By Shirley Thomas

THE National Library on Sunday commenced a Week of Celebrations in observance of what is dubbed “National Library Week”. Celebratory activities and lots of wonderful events are reportedly in store!Held under the theme “Transforming your community with help at National Library”, the week of activities kicked off with a fitness walk around the City. The assembly point was outside the National Library on Church Street, and participants – evidently health conscious — made a spirited walk, proceeding east along Church Street, turning north into Vlissengen Road, west into Thomas Lands, and finally culminated at the National Park, starting the day off vibrant and refreshed.
The walk came on the heels of another that was coordinated by the Ministry of Public Health in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Department of Culture, Youth and Sport, held in the City last Friday in celebration of World Health Day.

Such activities were in consonance with, and a good way of, “Fighting Diabetes” – the theme for World Health Day 2016.

An Inter-faith Religious Service is slated for today at the National Library’s Conference Centre, beginning at 08:45 hrs. Prayers are expected to be offered by representatives of the three main religious faiths in Guyana: Christian, Muslim and Hindu.

On Tuesday, there will be three big events: The Big Read, starting at 09:00 hrs at the National Library; an Open Mic Poetry forum at the same venue, beginning at 17:00 hrs; and a Reading Symposium at Bagotville Library, West Bank Demerara from 10:00 hrs.

Open Mic (short for microphone) Poetry Readings are for anyone who wants to read their poetry in a public venue. Sometimes open mic nights have a featured reader or writing workshop; but, generally, there is a sign-up sheet for anyone interested. Each poet is called to step up to the microphone and read a poem or two.

Participating in an open mic reading can be a lot of fun. Some people attend just to listen, others to try out a new poem, while others still attend to share other poets’ experiences.

The ‘Big Read’ is a programme organised by the National Library locally. It is one which provides members of the public with opportunity to broaden understanding of the world, their communities, and themselves through the joy of sharing a good book.
The ‘Big Read’ supports organisations across the country in developing communitywide programmes that encourage reading and participation of diverse audiences.

The library will, on Wednesday, April 13, stage an ‘Open Day’ at its headquarters on Church Street from 10:00 to 16:00 hrs, and the public is invited to participate.

Members of the media are specially invited to a tour of the National Library on this day, commencing at 14:00 hrs, according to Chief Librarian Emily King.

Thursday 14, dubbed “Ask a Lawyer”, will be a day set aside for interaction with the legal luminaries. On that day, the National Library will provide a forum for members of the public to interface with lawyers, who will answer questions and generally sensitise citizens on matters pertaining to the law.

Friday will see a range of activities taking place at the Library’s Conference Centre; namely, staff appreciation, launch of the friends of the library; unveiling of the donors’ board, a ceremony for a Toy Library Project, a storytelling marathon and a book give away.