Libraries began in The Bahamas since the early 19th century. The call for libraries came as early as 1804, as populations increased following the Loyalists influx of the 1800s. The first libraries in existence today were started over one hundred fifty (150) years. The Nassau Public Library was established in 1837 and its Act was passed in 1847(See the the link Nassau Public Library). National Library and Information Services was established in the late 20th century. On March 10th 2009, the new National Library and Information Services Authority Act was passed merging the older board operated libraries in New Providence and those on the Family Islands into one National Library Services System.
National Library and Information Services main aim is to unite over 60 branches libraries in New Providence and the Family Islands into one modern, automated system, offering quality, standardised services in all islands.
Establishment of eleven (11) branch libraries in New Providence
Two (2) of the new libraries offer extended evening hours and they are open on Saturday. The first four Public Libraries have continuously offered extended hours and services on Saturdays.
#9 College Ave.
Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Users have access to the following:
The Coconut Grove Library was founded in 1971. It started in the home of Ms. Helen Hutcheson, who lived in the community. At that time, children in the vicinity came and sat in her home to read. When Mr. Edmund Moxey, the Member of Parliament at the time, heard about it, he encouraged Ms. Hutcheson to share her books with not only a few persons, but the whole community.
The library was officially opened in January 1974. Books were purchased locally and from the Gumdrop Company. Some were also donated from the public. This was a luminous idea for the development of inner city residents.
Long time library supervisor Mrs. Cynthia Sargent retired in April 2017. Mrs. Shonley Cartwright is presently in charge of the library.
A membership fee is paid yearly as follows:
Users have access to the following:
The G.K. Symonette Library was constructed in 1986 and opened to the public on December 11 1987. It was named after the mother of the then Member of Parliament for Yellow Elder, Clement T. Maynard. Georgiana Kathleen Symonette played a major part in the Woman’s Suffrage Movement, which advocated for the rights of women to vote in the Bahamas. The Library sits in the Yellow Elder Community on Graham Drive and was established from private funding and from the efforts of the residents of Yellow Elder lead by Sir Clement Maynard, the Member of Parliament.
G.K. Symonette Public Library caters to the needs of those in the surrounding community and beyond. It provides access to the Internet and has became a place of study for students at area schools.
GK Symonette is continuing in its quest to cater to the needs of all that enter its doors, providing information and resources that is accurate, readily accessible and informative, going beyond the call in shaping and molding the minds of our future leaders.
The library has a collection of approximately 5,000 print materials. The collection has grown from donations and purchase of materials.
Eleven computers are available for public use-three of these donated by Sir Clement Maynard.
A membership fee is paid yearly as follows:
Students
Users have access to the following:
Staff members:
gksymonettelibrary@nlis.bs
The Library is now fully operational.
The Carmichael Road Public Library was built in the heart of the constituency to further the Government’s policy to continue the expansion of community libraries, and to provide study spaces for seekers of information. This library was completed in April 1999 although the official opening was not held until July 26th, 2001. Ms. Roslyn Thompson, a former A. F. Adderley teacher was released to the library in March 1999 to act in the capacity of supervisor. She has since retired and Ms Maud Evans is now the library Supervisor.
Ms. June Hutchinson became the first person to take out membership in the library on September 28th, 2001, just two months following the official opening in July.
The library’s mission is to provide access to accurate information that meets patron’s educational, social and cultural needs, and to ensure quality service in a safe, clean environment.
On Carmichael Road in the Government Complex with the Post Office, opposite the Flamingo Gardens Clinic.
Monday to Friday 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Each first and third Saturday in the month 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Sample of Carmichael Road Public Library Book Circulation
The Carmihael Road Public Library has less than six thousand books available for lending.
{flowplayer}images/videos/reader.flv{/flowplayer}
Master Don King is reading an excerp from “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe.
{flowplayer}images/videos/jingle.flv{/flowplayer}
Library Jingle created during Carmichael Road Library student Programme.
