Six Roads library back to serve

The doors of the Six Roads Branch Library in St Philip were officially reopened yesterday, following their closure last September for renovations.

Director of the National Library Service Jennifer Yarde said this was not just a professional milestone, but an emotional one which represented growth, resilience and the library service’s commitment to serving people of the community.

She reflected on the library’s beginning in September 1954, serving a wide cross-section of residents and students from surrounding districts, and becoming more than just a place for books.

“It became the heart of the community. Strong ties were also formed with Princess Margaret Secondary School, opened in 1955, with generations of students using and even volunteering in the library, a tradition that continues today,” she stated.

Yarde said the library was not just a place for reading and research, but a hub for connection, offering programmes, workshops, cultural activities and digital learning opportunities for people of all ages.

The oldest library patron, centenarian Aida St Hill, who is 105 years old, expressed joy at the reopening, as she recounted many days spent delving into various books there. Born and raised in England, she said she enjoyed reading about different historic eras, specifically about wars.

Learn from books

She encouraged the children to “enjoy the library and make great use of it”, adding that they could learn a lot from the books they read.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for Pan African Affairs and Heritage, Trevor Prescod, spoke about the high level of illiteracy in society, pointing to research which showed it was a fundamental problem and was often found in people involved in delinquent behaviour and criminality. He expressed hope that efforts would be made to ensure society no longer faced these challenges.

Prescod also told those in attendance that the books in the library will have the faces of people who looked like them and were written by people like them. He called on writers to showcase their material.

“When you’re thinking about writing, you can approach us, and wherever I can make sure that funding is available for you to start the process, wherever I can help you with publishers, with printers, the production itself, the Ministry will contribute in any way that they can to encourage young people to write texts themselves,” he said.

Prescod also urged them to write about what they knew of, their environment and their culture, rather than those things far alienated from them.

He also highlighted the library’s significance to the community before its closure last year, noting that in 2024, it recorded 8 142 loans to the public, 2 054 computer users, over 6 030 visits at the complex, and a strong fixed membership of over 2 884 patrons.

During the ceremony, reigning calypso monarch Anderson MrBlood Armstrong gave an energised performance of Don’t Wait, encouraging the audience to give people their flowers while they were alive. The library’s mascot Readie was also launched. (AJ)

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