remained at that figure until
1929 when it was raised to L900, though it suffered the depression
cuts.

These amounts were not sufficient to adequately finance the purchase of
books needed for the service the Library was expected to give, and in
1938 the grant was once again raised, this time to L1,250. Further
increases were made in 1947 (L2,000), 1949 (L2,250), 1952 (L3,000), and
1955 (L4,500).

In addition there has been considerable expansion in the exchange
arrangements, Government publishing having increased considerably in
the United Kingdom and the United States. Arrangements for the exchange
of official publications with Australia were made in 1952, while during
1957 the Canadian Government made the General Assembly Library a select
depository for its publications.

Another source of material for the Library has been by gift either of
individual books or of collections. They have been many and varied, and
it is safe to say that the Library would not possess the wide variety
of stock it does had it not been for the kindness and generosity of
many donors.

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT

The Copyright Act has also provided the Library with an increasing
amount of material. Like so many other of the Library's activities,
this was foreshadowed in the days when James Collier was Librarian. In
his report for 1888, he suggested that the time was ripe for the
enacting of a Colonial Copyright Act. Whatever was done about this
there was one thing that ought to be done immediately and that was the
passing of a law making provision for the deposit of one copy of every
colonial publication in a central library, which library could only be
the Parliamentary Library.

A letter was written from the chairman of the Library Committee to the
Premier asking for instructions to be given to the Solicitor-General to
prepare a Copyright Act, but nothing was done. The matter was raised
again by the Acting Librarian in 1891 and 1894. In 1895 Mr W.
Hutchison, M.H.R. for Dunedin, introduced the Literary Copyright Act
requiring the deposit in the Library of two copies of works published
in New Zealand. Nothing came of the Bill, which was discharged, though
the Librar