Reopens today despite constraints

By Alita Singh

PHILIPSBURG--Water has been pouring into  the leaky Philipsburg Jubilee Library roof for quite sometime now and damaged the ceiling, but the situation has become exasperating after the passing of Hurricane Earl a week ago.

The library, despite its constraints, reopens its doors to readers today, Tuesday, after being closed since August 26 due to the roof and water seepage issues.

Library Director Monique Alberts and Public Relations Officer Maryland Powell said an entirely new building is needed, as constant patchwork will only mask problems for a while. Part of the leaky roof is under repair, but the library still needs funds to complete this task. The library building was opened in 1984.

Sections of the ceiling have fallen down. A piece of the ceiling recently fell on a library staffer, who luckily escaped injuries. Of concern is if the ceiling continues to come apart while children are using the facility.

Water was still pooled on the library's floor and huge water-stained patches were visible on the warped old blue library tiles on Monday. Some bookshelves were still covered with plastic in the event of more rain.

Some 50 books were water-damaged in the past week and over 100 others since the roof problem became acute. The reference section with one of a kind and more expensive book in the library is of particular concern, as the roof leakage and wall problems are worse there. The library's collection contains some 60,000 books.

Removing the books and storing them elsewhere would not serve the library's core purpose of providing information and there is no real dry place for the books to be stored under the extensively leaky roof.

The 85-year-old library has been neglected and forgotten by government over the years, despite its importance in educating and entertaining the young and old in the community, the librarians said.

Schools have got extra classrooms, gyms have been built and other upgrades have taken place, but the library has been left to scrape together what little funds it could to make improvements, they added.

The building has no air conditioning and consequently is too hot for students, teachers and other library users to comfortably do research or read. Children with no place to meet and do homework use the library and parents like that, as it is a safe place, but in the present state safety is a very relative term, the library staffers pointed out.

The heat is not only bad for library users, but also for the books that need to be stored in a cool environment to preserve them and reduce damage. The books are also very dusty because of the condition of the ceiling.

So far, all improvements in the library – retiling of one section, the creation of a baby room and the roof work – were made possible through private companies and individuals and the little the library can scrape together from its fund raising activities.

The roof repair totals some US $21,000, money the institution does not have and has to be found to protect the newly opened Baby Room, as leakage there has begun to damage the recently painted mural.

The library is not allowed, based on government regulations, to put aside money and has to depend on funds from private donors or government. Government, however, has not assisted the library for many years, despite pleas for help, the ladies said.

The library also needs more computers. Only six computers are in the library's research lab, used by students for Internet research and homework help. Some computers had been secured for the library by the Lion's Club under the tenure of past president Richard Panneflek and were handed over in August by new president Lisandra Havertong.

The library has submitted a project for more computers to Bureau Telecommunication and Post (BTP). The institution had invited Telecommunication Minister Patrick Illidge to discuss the project last week. Illidge has promised at least ten computers to the library via BTP.

Philipsburg Jubilee Library was founded on November 23, 1923, the year Queen Wilhelmina celebrated her silver jubilee. The library in the present location officially opened on April 2, 1984.