Library Scheme
p. 42 · Read in the full issue
Ambitious Plans for Australia’s Islands Territories
National Library at Canberra has -*■ prepared and submitted to the Federal Government for early approval an am bitious scheme for distributing books to 10,000 white people in Papua, New Guinea, Nauru, and North Australia.
The plans were developed by the Com monwealth Parliamentary Librarian (Mr.
K. Binns) after his recent visit to Papua and the Mandated Territory. The project will be financed to the extent of 7,500 dol lars (about £1,800) over three years by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and by a Commonwealth Government subsidy on a pound for pound basis.
Shipping lines, air services, and existing libraries in the Islands territories have promised to co-operate in the distribution of books. Special precautions are to be taken to protect the volumes against the almost incredible ravages of insects and mildew. In many cases books left unpro tected are destroyed overnight, and to pre vent this the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research is preparing a special preservative lacquer with which the books will be painted.
Owing to the danger of introducing tropical insect pests and infectious skin diseases from Papua and New Guinea, books once sent there from Canberra will not be permitted to return to Australia.
Rev. F. O. Theile, director of the Ger man Lutheran Mission in New Guinea, re turned to Australia in mid-November from a tour of Europe and America.
Mr. H. Klee, superintendent engineer for W. R. Carpenter and Co. at Rabaul, arrived in Sydney from New Guinea on November 19 by the Nellore.