During the year 54 camps or stations received visits from the book van, in addition to one receiving hamper service from the Christchurch office. Altogether 7,691 books are on loan to such places.
[HOSPITAL AND INSTITUTIONAL SERVICE]
Visits have continued from the book vans to 12 general hospitals with an exchange of 1,405 books. Twelve mental hospitals received 3,910 books and 13 prisons 3,125 books. During the year assistance has been given to the Department of Justice in book and periodical selection.
Difficulties occur from time to time in connection with the service to prisons and mental hospitals. They arise from the lack of supervision of these libraries by trained library staff. Officers engaged in other duties are not in a position to organise the full service which would be of such benefit to patients and prisoners.
From the special TB collection 1,620 books were exchanged at four-monthly intervals for 15 sanatoria and tuberculosis wards of public hospitals. Three hundred and thirteen books were sent on request (250 non-fiction and 63 fiction). Sixty-four requests could not be fulfilled as the required books were not available through the stock or through purchase, and the resources of other collections are not used for these borrowers.
[LOAN COLLECTIONS]
Collections of books, pamphlets, and periodicals to illustrate particular subjects are available for short periods not only to affiliated libraries but also to university and the larger public libraries.
USE OF LOAN COLLECTIONS
| Year ended 31 March | ||
| 1957 | 1958 | |
| Number of collections sent | 628 | 640 |
| Number of books included | 26,667 | 26,645 |