Through the lenses of A Librarian of the Caribbean

Have you ever wanted to see libraries and library services in the Caribbean through the eyes of a visitor to the region? What if that visitor were also a librarian?

For the last few months I have been viewing Caribbean librarianship through the eyes of an expatriate librarian resident in St. Kitts. Owen, also known as A St. Kitts Librarian, blogs at A Librarian of the Caribbean. His blog is an interesting intersection of responses to cultural and societal norms as they impact both his personal and professional life. Highly recommended read.

Links

I am pleased to link my readers to one of my favourite blogs, Repeating Islands, which is celebrating its second anniversary. This blog is an excellent Caribbean resource. It provides information on the culture, literature and art of the Anglophone, French, Spanish and Dutch countries. Have a look.

Anguilla Public Library

I visited several libraries over the summer of 2010 and the Anguilla Public Library was my last stop.

The building, the Edison L Hughes Library and Education Complex, was constructed in 1997 and houses the public library, the Teachers' Resource Centre along with a large auditorium, an audiovisual unit and small meeting rooms. The library seems to be well integrated into the educational system.


There is a well lit and spacious circulations area.


Here is another view of that circulations area. Note the display rack with both print and electronic resources.


This is the non fiction area.


And here is the fiction area.


One of the campuses of the The Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive school (ALHCS) is located on the other side of the street from the library. On the day I visited there were a number of students from the school using the library. A few students were using the children's section of the library.


Some others were using the computers.


In addition to a Reference section,


there are dedicated areas for the Caribbean



and the Anguillan collections.

I really enjoyed my visit at the Anguilla Public Library. The staff was really accommodating and I appreciated their willingness to help.

Nevis Public Library

I cannot believe that it has been two months since I updated this blog. Wow, time flies.

The Nevis Public Library in the capital, Charlestown, was another one of my stops this last summer. Here are some photos of the building and its space. The architecture is incredible!

This is the exterior of the building which was once used to house slaves before they were taken to the square next door to be auctioned off.



The library occupies the upper level of the buiding. The clock which is still functioning has been in the tower has been there from the 1800s I am told.



Here is what you see as you enter the building.



This is basically the extent of the library. As with most libraries, there are space contraints. And yes, the staff was very helpful.



Here is another look with a bit more of the roof visible. Note those incredible beams!



Here is a closer look at those beams.



The architecture and history of this library building is fascinating. However, because in the Caribbean many libraries do no occupy purpose built facilities, library administrators are forced to adapt the space allocated to suit the requirements of the libary. Though that was obviously done in this case, the history of the building is still evident. What a remarkable teaching opportunity!

I truly enjoyed my visit to the library and to Nevis as a whole.

Web 2.0 vs Web 3.0

I am very enthusiastic about Web 2.0 and all that it has come to mean. I have done several presentations on Web 2.0 and Libraries in Barbados and the wider Caribbean region. But when I saw this I could not help but laugh.


(Sorry I do not have the original source.)

Sometimes we take ourselves too seriously. This is a reminder that perspective is everything.

St. Kitts Public Library

I visited the St Kitts Public Library back in April.



These school children were attending story hour while I was here.



Their enthusiasm brought a smile to my face.



Here are some other photographs of the inside of the library.





The library appeared to be quite spacious.







And here is the entrance.



I really enjoyed my visit to St. Kitts Public Library. The staff was very accommodating and resourceful. Kudos to them.

Montserrat Public Library

I visited Montserrat in April. Lovely, lush country. The public library was on my to-do-list and I was not disappointed. The library is making use of technology with Alexandria for its ILS and a bank of public computers which are heavily used by patrons. Here are some photos of the library.

This is the adult lending section.



And this is the children's section.



And here is a look at the exterior.



This library is situated at Brades. Brades was anticipated to be the new town to replace the volcano ravaged Plymouth. The Government has however chosen Little Bay to be the new town centre.



It is in this area of Little Bay that a new library, museum and archives will be located.



Sounds good to me. Hopefully it will come to fruition soon.