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Small public libraries in the Commonwealth Eastern Caribbean: toward more efficient services
ht.
Libr.
Rev.
(1983) 15, 173-176
Small Public Libraries in the Commonwealth Eastern Caribbean: Toward More Efficient Services LAURIE
C.
WHITE*
Montserrat Public Library is fairly typical of those public libraries on the small Commonwealth Eastern Caribbean islands and the upgrading of services in Montserrat could be an example for the others to follow. These islands are: St Kitts-Nevis, St Vincent, St Lucia, Grenada, Dominica, Antigua and Montserrat. Their libraries appear to have the same set of problems: outdated collections with inadequate bibliographic control, a severe shortage of facilities, equipment, money and staff to obtain and adequately process enough new library materials for a growing reading public. During my two year Peace Corps service at Montserrat Public Library, improvements were made which could be done at other libraries for the benefit of everyone. These islands are known as the “Less Developed Countries” (LDCs) with membership in CARICOM, the Caribbean Common Market. The More Developed Countries (MDCs) are Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica and Guyana. Just as CARICOM is co-ordinating the expanding trades and industries of the member islands, so its library, located in Georgetown, Guyana, is working to improve services and stimulate cooperation among the public libraries, especially the smaller ones, of member islands. Montserrat, a British Crown Colony, is one of the smallest of the Commonwealth Eastern Caribbean islands with its library serving a population of 13 000 on an area of 39 square miles. The people, mainly of African descent, are mostly subsistence farmers. There are few exports to alleviate the heavy import-export imbalance, other than occasional crop surpluses. The Montserrat Government is the largest local employer in Plymouth, the capital city. As a department of The Government’s Ministry of Education, Health and Welfare, the Montserrat Public Library is located in a small wing of * 400 East Brookfield 0020-7837/83/020173+04
Avenue,
Ponca
$03.00/O
City,
OK
74601, 0
USA.
1983 Academic
Press Inc.
(London)
Limited
174
L.
G.
WHITE
the government headquarters building and has a full-time staff of four library assistants and one professional librarian. All activities are carried on in one room, with small areas set aside for children’s materials, book processing and adult public reading. The furniture consists of wooden shelves, tables and chairs. There are approximately 4000 juvenile and 16000 adult titles. Many, including a sizeable large print collection, were donated by library services in the United Kingdom and Canada, The library subscribes to several major British, American and Caribbean newspapers and periodicals. A small portable record player and cassette tape recorder are available for in-library use. They are usually used during the Saturday morning story hour for young schoolage and pre-school children. Adult and children’s reference and reader’s services are offered at the main library and through an island-wide mobile library service which reaches each village once every two weeks. There are no branch or school libraries. Over one-third of the island residents are registered borrowers. The main library is most heavily used by students and by a number of expatriates from Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. The expatriates use the library mainly for their pleasure reading and also donate many books. Some adult Montserratians, mostly those with secondary school and university education are regular borrowers. Fiction, mysteries, Westerns, and romances are the most popular adult and young adult reading. Since the secondary school and the technical college are located in Plymouth, many of their students use the library for research. The non-fiction collection has a chronic shortage of basic up-to-date materials to help with assignments. Primary school children who live in or near town are also regular borrowers. Since they do their homework from notes given by their teachers, they use the library mainly forjuvenile pleasure reading materials. There is a severe shortage of easy reading books for beginners. The recently implemented bookmobile service to the outlying villages is most eagerly awaited by the primary school children, since they are unable to come to the main library. The shortage of easy reading materials is especially critical because many older children in the villages are reading below grade level due to their lack of access to books before the mobile library service was started in 1975. Secondary school students who live in the villages use the service, as well as a minority of adults who have managed to maintain their reading skills. The bookmobile, a donation from the Canadian International Development is an enormous truck with shelves built inside to Agency (CIDA) accommodate library materials. The St Vincent Public Library received a similar truck from CIDA. The truck requires a skilfu1 driver to manoeuvre it over Montserrat’s narrow, winding roads. The lack of
COMMONWEALTH
EASTERN
CARIBBEAN
LIBRARIES
175
ventilation and high steps to the entrance make it difficult for many patrons to use, but it is the only means of bringing library service to the villagers, many of whom cannot easily come to town. Along with serving the public, my duties as an assisting professional for adult services included cataloging all acquisitions into the Dewey system, checking and correcting the ca.taloging on all adult holdings, as well as weeding and carrying out an inventory of the collection to update the card catalog. The extent of coverage in each subject area requires further evaluation. I helped to establish more efficient procedures for book processing so that the accuracy of the card catalog could be maintained and was able to use the Peace Corps Director’s Fund to buy new adult and children’s card catalogs, book carts and a paperback stand. I also sought and received the assistance of UNESCO through their coupons to purchase badly-needed children’s books. Writings by Montserratians and about Montserrat-some produced locally---are to be found in the Public Library, the Montserrat Museum and the University of the West Indies Extension Centre. I compiled an annotated bibliography with location codes of everything available, arranged by subject according to the Dewey system. Copies of the completed work, entitled Montserrat: A Bibliography were sent to all libraries in the CARICOM Region. Many libraries in the LDCs lack adequate space for their activities. Those in St Kitts and Grenada are located on the second floors of buildings with stores and government offices underneath. The library in Antigua was almost totally destroyed by a 1974 earthquake. Dominica’s library is in a Carnegie building. Adequate amounts of space need to be set aside for public reading areas and materials processing, although to do both can create a conflict of interests. The collections of these libraries contain many donations from library services in Canada and the United Kingdom. Most of the books are discards from libraries in those countries, so their value as up-to-date resources is limited. Caribbean libraries need to set standards for deciding which donations should be kept and which should be weeded from the shelves. These small libraries most urgently need simple reading books for children, West Indian literature and current reference sources. Unfortunately, such books are seldom donated, but must be purchased. Caribbean libraries face a strong challenge in attempting to bring library service to residents in the villages, since in most cases it is at present almost, if not entirely, non-existent. This places additional responsibilities on staff who are .already overburdened with work. Mobile libraries are also needed in some form and will most likely have to be procured through foreign aid.