Users have access to the following:
Nassau Public Library is uniquely housed in one of the oldest, and only octagonal historic building in The Bahamas. The edifice was originally completed between 1798 – 1800, as the first ‘gaol’ and correctional work house by Mr. Joseph Eve, a loyalist. Conveniently located near downtown Nassau at Bank Lane and Shirley Street, (Parliament Square), this towering frame stands four stories high with all the original ‘native stones’. It comprises a basement being the ‘dungeon’, the two middle floors being – the main library – museum – reading rooms, and the upper floor also known as ‘the Board Room.’ The outer section of this room is surrounded by a picturesque ‘Veranda’ that has a breath taking view of the city of Nassau.
In 1873 when a new prison was built, the building in downtown Nassau which once housed prisoners was converted and became home to the Nassau Public Library. The original cells that once housed prisoners, are today peaceful, well lit and well ventilated alcoves lined with modern bookshelves and their contents.
The Nassau Public Library today remains a historical and reference library housing Bahamian history from Colonial times to the present. The lower floor contains the Children’s Department and adult fiction and paperback novels along with computers for public use. The upper floor contains non-fiction and reference books. There is also a display of Bahamian artifacts and books. The level above the second floor that was once thought to be the General’s Office now functions as an attic where old artifacts are kept. On the outside is the balcony where a picturesque scene of the surrounding neighborhood can be viewed.
Since its conversion in 1873 from a hectic prison environment to that of a tranquil place of study, the library has seen an extensive increase in a variety of services, numerous technological advancements, vast expansion in study material, and many added special features all fully accessible to the general public.
Over the years, the library has operated under the Nassau Library rules 1961. It is governed by an annually appointed Board of Trustees, four (4) of whom are nominated by the Governor General and three (3) others are elected by the subscribers. However, in March 2009 the rules were amended and updated by the Bahamas Parliament in a new National Library and Information Services Authority Act.
Today, The Nassau Public Library, headed by Mrs. Winifred Murphy, along with a friendly helpful staff is very important to the island of New Providence. It functions as a Bahamian and International resource centre to many primary and high school and tertiary level students, and caters to more than 5,000 subscribers, who are attracted to its diverse collection of novels and other reading materials.
Opened in 1953, the Eastern Public Library is situated above the old Public Records office in the old Post Office building on Mackey Street. In its early years, Ms. Carmen Jones was the librarian; she assumed this role until her death in 1979.
Over the years, the library has progressed into one of the most patronized libraries in New Providence. This may be due to the fact that the Bahamas Archives is on the same compound and its strategic location near to the town centre. The Eastern Public Library has gone through some restoration to keep up with the wear and tear of reported tornados, the rainy season and many hurricanes.
Synonymous with the Eastern Public Library are Cabinet Minister Bradley Roberts, who has been Chairman from 1979 and Ms. Miriam Knowles who worked in the library from 1960 until 1996. Mrs. Norma Gordon-Butler serves as the library supervisor today.
Users have access to the following:
Telephone number: (242) 393-2196
The Wulff Road Public Library was built in 1988 and served as the temporary center for The Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE), before opening to the public in 1994. It is one of the largest libraries in the country and is used as the central processing library. Ms. Marsha Major is the supervisor.
A membership fee is paid yearly as follows:
Students
Users have access to the following:
The South Beach Community Library, the 10th public library established in New Providence was officially opened on Thursday 31st January 2002. The library opened its doors to the public on March 26th, 2002. This library falls under the administration of Bahamas Library Service, Ministry of Education, Nassau, The Bahamas.
The library was established to cater to the needs of a rapidly expanding business and residential community in the Southern district of the island. Its mission is to provide users with easy access to information and educational resources that meet the needs of a changing and diverse community.
This state-of-the-art facility spreads over 3,945.8 square feet. The main section is divided into three areas: Children’s Library, Adult Section, and Reference Section. In addition there is an audiovisual room (which also serves as a private study room, a meeting room and for Literacy tutoring), a technical service room, a supervisor’s office, a staff room and a Special Collection Room.
The Special Collection Room stores Bahamian and Caribbean books, government documents and publications and other local publications. The library also has a growing vertical file collection.
Books at the South Beach Community Library are organized under the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system.
The Nassau Guardian – available daily.
The Tribune – available on Monday and Thursday
South Beach library started lending book loans on January 4th 2005.
