Mr Charles Wilson had a considerable interest in literature as such and
contributed a literary column to a Wellington weekly for many years.
Though he had an excellent knowledge of literature, library technique
generally in New Zealand was not at its best, and not all the work done
in the Library was of the highest standard.
He was responsible for further attempts to buy the more important New
Zealand books still missing from the Library and for housing them in
special cases where they were available for consultation but were not
permitted to leave the Library. From this has grown the special New
Zealand collection with its own rooms.
Mr Wilson introduced the present system of alternate weekly shifts for
the staff working nights. Previously the staff worked broken shifts
which meant that some often had "all nighters" without breaks and were
called on to make their appearance fairly early the following day. If
the House sits late, the present system relieves the night staff when
the House rises or at 8 a.m. and they are not required till 5.30 p.m.
Stocktaking was a major task of the staff. The Library did not possess
a shelf list and the system used was slow. It did, however, indicate
that constant vigilance was necessary--and still is--to prevent books
going astray.
Mr James continued as Assistant Librarian until 1923. His later years
were marked with frequent periods of illness which told on the standard
of his work.
Mr Wilson retired in March 1926 and his successor, Dr G. H. Scholefield,
O.B.E., commenced duties in May. He was even then the author of two
books on New Zealand and the Pacific and had been New Zealand Press
Association representative in London. For the next 22 years the Library
was under his care. Hampered by depression and war, the development of
the Library was not as rapid as it could have been.
The principal change in the Library during this time was probably in
the staff. Members of the staff, mostly in senior positions, had held
degrees, but generally they had not been recruited from university
graduates and had picked up such library technique as they could at
work. A university degree now became essential, and in addition,
outside studies of library science were favoured as being of value both
to the member of the staff and to the Library. Mr A. D. McIntosh, now
head of the Department of External Affairs, for example, was given
leave in 1932 after receiving a Carnegie grant to attend the Library
School at the University of Michigan.
Dr Scholefield was also responsible for the introduction of women to
the staff. Though a Mrs North had been employed as a clerk for six
months in 1900, the hours of duty had made the Library a man's world.
In 1926 Miss Q. B. Cowles, from the Turnbull Library, was the first of
the many young ladies who since then have been members of the staff.
The other change was in the reference service. The Library came to be
called on more and more for research and information. These calls came
not only from members of Parliament, but also from Government
Departments and from the public. The staff naturally had to be more
highly trained to carry out these tasks and had to spend more time to
answer the inquiries. After Mr McIntosh's return the reference staff
was reorganised and a collection of quick reference books made. In
addition, not only did the staff carry out research but it began to
summarise and rewrite the results of its research ready for immediate
use by honourable members.
Dr Scholefield, with his keen interest in biography, was instrumental
in obtaining for the Library many collections of personal papers of New
Zealand statesmen. Among these are the papers of Sir John Hall, William
Rolleston, and Sir Julius Vogel, not to mention the wonderful papers
written and collected by the Richmond and Atkinson families over nearly
50 years. These documents are already proving valuable to political and
historical scholars.
Dr Scholefield was also Controller of Dominion Archives and for some
years these were housed in the Library. During his period as Chief
Librarian, in addition to several editions of _Who's Who in New
Zealand_, Dr Scholefield published his monumental _Dictionary of New
Zealand Biography_ and two other works of biography.
On his retirement in October 1947 Dr Scholefield was succeeded by Mr W.
S. Wauchop, M.A., who had joined the staff in 1924 as Assistant Chief
Librarian. Freed from the restraints of war, and with a larger grant,
the Library expanded rapidly. The Library Committee, which had for some
years taken a less important rôle in the control of the Library, once
again came to the fore. It was instrumental in obtaining much needed
space and assisting generally in the progress which took place.
Mr Wauchop was also responsible for obtaining the microfilm camera
which is today reducing the bulk of New Zealand newspapers received in
the Library to manageable proportions for storage. Great steps forward
were also taken in the indexing of New Zealand newspapers and for the
first time in its history the Library had a complete index to all news
in two (later three) of the more important newspapers in the Dominion.
Mr Wauchop retired at the beginning of 1955.