176
L.
G.
WHITE
Foreign aid is essential for the improvement of services in the LDCs libraries since their operating budgets are quite inadequate. A staff member at the CARICOM Library, MS Carol Collins, has gathered essential information on each of the LDC member libraries while visiting the islands and plans to draft a proposal for foreign aid to be granted to the libraries as one region. It is hoped that this arrangement will mean that each library will receive more money than if it had applied to major funding sources on its own. However, individual Caribbean librarians should themselves be aware of the major funding sources available. Another task facing Caribbean librarians is the need for bibliographic control of their regionally produced materials. Works not published by Canadian, British and United States firms seldom reach major library trade bibliographies and reviewing journals. A Caribbean bibliography listing titles published in the Commonwealth Caribbean region was produced by the CARICOM Library in 1976. For this first bibliography, all of the island libraries were requested to supply the CARICOM Library with complete information on all recent titles and with copies of them if possible. The CARICOM Bibliography will be updated annually with the continued co-operation of member libraries. The value of and need for greater interlibrary co-operation becomes apparent with the desire to upgrade library services and is a compelling need being faced by librarians of the entire CARICOM region at a time of rapid inflation and shrinking budgets. They can form a Caribbean or CARICOM Library Association to meet periodically and discuss ways of co-operating. Some form of interlibrary loan could be proposed despite difficulties with high shipping costs and sometimes unreliable air services. Through their association, practising professionals could maintain a working relationship with the recently established School of Library Science at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica, with possibilities for recruitment of students and professional enrichment courses. The association could be a major resource for promoting the growth of public interest in better library funding, user education and services.
Libr.
Rev.
(1983) 15, 173-176
Small Public Libraries in the Commonwealth Eastern Caribbean: Toward More Efficient Services LAURIE
C.
WHITE*
Montserrat Public Library is fairly typical of those public libraries on the small Commonwealth Eastern Caribbean islands and the upgrading of services in Montserrat could be an example for the others to follow. These islands are: St Kitts-Nevis, St Vincent, St Lucia, Grenada, Dominica, Antigua and Montserrat. Their libraries appear to have the same set of problems: outdated collections with inadequate bibliographic control, a severe shortage of facilities, equipment, money and staff to obtain and adequately process enough new library materials for a growing reading public. During my two year Peace Corps service at Montserrat Public Library, improvements were made which could be done at other libraries for the benefit of everyone. These islands are known as the “Less Developed Countries” (LDCs) with membership in CARICOM, the Caribbean Common Market. The More Developed Countries (MDCs) are Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica and Guyana. Just as CARICOM is co-ordinating the expanding trades and industries of the member islands, so its library, located in Georgetown, Guyana, is working to improve services and stimulate cooperation among the public libraries, especially the smaller ones, of member islands. Montserrat, a British Crown Colony, is one of the smallest of the Commonwealth Eastern Caribbean islands with its library serving a population of 13 000 on an area of 39 square miles. The people, mainly of African descent, are mostly subsistence farmers. There are few exports to alleviate the heavy import-export imbalance, other than occasional crop surpluses. The Montserrat Government is the largest local employer in Plymouth, the capital city. As a department of The Government’s Ministry of Education, Health and Welfare, the Montserrat Public Library is located in a small wing of * 400 East Brookfield 0020-7837/83/020173+04
Avenue,
Ponca
$03.00/O
City,
OK
74601, 0
USA.
1983 Academic
Press Inc.
(London)
Limited
174
L.
G.
