Anegada's New Library Inaugurated

The Library Services Department is on the move and by the year 2000 will be a centre of excellence, providing information to meet the educational, recreational and cultural needs of the citizens of the British Virgin Islands, a senior Library Services Department official said last Friday. Many, especially the residents of Anegada, have waited for these changes to affect the Anegada Library. Mrs. Janice Nibbs-Blyden, Acting Deputy Chief Librarian, has been the person responsible for this library for over 15 years and she was on hand March 24th to deliver the welcome address at the official re-opening of the Anegada Community Library.

"I hoped and I planned and I dreamed, but not even in my wildest dreams did I envision something to the standard of the library that we will be dedicating this morning," she began. The Deputy Chief Librarian said the new library is a place to be proud of, a place where residents of Anegada can go, not only to find information from books and magazines, but on the Internet as well. However, she noted that merely having this library will not suffice and encourage the Anegada community to make good use of the facility. The Library Services Department of the British Virgin Islands started in 1943 and comprises five branches in Road Town and East End, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke and Anegada. Mrs. Greenaway said they intend to provide the informational needs of residents and visitors alike and their collection is in the form of books, videos, journals, magazines, audio books, CDs and the Internet. The services offered include access to fiction and non-fiction books, periodical titles, reference research, a West Indian collection, women's studies, government reports, monthly displays on current topics, Internet access and after school programmes.

"In 1999, the Library started an outreach programme which is designed to exactly reach out to the people of the BVI and by that we mean, we are going out to the community as opposed to waiting for them to come to us," the Acting Chief Librarian explained. She said the Library Services Department wants to offer the public its services and solicits the cooperation of everyone in its quest to better serve. Providing a historical review, prominent Anegada resident Mrs. Romalia Smith took us back to when and how library services really started on that island. She noted that the books were donated by Anegadians in the United States and the first librarians were two housewives - Mrs. White and Mrs. Faulkner. She spoke of its beginnings from a tiny bookcase in the Anegada Methodist School "when books were scarce as gold and used and treated with care" to three bookcases in a Community Centre. "Many years later, today, a new day has dawned and today we celebrate and welcome the Anegada branch of the Community Library, with its first real opening and a new beginning," Mrs. Smith concluded.

Chief Minister and Parliamentary Representative for Anegada the Honourable Ralph T. O'Neal said he has always thought that a Community Centre was not the place for a library and so, he was delighted to see the opening of the new library in this building. He emphasized that whatever is done today must be of the best, whether it is done on Anegada, Jost Van Dyke, Virgin Gorda or Tortola. "The government will try and do the best for the people of the territory and in this, there will be no exception." The Chief Minister discounted criticisms of the library's location, a long distance away and near the Electricity Corporation's power station. "I don't think so...the noise factor can be dealt with." He stressed that the library must be a place where people can go in, students especially can go in and read, they can go in and make their notes, they can do their research, but it is also necessary for visitors to the island to be able to go in to the library and also read about our place, people and culture. "Here in Anegada, our library must be the repository of poems...here is where the visitors to these islands should read about the 1949 demonstration in Road Town...how can visitors and even our people here know about the bounteous gifts that we have here in Anegada - the coral reefs, the white sandy beaches, the wildlife, the natural beauty and so on," Hon. O'Neal stated.

He also suggested that libraries, now aptly called Resource Centres, must not only have books but videos, Internet and other services available. The District Rep. noted that Anegadians are famous for reading and the school has been achieving quite a lot because its students not only read schoolbooks but other books as well. "I sincerely hope that your library will be kept well stocked and that you would make use of it," he told residents, adding that the services would have to be continually upgraded in order to keep abreast of developments as they happen. Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Health, Education and Welfare the Honourable Eileene Parsons was doubly pleased to address the opening ceremony, in her capacity as Minister and as a former Librarian herself in the 1950s. "This is an occasion that we have all been anticipating, as I am fully aware of the delays that the Library staff has had to endure to get to this point," she began. Mrs. Parsons noted that libraries are an integral part of every educational infrastructure and of the communities they serve, providing the materials to support the educational system. She mentioned that Anegada has enjoyed the benefits of library services since the 1960s under the capable supervision of such persons as Mrs. Iva Wheatley, the late Mrs. Venetia Faulkner, Mrs. Marguerita Clinton and Mrs. Norma Vanterpool. She noted that a hardworking library committee and members of the Anegada Progressive League in the United States also played a significant role in the development of library services on the island. "As the demand for the Emile E. Dunlop Community Centre increased, it was necessary to find a more permanent home for the community library," the Education Minister recalled. She noted a suitable site that would allow for the expansion of services was not readily available until recently. She said preliminary procedures that were necessary to prepare and procure the site took more time than anticipated. "Nevertheless, in recognition of the efforts of the past and present library staff and all those persons who contributed to the service and in recognition of our responsibility to provide such facilities for the community, re-opening of the library became a must."

She used the opportunity to congratulate the library staff for their hard work and perseverance. Hon. Parsons said the new library would allow for expansion of services to include a regular children's after school programme, additional reference and reading materials, a local history collection, tourism information for visitors and in the near future, photocopying and Internet access. Among the other dignitaries at the ceremony were Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Culture Mrs. Josephine Callwood and Chief Education Officer Mr. Angel Smith. Staff of the Library Services Department, Teachers and students of the Anegada School and other residents of the island were also on hand, including the reigning Miss BVI Tausha Vanterpool. The Anegada School Band provided entertainment. The new library was dedicated by Mrs. Phyllis George and Ms. Desne Vanterpool cut the ribbon. The library is located in the Bellansita Creque Building and the librarian is Mrs. Marguerita Clinton, who delivered the vote of thanks at the ceremony. Mr. Ira Smith gave the invocation.