Once again there has been an increase in the reference questions to
which the Library staff has had to attend. One thousand seven hundred
and seventy-seven inquiries were made, an increase of 322 over the
previous year. Of these, 563 were answered in less than five minutes,
569 took between five and 15 minutes, and the remainder, 645, took over
15 minutes to answer. This statement of times does not record the fact
that many of the inquiries took much longer than 15 minutes. Indeed
some had several days spent on them by one or more members of the
reference staff. Such questions are not answered by merely marking a
passage in a book or two; they require the material to be abstracted
and rewritten ready for use by the member making the inquiry. This
service is becoming increasingly popular with members who cannot
themselves afford the time needed to do all the research involved.
Seventy-eight new research students registered for the first time
during the year, the largest number yet to have done so in any one
year. Some are university students working on theses; others are
engaged on research for publication. The use of the Library in this way
shows how valuable its resources are for many students.