Libraries evolving

LIBRARIES are no longer just places to borrow books and keep quiet. Instead, National Library and Information System Authority (Nalis) is working on transforming its libraries into safe spaces filled with activities, and expanding its reach into communities.

According to Nalis chairman, Neil Parsanlal, the organisation has a new thrust, a new paradigm in the delivery of library services. He explained that the rise in the use of technology and increasingly limited government funding pushed Nalis to find new ways of delivering library services to more people in TT without constructing more libraries.

One of the ways they intend to engage communities is to use community centres in a series of “Co-location” projects, set up at key locations with strategic partnerships to make the service more sustainable. “Traditionally community centres have been underutilised. Our intention is to go into them and, in essence, put a library in every community centre. In that way you make the service that much more readily available to the clients.”

Nalis’ executive director Catherine Romain, said the organisation’s initial focus would be on areas that did not have easy access to a public library. The pilot project, hosted in conjunction with the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, will be in Barataria but it is expected to expand, in phases, to extremely rural communities.

She said these libraries will consist of both books and personal computers, and Nalis will work with the boards of the community centres to determine the needs of the community. Therefore, neither the content nor the level of technology will be a one-size-fits-all situation.

Beverly Williams, Nalis’ director of Public Libraries explained that, in addition to taking the libraries to the communities, they hoped to develop relevant programmes and activities to enhance the lives of residents and assist them in becoming better citizens.

She said Nalis’ aim is to encourage learning. She believes when people stop reading, they stop learning and understanding, so they are not able to make informed choices, which often leads to crime and a break down of society. She said some people feel intimidated to go into libraries, but when Nalis goes into the community, they are more comfortable and more open to conversation.

“There are those who feel society is against them. We need to make them understand themselves so we have programmes like The DNA of a Young Man, where we engage them in conversations. We use the model of the four Cs where we have a Conversation with the Community to make that Connection to promote our Collection (of physical and electronic reading materials)...

“How we can make an impact is tremendous. We go in there and promote that continuous learning and being informed so they can make better choices. They understand themselves, they feel better about themselves.”

That is how the staff at Nalis hopes to impact the people of Beetham Gardens, where they were partnering with the Inter Agency Task Force (IATF). “Here we are taking the soft approach. We are working with the IATF’s Hearts and Minds Foundation to hopefully assist in the transformation of lives and development of the community on a social level.”

Williams said with all the Co-location projects, there is a need to bridge the gap with older people who are not technologically savvy, those who are well-versed in technology, as well as at-risk youths.

At each centre there will be Nalis employees to help guide individuals in their use of the libraries and in their search for information. She said this is an age of information overload and the staff will be there to assist in shifting through the clutter by helping to find reputable sources, and by refining a search so the client can find exactly what they were looking for. The point, she said, is to give people a variety of viewpoints so they could form an opinion or make a choice.

“It’s no longer just a question of people having to come to Port of Spain or having to access one of the main libraries. You can actually stay in your community and access the services. That way there is a deeper sense of engagement,” Parsanlal said.

Another way to engage is to host events at the libraries. For example, on Saturdays at the Nalis building on Abercromby Street, Port of Spain, gaming competitions are held at the Young Adult Library.

He explained it is a tool for literacy, where the youths have to read the instructions and storylines, and later have a conversation about the game, relating it to society and making choices. It also helps form good social groups.

Parsanlal said staff at the Maloney Public Library have changed the opening hours to meet the needs of the community. He said that library was now the preferred “safe space” of the community, where police town meetings are held, people play chess club and participate in a CEPEP empowering programme, financial and computer literacy classes and more.

“What a library represented 20 years ago has changed. Libraries are no longer a static space. We are moving from the point where a library is a place you have to be quiet, to a place that is abuzz with activity on any given day,” he said.

In addition to the new thrust of community engagement, Romain stressed that Nalis still has a mandate to provide for literacy in TT, which is one of the reasons they would not completely get rid of print materials. She said Nalis has an ongoing relationship with the Adult Literacy Tutors Association, in which clients can register for literacy classes at a Nalis library. Nalis also hosts a youth literacy programme for students moving from primary to secondary schools.