By Petamber Persaud
On Friday Aug. 20, 2013, the National Library of Guyana held an award ceremony for its annual literary competitions. The high point of the event was the Champion Readers Competition which usually generates much interest. Various readings by winners were entertaining and instructive.
The Champion Readers Competition was divided into five categories of readers – Category 1: 9 – 11 years; Category 2: 12 – 14 years; Category 3: 15 – 17 years; Category 4: 18 – 25 years and Category 5: 26 years and over.
The Champion Readers Competition included a recent addition to the annual competitions – inmates of four correctional institutions in Guyana: Georgetown, New Amsterdam, Lusignan and Timehri prisons.
The custodians of the library, in their wisdom, buttressed the reading competition with other competitions such as quiz, short story writing and debating competitions, all of which fell in line with English essayist and philosopher, Francis Bacon’s quote, “Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man.”
The words ‘support’ and ‘buttress’ seem to be appearing frequently. The reason for the frequency of these words is that the library was partnered to stage the various types of competition directly by Digicel, P&P Insurance Brokers and Gafoors.
Sponsorship for the event included Sterling Products, Hotel Tower, Ansa McAl, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Giftland, Universal Bookstore and The Learning Channel, among many, many others.
Top markers for the reading competitions were Ashley Drakes, Ruth Mandbodh, Jamal La Rose, Deborah Lambert and Nandi Kellman.
The National Library is marking its 104th year in service to the nation, fulfilling to the hilt its mandate, which is ‘to satisfy both nationally and internationally the information and recreational needs of the library’s users through the collection, organisation, dissemination and preservation of information in printed and other formats’.
In fact, the library was built upon such a premise, captured in the life and words of Andrew Carnegie (1835-1918): “I choose free libraries as the best agencies for improving the masses of the people, because …they only help those who help themselves. They never pauperize…A taste for reading drives out lower tastes.”
Andrew Carnegie, according to Wikipedia, was “a Scottish-American industrialist who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century. He was also one of the highest profile philanthropists of his era; his 1889 article proclaiming “The Gospel of Wealth” called on the rich to use their wealth to improve society, and stimulated wave after wave of philanthropy.”
The National Library, Georgetown, Guyana, was opened to the public in September 1909. Although funding provided by Andrew Carnegie was available, it took about two years of preparatory works to qualify for that funding. A site for erection of building had to be located, design for erection approved and ordinances for the purchase of books and other requisites had to be passed. A provisional committee appointed in 1907 effectively dealt with those issues resulting in enactment of the Georgetown Public Free Library Ordinance and the laying of the foundation stone one year later in 1908.
The National Library is situated at the juncture of Main and Church streets, Georgetown. The original building was in the form of an inverted cross. Down the ages there were numerous modifications to the original structure. In 1935, the original erection was extended to house the Economic Science, Anthropological and Historical Sections of the Museum. That was a blessing in disguise for when in 1951, the museum exhibits were moved to the new museum building, the library was able to utilise the whole structure for its operation. One of the more important target groups to make use of this additional space was the juveniles – children having a separate space.
At the turn of the new millennium, there was need for more space at the headquarters of the library and so a new wing was added. Completed in 2001, the extension housed the Administrative Department, Technical Services and Rural Departments, thereby creating more space for the Reference and Juvenile Departments.
Even with the extension, the central library could not meet the literacy needs of the whole country. Branches of the library were established after the 1950 legislation was passed to extend the library services outside of Georgetown; first in New Amsterdam (1953) then Mackenzie (1955). Now the library has a presence in all ten administrative regions of the country with the establishment of five Branches in New Amsterdam, Linden, Ruimveldt, Bagotville and Corriverton; 20 library centres in rural areas; deposit collections and service to four prisons.
What needs the central library and its branches could not satisfy had to be met by the operation of a bookmobile. The first bookmobile service was established in 1970, catering for areas like Tucville, Peter’s Hall, Houston, Agricola, Providence and Soesdyke. A second bookmobile was put into service in 1976.
Apart from the physical improvements to the building, there were numerous developments in services offered by the library. Two of the more significant developments were the ‘open access’ system in 1940 and the publication of a Guyanese National Bibliography in 1973.
That invaluable recording of our literary heritage became possible as a National Library came into being when in 1972 the Public Free Library Ordinance became the National Library Act. The compilation of a Guyanese National Bibliography was made more favourable when the Newspaper Ordinance was amended in 1972 to make the National Library one of the legal depositories for all materials printed and published in Guyana. That meant that one copy of every material that is printed or published in Guyana must be deposited at the National Library.
Other services offered by the National Library include a photocopying operation which came on stream in 1966, a gramophone record library opened in 1969, a reading room, a toy library established in 1981 in the juvenile department to cater for the needs of preschoolers, and an Internet service.
The operation of the library is managed by the committee of the National Library which should consist of a chairman and not more than twelve or less than nine other persons.
The National Library has become so entrenched in the psyche of Guyanese people that more and greater demands are being made of its services as an educational, social, cultural and recreational institution.
Responses to this author telephone (592) 226-0065 or email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com
What’s happening:
• The Guyana Annual 2012-2013 magazine is now available at Guyenterprise Ltd, at Austin’s bookstore and from the editor at the above contacts. This issue of the magazine is dedicated to E. R. Braithwaite. The magazine also features articles on copyright, law of intellectual property, creative industries, oral traditions of Guyana, the future of West Indian cricket and the future of books.
• Coming soon “Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture” by Gaiutra Bahadur
• Now available ‘Selected Fictions” by Ruel Johnson, shortlisted for this year Guyana Prize for Literature.
• Coming soon: “An Introduction to Guyanese Literature” by Petamber Persaud.
