INTERNATIONAL Literacy Day will be observed globally on September 8. It is a day set aside by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to focus attention on the importance of literacy, both for individual and for national development.

This year, the Stewartville/Cornelia Ida (CI) National Library located on the lower flat of the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) building is hoping to host an in-house reading event to celebrate International Literacy Day.

The Stewartville/CI National Library comes under the Ministry of Education and is headquartered in the city at the National Library and is a community-based facility that is being utilised by locals.

According to Shellon Winclas, Supervisor of Stewartville/CI National Library, the library is free but once a book is borrowed and the 14-day period has expired or the book is damaged or lost, automatically a fee is attached.

She reported that the facility is located just off the main road at Stewartville NDC and is open from 13:00 hours to 17:00 hours on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Winclas added that the library has three staffers, including herself, an assistant and a cleaner and they have on the shelves more than 1,000 books. The books include fiction, non-fiction, novels, story books and educational books and they accept donations of all kinds of books.

Winclas stated that presently they need a printer and a computer since books that cannot leave the library need to be photocopied for educational purposes by children visiting the facility.

She noted that both children and adults utilised the Stewartville/CI National Library and they would have more than 50 visitors on a monthly basis. Winclas disclosed that they would accept walk-ins but one must become a member of the said library to be able to borrow books for use in the facility.

She said the process of registration is simple and free via a form that needs to be filled out by the visitor/borrower. Winclas pointed out that they do get cleaning supplies from the head office through the Ministry of Education but money garnered is used to buy essentials to keep the library operational.

She reported that currently they are on the lower flat of the NDC building which is a wooden structure and the flooring is deteriorating rapidly and as such, they have to put up with a lot of dust on themselves and the books.

Winclas explained that the flooring needs to be sealed to preserve the books and prevent dust from seeping into the library.

“The Stewartville/Cornelia Ida National Library is serving its purpose. People do visit to do research and borrow books but our resources are limited, but we do get visitors, both school children and adults alike from within the community and its environs,” she said.

Winclas added that reading will always remain fundamental because it helps in conversation with others, increases knowledge generally and helps in writing and spelling.

She explained that to celebrate International Literacy Day on September 8 they would like to host an event to promote reading.

Winclas added that they need the necessary educational materials to do so and have since written for it via correspondence to the head office, National Library, in the city.

In most villages across the country, community libraries are either dying or non-existent and gone are the days when some children used their time to read books.

Instead, they are spending much-needed time with devices for long hours and often unsupervised.

In a few villages, there was the presence of mini-libraries where you bring ‘a book and take a book’ concept but it is being vandalised and people are removing most of the books at the street corners mini-libraries.