Despite the apparently respectable and almost universal wearing of hats, social restrictions on readers at Wellington Public Library in the 1930s resulted in gender segregation. This photograph by Gordon H. Burt (1893-1968) is of the first purpose-built library on the corner of Wakefield and Mercer Streets, opened in 1893 and demolished in 1946. Since then its successor has been recycled into the City Art Gallery, and the library now operates from a striking building, enhanced by metal nikau palms, designed by well-known Wellington architect Ian Athfield. Gordon Burt Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, NZ, reference number F-117797-1/2-)