New National Public Library to open by end of year

Users of the Kingstown Public Library in Middle Street can expect a smooth transition when the facility and services there are moved to the larger, newer National Public Library at Richmond Hill.{{more}}

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education Nicole Bonadie Baker said that the doors of the facility will remain open while it is preparing for the transition from one location to another.

Officials are looking forward to a year-end official opening.

“The library will be moved in phases. I don’t pretend to be an expert in transition of library services, but the Director of Libraries will assist the Ministry of Education in making that transition possible.”

“The transition to this facility involves two processes: we will rely on the Ministry of Transport and Works to have the finishing touches done on the building and have the cabinets and furniture installed.”

“To complement that, we have at the library a process which has commenced in the past year of cataloging new books and updating the inventory, and making arrangements to have them brought to this facility when the keys are handed over.”

Bonadie Baker made these statements on Monday, September 27, as the Ministers of of Education and Transport and Works, as well as library and other officials, toured the new building, which is part of a $50 million dollar project, and includes the national archives building and a national auditorium.

The Permanent Secretary indicated that the year-long process to procure reading, audio and visual material to fill the many shelves and cabinets will be an ongoing exercise, and that the Ministry has further obtained a list of reading material that was jointly prepared by the Director of Library Services and the Librarian at the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College, with steps already in place to have these books brought into the country.

“As you may be aware, the 2011 budgetary process has commenced and the Ministry of Education will again be making provision to get more material to include in this library, because you will realize that this is quite an extensive building, and I believe it is safe enough for me to say that we will not be able to fill the different cabinets without having several years of input of material.”(JJ)