December 1958 School Magazine

.Brisbane Girlsl Gl'ammar School Magazine

DecE>mber, 1958

December, 1958

:Brisban& Girlsl Grammar School Magazine

The books were arranged alphabetically- under authors; there was a time limit for keeping out books, a fine being im- posed on offenders; and a mending committee was already in -existence. By the end of that year the location of the library had been a ltered. "In the place it once occupied now stand p lebeian wash basins and instead of the modest seclusion once enjoyed behind closed doors, it now stands ever open to the common gaze, and, we are storry to say, also to the common touch." In 1888 the Library had been kept in a corner of the upstairs corridor; early in this century, the Library had been moved to the Northern wall of the room opening off the Assembly Hall- where it remained until the installation of the cloakroom and wash basins. It was then moved to the other side of this present IIIB room. This room remained the Library room until the be- ginning of 1958, despite the inconvenience caused by the use of the room as first a Studio and later a classroom. By the time of the School's Jubilee in 1925, there were over 800 books in the Fiction Library, while the Relference Library was "a lso very good". The Library was open, with Fifth Form in charge, from 12.55 p.m. till 1.25 p.m. each day. By December, 1925, a momentous step forward had occurred. Miss Beanland, who had died in England, in May, 1925, had left a bequest of approximately £500, "to be used by ihe Trustees for benefit of the pupils of her old beloved school." The Trustees decided to invest this money and with the interest provide both the Sophia Beanland Prizes for Eng- lish and Modern Languages and books for the Library, "which will continue in fitting proportion with the ever-growing school." The magazine of December, 1925, comments: "A good library is something that all schools long for, generally in vain, for books are extremely expensive things. So we of the Brisbane Girls' Grammar School should be most grateful for the kind ihought of the lady who left us this sum of money, and also to the Trustees who are puLing it to such good use. And future generations o£ Grammar School girls will bless Miss Beanland's name." Therefore, in 1926 a change in the organization of the Library resulted. A constitution provided for a Committee, the Beanland Memorial Library Committee, formed primarily in connection with the management of moneys and to take 56

charge of the existing library." This Committee consisted of a President and Vice-President, from the Staff, and representa- iives of Sixth, Fifth and Fourth Forms. The first Vice-President was Miss Lyons, an appreciation of whose work for the Library was recorded in the magazine of December, 1927. The position of President was filled by the Headmistress and so, until her retirement in 1952, the Committee was guided by Miss Lilley, whose scholarship and love of literature, and whose power to energize girls to read widely, wisely and well , influenced all who passed through the School and used its Library. In December, 1926, the new Committee had £35 in the bank, planned to recatalogue the Library, kept a Library Sug- gestion Book, and reported an increased interest in the Library, especially in the Lower School. From then on the records mention many presentations to the Library: from girls leaving schooL ("as we cannot all be remembered by leaving our names on the Honour Board, and to carve them anywhere else is not done, the most effective way to perpetuate them is by presenting an interesting book to the Library"), from old girls and other well wishers . A special record of donors to the Library was begun in 1929. Books were also purchased regu- larly from the Beanland Bequest. The Beanland Memorial Book plate, from a design by Kathleen O 'Neill , an old girl who won the competition for such a design, has been in use since 1933. The difficulty of buying new books during the war years, 1943-44 especially, was recorded. The Library Committee was fortunate to have as its Vice- President from 1928, Mrs. Jackson, by whose wide tastes in reading and ability to inspire others to share her enjoyment of good books read, the number of books in the Library has been increased and the girls in the School have benefited for ihirty years. Books, new and old, were recatalogued and rechecked periodically. In 1936 a date stamp was purchased so that all cards could be stamped before a book could be taken away. Many new magazines were subscribed to. The Third -and Fourth Libraries, located in the form rooms, were begun during the nineteen forties, and since 1956 have been enlarged and the lending from them organized under the enthusiastic and meticulous care of Miss Elliott. 57