Dominica Library receives donation of 23,840 books from Book Aid International.
Book Aid International has honored its commitment to support the restoration of library services on the island. On May 23, 2019, the Dominica Library and Information Service (DLIS) received a donation of twenty-three thousand eight hundred and forty (23,840) books from Book Aid International.
Book Aid International is the UK’s leading book donation and library development charity and has worked in partnership with the library services for over 60 years. Book Aid provides books, resources and training that have supported millions of people with the resources they need to develop their skills and read for pleasure – from children to adults, students and professional and famer to medical staff. The Charity is funded entirely through the support of individual donors, trusts, foundations and corporate sponsors with their work supported by committed volunteers who hold fundraisers in their local communities.
In April 23, 2018 the DLIS received a first donation of two thousand one hundred and thirty-one (2,131) books after signing a Partnership Agreement on January 5, 2018. The books were placed in immediate circulation at all public libraries to provide reading materials for clients post hurricane Maria. A new partnership agreement was signed on 24 January 2019 to effect Book Aid International’s commitment of late 2017 to assist with replacing the twenty-five thousand books lost during hurricane Maria.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development Chandler Hyacinth welcomed the donation, saying it was a major boost to efforts to restock the library.
We remain committed to providing Dominicans with the mean to access new information and knowledge. Reading is still the most reliable way of educating our people and ensuring that they are developed intellectually to become productive citizens. This significant donation from Book Aid will assist us in that regard as we continue to foster a reading population in Dominica.
Chandler Hyacinth: Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education
The donation comprises five thousand, three hundred and sixty-three (5363) titles of varying subjects under themes such as Children and Primary (852 titles); Development (102 title), Leisure Reading (1087 titles), Teenage Fiction (315 titles) Adult Fiction (1708 titles), Medicine and Health Care (401 titles), Higher Education (168 titles), Vocational, Teacher Training, Secondary, Reference, Professional Business and Law.
Chief Librarian, Mrs. Vernanda Raymond expressed “deepest gratitude for this donation” and informs that over the next two months staff of the DLIS, past chief librarians and volunteers will process the donation to make them available to users of the public at libraries, mobile units, community and schools libraries, and early childhood institutions.
This article is copyright © 2019 DOM767