WHITE
the government headquarters building and has a full-time staff of four library assistants and one professional librarian. All activities are carried on in one room, with small areas set aside for children’s materials, book processing and adult public reading. The furniture consists of wooden shelves, tables and chairs. There are approximately 4000 juvenile and 16000 adult titles. Many, including a sizeable large print collection, were donated by library services in the United Kingdom and Canada, The library subscribes to several major British, American and Caribbean newspapers and periodicals. A small portable record player and cassette tape recorder are available for in-library use. They are usually used during the Saturday morning story hour for young schoolage and pre-school children. Adult and children’s reference and reader’s services are offered at the main library and through an island-wide mobile library service which reaches each village once every two weeks. There are no branch or school libraries. Over one-third of the island residents are registered borrowers. The main library is most heavily used by students and by a number of expatriates from Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. The expatriates use the library mainly for their pleasure reading and also donate many books. Some adult Montserratians, mostly those with secondary school and university education are regular borrowers. Fiction, mysteries, Westerns, and romances are the most popular adult and young adult reading. Since the secondary school and the technical college are located in Plymouth, many of their students use the library for research. The non-fiction collection has a chronic shortage of basic up-to-date materials to help with assignments. Primary school children who live in or near town are also regular borrowers. Since they do their homework from notes given by their teachers, they use the library mainly forjuvenile pleasure reading materials. There is a severe shortage of easy reading books for beginners. The recently implemented bookmobile service to the outlying villages is most eagerly awaited by the primary school children, since they are unable to come to the main library. The shortage of easy reading materials is especially critical because many older children in the villages are reading below grade level due to their lack of access to books before the mobile library service was started in 1975. Secondary school students who live in the villages use the service, as well as a minority of adults who have managed to maintain their reading skills. The bookmobile, a donation from the Canadian International Development is an enormous truck with shelves built inside to Agency (CIDA) accommodate library materials. The St Vincent Public Library received a similar truck from CIDA. The truck requires a skilfu1 driver to manoeuvre it over Montserrat’s narrow, winding roads. The lack of
COMMONWEALTH
EASTERN
CARIBBEAN
LIBRARIES
175
ventilation and high steps to the entrance make it difficult for many patrons to use, but it is the only means of bringing library service to the villagers, many of whom cannot easily come to town. Along with serving the public, my duties as an assisting professional for adult services included cataloging all acquisitions into the Dewey system, checking and correcting the ca.taloging on all adult holdings, as well as weeding and carrying out an inventory of the collection to update the card catalog. The extent of coverage in each subject area requires further evaluation. I helped to establish more efficient procedures for book processing so that the accuracy of the card catalog could be maintained and was able to use the Peace Corps Director’s Fund to buy new adult and children’s card catalogs, book carts and a paperback stand. I also sought and received the assistance of UNESCO through their coupons to purchase badly-needed children’s books. Writings by Montserratians and about Montserrat-some produced locally---are to be found in the Public Library, the Montserrat Museum and the University of the West Indies Extension Centre. I compiled an annotated bibliography with location codes of everything available, arranged by subject according to the Dewey system. Copies of the completed work, entitled Montserrat: A Bibliography were sent to all libraries in the CARICOM Region. Many libraries in the LDCs lack adequate space for their activities. Those in St Kitts and Grenada are located on the second floors of buildings with stores and government offices underneath. The library in Antigua was almost totally destroyed by a 1974 earthquake. Dominica’s library is in a Carnegie building. Adequate amounts of space need to be set aside for public reading areas and materials processing, although to do both can create a conflict of interests. The collections of these libraries contain many donations from library services in Canada and the United Kingdom. Most of the books are discards from libraries in those countries, so their value as up-to-date resources is limited. Caribbean libraries need to set standards for deciding which donations should be kept and which should be weeded from the shelves. These small libraries most urgently need simple reading books for children, West Indian literature and current reference sources. Unfortunately, such books are seldom donated, but must be purchased. Caribbean libraries face a strong challenge in attempting to bring library service to residents in the villages, since in most cases it is at present almost, if not entirely, non-existent. This places additional responsibilities on staff who are .already overburdened with work. Mobile libraries are also needed in some form and will most likely have to be procured through foreign aid.
176
L.
G.
WHITE
Foreign aid is essential for the improvement of services in the LDCs libraries since their operating budgets are quite inadequate. A staff member at the CARICOM Library, MS Carol Collins, has gathered essential information on each of the LDC member libraries while visiting the islands and plans to draft a proposal for foreign aid to be granted to the libraries as one region. It is hoped that this arrangement will mean that each library will receive more money than if it had applied to major funding sources on its own. However, individual Caribbean librarians should themselves be aware of the major funding sources available. Another task facing Caribbean librarians is the need for bibliographic control of their regionally produced materials. Works not published by Canadian, British and United States firms seldom reach major library trade bibliographies and reviewing journals. A Caribbean bibliography listing titles published in the Commonwealth Caribbean region was produced by the CARICOM Library in 1976. For this first bibliography, all of the island libraries were requested to supply the CARICOM Library with complete information on all recent titles and with copies of them if possible. The CARICOM Bibliography will be updated annually with the continued co-operation of member libraries. The value of and need for greater interlibrary co-operation becomes apparent with the desire to upgrade library services and is a compelling need being faced by librarians of the entire CARICOM region at a time of rapid inflation and shrinking budgets. They can form a Caribbean or CARICOM Library Association to meet periodically and discuss ways of co-operating. Some form of interlibrary loan could be proposed despite difficulties with high shipping costs and sometimes unreliable air services. Through their association, practising professionals could maintain a working relationship with the recently established School of Library Science at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica, with possibilities for recruitment of students and professional enrichment courses. The association could be a major resource for promoting the growth of public interest in better library funding, user education and services.