by TRACY MOORE

TOO LONG COMING!

That was the cry from president of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), Walter Maloney, about the reopening of the Barbados Public Library.

Speaking to the DAILY NATION yesterday after attending a church service Celebrating De Bajan Worker at St Paul's Church, Bay Street, St Michael, Maloney called on the minister with responsibility for the library, Steve Blackett, to get "the technocrats" to urgently solve whatever problems were still plaguing the new location in Independence Square, the City.

The NUPW president said he understood the position of Minister of Community Development and Culture Blackett, "because he inherited the situation, but not only is [the closure], a national scab but it is a shame".

In early February, Permanent Secretary Shirley Farnum said she was hoping to be in a position to reopen the library before May, providing that "two ticklish issues" were tackled – blown-out air conditioning ducts and the report on the air quality in the new building.

Examination time

Yesterday, Maloney said: "As we go closer to examination time for children, the use of the public library becomes more essential and we would hope that whatever problems there might have been in the building, it would become accessible to the workers so they can start to do what they do best – looking after the interest of the young people of Barbados," he said.

The Barbados Public Library's headquarters on Coleridge Street has been closed since 2005 after repeated industrial action by workers for several environmental and structural problems.

Since then there were several proposed opening dates in the interim with next month being the last date given for re-opening.

tracymoore

@nationnews.com