Calendar: 1970-1971 Page 409

XXXIV Annual Report of the Delegacy new premises at the beginning of the session 1970 71 it became in- creasingly clear as result of the delays in the College's development scheme due to the Government's financial policy towards the univer- sities and because of the increasing losses of books and periodicals from the unsupervised outlying subject libraries that some reappraisal of the allocation of reading-room accommodation in Stage should be undertaken especially in view of pressure for the provision of an ade- quate Medical library This reappraisal showed that if more subject libraries were squeezed into the new accommodation than had origi- nally been intended the entire College library in the Strand apart from the Laws library which was already supervised and was in any case to be accommodated separately on the Embankment front could be contained in Stage accommodation and the existing General Library area Such rationalisation of the available space would effect fairer partition of reading-room accommodation during the period before the completion of the second half of the new Library and would enable the Librarian to exercise proper control over the use of the books in his charge It would be possible to keep the entire Library open in the even- ings and in vacation Library staff would be more readily available to assist readers and readers would have easier access to libraries in subjects other than their own wider circulation of books through the reintroduction of fortnightly loan period and the introduction of computerised system for recording loans and identifying overdue books were envisaged This scheme was welcomed in principle by the Library Committee and the Professorial Board and to permit its implementa- tion the Steering Committee was asked to consider the possibility of making the whole of the present General Library area available for Library purposes after the occupation of Stage In the meantime the Botany library was moved to the first stage of the new Biological Sciences library at Half Moon Lane and small new library was set up at the Rogate Field Station Library income and expenditure were substantially matched in this second year of the quinquennium during which the Library grant is expected to remain constant The reserve which the Library Com- mittee has retained to provide for the annual increase in expenditure of 125 per cent referred to in last year's report will last for two years provided that no new demands are made on Library services but clearly some supplementation of the grant will be necessary in the final year of the quinquennium to maintain acquisitions and services at the present level