Branch workers going door to door

STAFF OF the Barbados Library Service are preparing to hit the road.

Acting Director of the Barbados Library Service, Avonda Callender, said she and her staff would be canvassing the districts in St Joseph to get people to use the new facilities at Tamarind Hall in the Eric Holder Jr. Complex.

"We're going out there, foot to foot. This is the first time the library will do it. It's a new marketing strategy we're introducing and we are going to do it in St Joseph.

"We are going to do like the politicians. We're going to go into the villages and knock house to house. And we will do that based on the information we get from the schools and the community development officer; they will know where we need to go and who we need to speak to," she said.

Transportation to the new complex is apparently an issue for the residents of St Joseph as well, since some routes stop short. Callender said she planned to speak to the relevant authorities to get the bus services rerouted to bring people into the facility.

Discussions are also under way with the St Joseph Parish Church to use their bus to transport people from some districts to the library.

"I don't want this [the library] to be a white elephant, so because of all the problems, we're going to work with all the different players," Callender said.

She added: "This is going to be librarianship in the 21st Century. We have to compete so we can't sit down. We cannot idle by and allow libraries to die."

Callender was speaking to the SATURDAY SUN after the official opening of the ultra-modern facility, which brings the number of libraries across the country to eight.

The Barbados Library Service is celebrating 162 years, and the new Tamarind Hall branch is the first to be opened in the 21st century.

Callender said the library at Valley, St George, was currently being refurbished. (YB)