Page:The Library, volume 5, series 3.djvu/441

 SCOTTISH LIBRARIES. 427 came under the Acts at a later date. With a population of 3,335, the penny rate gives an income of 40, of which the sum of 15 is ex- pended on books (there are no newspapers), leaving only 25 for upkeep. The Carnegie Library at Kinross, opened in 1906, has a total income of 115 from the rate, and at the time of the Parlia- mentary Return (May, 1911) had a deficiency of 16. Numerous examples could be given of other libraries in Scotland where the income cannot possibly meet the legitimate requirements, even when the library buildings have been given by Mr. Carnegie, or by local donors. In the number of the ' Library Association Record ' for March, 1913, there are tables showing all the particulars of minor public libraries in the three Kingdoms, and these tables are full of instruction for those who wish to shape the future policy of the Scottish libraries. There is another aspect of the library question that must be considered viz., when a portion of the library rate has to be applied for the purpose of Museums and Picture Galleries, the difficulties of the Management to avoid bankruptcy are vastly intensified. Only in Aberdeen among Scottish Cities is there a special Museum and Art Galleries rate; all other public Museums and Galleries have to be financed by inroads upon the Library rate. Take Dundee as a notable instance. In the library world, Dundee takes rank after Glasgow and Edinburgh as the most successful institution of the kind. But I think it will be possible to show that Dundee far exceeds either the eastern or the