St James Parish Library revives ‘Friends of the Library’
THE ST James Parish Library may soon be restored to being a symbol of Montego Bay’s potential for greatness, following Wednesday evening’s revival launch of its Friends of the Library programme to garner support for the parish’s library service.
The launch was held during a special function at the library building on Meagre Bay Road in Montego Bay’s downtown district, which was hosted under the theme ‘Memories of the City’ with special remarks from author and long-time Montegonian resident Clinton P. Chin.
Presentations were made in support of the library during the launch, one in honour of Chin’s parents, Henry and Violet Chin, and another in honour of Montegonian humanitarian Amy Hugh.
Claudette Bryan, chairman of the St James Parish Library, outlined a number of projects to be done under the Friends of the Library programme to make the library property more accessible to the public, including refurbishing of the library building’s boardroom.
“This boardroom will be retiled, and we are going to change the blinds and all the amenities in there to make it into a beautiful boardroom, and this room can be used by persons to have small meetings. For example, the St James Parish Courthouse is across the road, and if there is someone who wants to have a meeting with a few lawyers, they could rent this room, and that could be a generator of income for the library because we want to be able to take care of ourselves here,” said Bryan.
“If there are people here who want to partner with us and to say ‘I want to be a friend of the library,’ your contributions can come in whatever form you are able to give, whether monthly or yearly. But we want to continue to take the library to the next level of decency and order and to fill the needs of our people,” Bryan added.
Other projects to be undertaken include l andscaping of the premises, to be funded through the Tourism Enhancement Fund, and clean-up activities to reduce the issue of littering on the fringes of the library property.
Jamaica Library Service (JLS) Regional Director Marvetta Stewart-Richards told the function’s attendees that the library needs support to continue fulfilling various needs for visitors of all ages.
HOPELESSNESS
“There is something here for everyone, whether you are a student that needs curriculum support, a parent in need of literacy or digital support, a senior citizen trying to navigate the information highway, a member of the public seeking to photocopy a document for a court hearing, a pensioner trying to get his or her life certificate signed and delivered, or even someone experiencing hopelessness. There is a place for you at the table, and we are in need of advocates, so we seek partnerships and we need your support,” said Stewart-Richards.
The St James Public Library Service began in 1944 through the efforts of members of the Young Women’s Christian Association, with its original building located at the Child Welfare Association’s site on Church Street. The library was eventually incorporated into the JLS when that body was established in 1948.
Aside from its main building’s present location at Meagre Bay Road, the parish’s library service has nine branches located in the communities of Anchovy, Cambridge, Chatham, Hopeton, Lottery, Maroon Town, Mt Salem, Somerton, and Springfield.