BVIHS Library Celebrates 25TH Anniversary

From its humble beginnings - "a set of books brought over from the Virgin Islands Secondary School in 1968" - the BVI High School library has grown to be a major data base of information for the thousands of students passing through the institution. The 25th anniversary of the library was observed on Tuesday April 25th, with a ceremony at the school, held during general morning assembly. The theme for the week is "Bridging the Reading Gap in the 21st Century". Educator Mrs. Jennie Wheatley remembers that it was teacher Trevor Parris and student Sheila Hyndman who took on the task of sorting the books that should be kept and those to be thrown out. Mrs. Wheatley said she was later joined by Barbara Robinson, an avid reader and Geography teacher, to open the library to students during the lunch hour and after school. "The Public Library, under the direction of Verna Penn, sent Janice Nibbs to help us organize the school library into the lending library that it is today." She said the library grew largely as a result of donations. "I hope that the library will (now) grow into a proper research centre, where students will be exposed to information, not only through books, but also through every type of communication possible," said Mrs. Wheatley.

Chairing the ceremony on Tuesday, Mrs. Janice Nibbs-Blyden of the Library Services Department said books would always have a special meaning in the lives of everyone. "No matter how far technology goes, I think that the book will always be there as something that you can refer to, a tangible object that you can hold on to, that you can look at, that you can pass on from one generation to the next," she noted. Mrs. Blyden challenged the High School students to take up the challenge of studying to become a librarian to take over from the aging librarians of today. Minister for Health, Education and Welfare the Honourable Eileene Parsons said the theme of Bridging the Reading Gap in the 21st Century is most appropriate as government continues to encourage members of the community to take full advantage of the services offered by libraries in general. "I understand that some of you are avid readers and I applaud your efforts as you continue to broaden your educational horizons," she said. Hon. Parsons said she understands that more students could make better use of the services the school library offers and she challenged them to make a real effort to get into the habit of reading more, whether for pleasure or for knowledge.

"You will be surprised with the difference it can make in the quality of your life, not to mention your education," she added. She said apart from being the place that one can source books, libraries also contain a wide variety of other materials that can communicate, educate and entertain, such as magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, diskettes, tape recordings, films, photographs, paintings, maps and now the Internet. The Minister said libraries also play an important role in preserving a society's cultural heritage, through collections of rare books or works of local artists. "So, young people, whatever your interest, your library can most likely satisfy your need for knowledge, information and certainly pleasure," she declared. "Use your library often, increase your knowledge, build your vocabulary and give yourself untold pleasure by reading." Several individuals were honoured for their contribution to the development of the BVI High School library. These persons were Founder Mrs. Jennie Wheatley, Mrs. Rosalie Herbert, Mrs. Claudia Kettle, Mrs. Marriett Nibbs-Smith, Mrs. Eugenie Donovan-Glasgow, Mrs. Altagracia Hodge, Mrs. Valentine Lewis and Ms. Joy Lewis.

A special honour was bestowed on Hon. Eileene Parsons, a former librarian at the Road Town Public Library during the 1960s. Special thanks were also extended to Teacher Adorothy Turnbull, Mr. Trevor Parris, Mrs. Barbara Turnbull, Mrs. Jocelyn Rhymer and the late Sheila Hyndman-Wheatley. Principal of the BVI High School Mr. Elmore Stoutt singled out librarian Ms. Yvonne Mactavious for this initiative and noted that it was the first time that the School is honouring librarians. He challenged every student to visit the library during the week to benefit from the information available there. He said History students and 4th Formers would find the research centre especially useful as they do their school-based assessments. "I want to see all of you, the 600 plus of you, getting plugged into the library for the whole range of information, so as to make your presentations in your academic subjects here the very best," the High School Principal encouraged.