The South Beach Community Library is located on East Street South in the complexe that houses the South Beach Post Office, the South Beach Health Center, C.V. Bethel High School and the East Street Police Station.
September – June:
July – August:
Library Statistics 2014-15
| YEAR | 2014-15 |
|---|---|
| Patron visits | 24,427 |
| Use of Computer | 13,202 |
Not Available
No Info
The library provides access to:
No Info
Formally called the Grant’s Town/Southern Public Library, it was opened in 1951. It was due to the lobby of now deceased distinguished gentlemen, Mr. Bert Cambridge and Dr. Claudius Walker (Both Members of Parliament), that this library was opened to meet the reading demand of the Negro populace of the community. Its predecessor, the Grant’s Town Library, opened in 1930, had been destroyed by rioters and set on fire during the 1942 Burma Road Riots.
Mrs. Ruth Russell became the librarian when its doors opened for the first time in 1951. Following Mrs. Russell’s retirement in 1955, Mrs. Lillian G. Weir-Coakley became the librarian. Although Mrs. Coakley had no formal training in librarianship, she worked assiduously for more than thirty-seven (37) years to provide library services to the people of the community. Following Mrs. Coakley’s retirement in 1992 and passing in 2002, the library was named in her honour on July 1, 2004. Replacing Mrs. Coakley was Mr. Jerome Agboyi, who became the librarian until he moved on in 2011.
Synonymous with the Lillian G. Weir-Coakley Library was Dr. Cleveland Eneas who served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1950 until his death in 1995. To honour his contribution to the development of the library, a bust was commissioned in his likeness on January 14, 2000 and is displayed in the lobby of the library.
Irregular and uncertain Government grants paid a toll on the range of the library services available to the public and membership dropped over the years. Nevertheless, it is envisioned that programs and activities would be reintroduced in the near future.
A membership fee is paid yearly as follows:
Students
Users have access to the following:
Situated in the northwest corner of the Uriah McPhee Primary School grounds on Kemp Road, the Kemp Road Public Library building was first used as housing for the caretaker of the school, however it was misused. Refurbished in 1994 the library officially opened on August 7th, 1998.
In 1994 Mrs. Sylvia Scriven (MP) saw that site as an ideal location for a focal point that would draw the community together, and on her initiative and drive, the Ministry of Public Works was designated to design the building. Patterned after the historic Nassau Public Library, by the end of 1995, the building was completed. Its octagonal shaped gallery, interior staircase and balcony recapturing the grace of a past era. It currently sits amidst flowering Poinciana and Oleander trees blending in with the Uriah McPhee Primary School building, inviting the community to refresh and inform their minds within its walls.
The library’s first event was a Summer Workshop, sponsored by the Ministry of Education, conducted for students on the theme: “Summertime Dreamer-Ethnic Stories.” This activity, which was held from the 27th July to 7th August 1998, was attended not only by the community’s children but also by children from other parts of Nassau. It is hoped that the community will utilize the library to the maximum and revive some of the old spirit of the Kemp Road Community.
A membership fee is paid yearly as follows:
*Only patrons with current membership status are allowed borrowing priveleges.
Users have access to the following:
The Fox Hill Library is located Bernard Road in the eastern district of New Providence. Mrs. Audrey Leigh headed the Fox Hill Public Library until 1975. Ms. Marina Minnis assumed the responsibility afterwards.
September – June:
July – August:
Users have access to the following:
The Elizabeth Estates Library is one of three libraries built in 1999 when the Government decided to upgrade the library system. This edifice for life long learning has a contemporary design with a children’s section and facilities for the networking of computers and Internet access. It stands as a focal point for the local community within an area that houses the local police station, post office and clinic.
Since it opened its doors to the public in July 2003, this library has served as a popular source of information for young people and adults of the Elizabeth Estates and surrounding communities.
This library has become an intergenerational community center where families are flourishing though the utilization of books and services provided.
Students
Users have access to the following:
Telephone number: (242) 364-0105/6
Fax number: (242) 364-0104
Activities such as
storytelling, Oral tradition of Bahamian culture, media, reading games, puzzles, miming, music, dance and dramatic plays would be featured from 28th October to 4th November 2023.
