–serving communities a strain under current conditions, says librarian

THE Bagotville, West Bank Demerara (WBD) branch of the National Library is in urgent need of repairs and extension, in order to facilitate the growing number of persons who utilise its services.
Although the advent of technology has reportedly seen a decline in the reading of books, it appears that persons in Region Three (West Demerara -Essequibo Islands) are still finding the library useful for their research and completion of assignments,among other things.

But, Librarian-in-charge, Ms. Yonnet Jacobs, is not at all happy about the deplorable state of the local Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) building in which the facility is housed.
During a tour of the library recently, the Guyana Chronicle observed that not only are the stairs leading to its youth section rickety, but the windows are also old-fashioned, and the floorboards have certainly seen better days.
“We are strapped for space,” Jacobs said, adding that there is now a need also for a bigger facility, in order to accommodate the amount of persons who utilise the services on a daily basis.

She said that at times they are left with no other alternative than to seek the use of the nearby community centre to host certain activities because of space constraints.
Jacobs, who has been at the institution for over 16 years, recalled that in the past things were far worse space-wise, as they were then only utilising a small section of the NDC building. That all changed when some U.S. volunteers offered to extend the building.
“Because the building is, nonetheless, owned by the NDC, we still have to write to them to have stuff done, but still they are not done regularly because of the Council’s small budget,” she said.

In addition to receiving support from the NDC, the main branch of the National Library also assists in whatever way they can.
She said that while there’s only so much that their supporters can do, they are in dire need of a better facility, because aside from lending books, as was mentioned earlier, the library offers a lot of assistance to students from communities as far off as Vreed-en-Hoop, on the West Coast, and Canal Number Two on the West Bank.

She explained that by utilising what little they have by way of resources, the librarians were able to create a youth department, an adult section, and an administrative section where a few computers are housed and made available to anyone.
“Persons come to use the computer, photocopier and so on… We also go to schools in order to take the library to students who cannot come to us,” Ms. Jacobs said, adding that in spite of their circumstance, the library also gives children the opportunity of participating in spelling bee competitions, quizzes, debates, poetry competition and so forth.
They also offer extra-curricular activities during the August and Easter vacations, while one for the adults is conducted in December.

Slow learners also have an opportunity to be given special attention through a progamme which is hosted in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Stabroek.
Activities are also held during the month of September to mark Amerindian Heritage and Education Months.

The National Library will also be celebrating its 108th anniversary with a host of activities which will be replicated at the Bagotville branch as well.
Said Jacobs: “We are committed to serving the communities of Region Three, but we need to see a lot of things being done so that we can embark on new initiatives for the children… For instance, we want a toy corner.”
They are on a mission to ensure that the library remains there, in order to serve the need of the communities in the Region.