$56M National Library extension going up
A three-storey $56 million building is currently being erected as an extension to the National Library and this is expected to create more space for persons using the library to provide a more comfortable environment for them. This is according to Chief Librarian, Karen Sills, who said that the plan for the extension has been around for nearly a decade. In a recent interview with Stabroek News, Sills said that in the 70's they were able to secure the steel to lay the foundation from the British Government. According to the chief librarian, in 1997 they received the first disbursement of funds from central government. Sills said that it wasn't until 1998 that the soil testing was done for the extension of the library and the actual construction of the building began last year. Sills said all the funding for the extension had come through the Government of Guyana. The contract for the extension was awarded to Indarpaul Ramlall of Caribbean Engineering and Management Consultants (CEMCO). Sills said optimistically that by the end of this year she expected the building would be completed. The building is to house the administrative unit of the library and the technical services department on the first and second floors. The ground floor will house a state-of-the-art conference facility, which would be used by the library and which will also be available for rental. Sills noted that this would cater for the mini exhibitions the library is constantly asked to put on. When these departments move over to the new building, Sills said, more space would be created in the adult and juvenile lending services. She said that at present the library is bursting with no space to house some of books since it has only one building. Sills, who has been chief librarian for only six months after the former head, Gwyneth Browman retired, has been with the library since 1991 and her last position was deputy chief librarian.
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