by TRACY MOORE

THE OPENING of the problem-plagued National Public Library has been pushed back – again.

It should now be in a matter of "weeks" said Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, Reverend Joseph Atherley. This, after Minister of Housing Reginald Farley promised a month-end opening in September and after other promised dates of opening.

After a thanksgiving service yesterday at St Mary's Anglican Church to mark 160 years of the local public library service, Atherley said there were some "relatively minor issues" before the relocation.

"It should be weeks, because the last meeting I had with the entire inter-ministerial committee, the indication was that we would have been able to move and start the service by October 1. There are some things we want to put in place before we put people in there . . . but they are so minor I cannot even detail what they are."

The National Public Library on Coleridge Street closed in July 2006, after a troubled decade, including a walk-out in February 1999, a protest the following year because of poor working conditions, and more recently, environmental and electrical problems.

In July this year, Farley said that by the end of that month the temporary home of the library at Independence Square would be ready. But there was a delay due to the electrical system in the building, library-quality lighting and cabling the building for computers as well as environmental and structural concerns.

Prior to this, the library was scheduled for a February opening.

Dissatisfied

Meanwhile, the Democratic Labour Party's (DLP) candidate for The City, Patrick Todd, was totally dissatisfied "with the lethargic way in which this administration is dealing with the reopening".

"We didn't expect a new calendar year would come and see the main branch still not re-opened. We are tired of the excuses and delays. To date the Government still cannot give us a definitive date," he said.

Director of the Library Service Annette Smith said yesterday that investigations into cracks in the new building led to the extension as Government wanted to be "absolutely sure" it was safe.

She also spoke to the future of the landmark Carnegie building, the former headquarters of the national library.

"That building needs a lot of work. [It] has to be restored and expanded, to meet the needs of the present and future services. Because as it is now . . . that space is not adequate, [and] it does not accommodate the new technologies as well," she said.

tracymoore @nationnews.com