Govt to ‘phase’ restoration of historic Carnegie Library

A long-awaited project to return the National Library Service to the iconic Carnegie building in Bridgetown is finally moving forward, as the minister for culture confirmed phased reconstruction of the century‑old landmark after nearly two decades of closure.

 

Senator Dr Shantal Munro‑Knight made the announcement to reporters at the Barbados Museum’s Cultural Extravaganza at The Garrison.

 

The Carnegie Free Library on Coleridge Street, Bridgetown, was built between 1903 and 1906 with a gift by Scottish‑American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. It was the first and largest of the Carnegie libraries built in the English-speaking Caribbean. The building was closed in 2006 for renovation and has remained shuttered ever since while the library’s main branch was relocated to Independence Square.

 

“The Carnegie Library was closed, just basically because it began to run into some level of disrepair,” Senator Munro‑Knight explained. “Of course, a building that is that old over time you’re gonna have issues whether it’s in the roof, so we had some problems and stuff that emerged, some loss of integrity in the whole structure of the building.”

 

She acknowledged that progress has been slow due to the age, size and unique architectural features of the building, which make restoration costly and complex. But she said the government has decided to move forward using the resources currently available.

 

The Ministry of Culture is now working with Barbados Tourism Investment Incorporated (BTII) to develop design plans for a state‑of‑the‑art library, with construction expected to take place in phases.

 

She said: “We’re gonna have to do a whole new roof, when I say repair, I’m just making that point again about destructive integrity and not necessarily wanting to lose that nice old traditional kind of structure. We don’t wanna tear it down and then build something completely new.”

 

Senator Munro‑Knight said the redesigned library will blend preservation with modern functionality and sustainability.

 

“We also want to modernize it so the designs that we have for Carnegie Library now are really about looking at the issues of sustainability. Of course we are retaining the structure and integrity, but how do we use the space in a better way, how do we make use of the sunlight and the trees and the whatnot so that we’re building in those aspects of sustainability into what will emerge as the new Carnegie Library.”

 

Plans also include creating welcoming public spaces.

 

She said: “How do we make it to make sure that we have open spaces within the library and around the library that people can sit around and enjoy? We wanna build cafe spaces so that people can come and relax, so the library is open. People feel that they can come into the library and not be intimidated about it.”

 

The minister noted that libraries continue to play an important role in daily life, particularly for people seeking essential services.

 

“They need to come to reference material, but it’s also a safe space, whatever it is going on inside your home or whatever, you can come to the library, for whatever period of time and you have a a safe space, that is there.”

 

On funding, Senator Munro‑Knight said approximately $2 million has been earmarked so far, primarily for design and initial structural work.

 

“We’ve earmarked, over a couple of financial years it’s about $2 million which is really a drop in the bucket, for what needs to be done, but we could either choose to say we can’t start unless we have all of the funds, and I would say to you that, even though we’re still trying to get an estimate of the total cost for the rebuild will be expensive.”

 

Owing to limited resources, construction will be carried out in stages, according to the minister.

 

“They will start with some of the retention walls so like strengthen the structural integrity of some of the walls, and then with the upcoming financial year then we’ll see then what other funds we can get and then we do a different phase as we as we go on.”

 

Senator Munro‑Knight also urged public support for the project, describing the Carnegie Library as a vital part of Barbados’ built heritage.

 

“We’ve been talking a lot about how we preserve our culture, our traditional spaces, and traditional buildings as well, we call it our built heritage and this is one of those kind of iconic spaces for Barbados.”

 

She added that partnerships and philanthropy will be key to completing the project: “Philanthropists out there, people who have some funds that they want to be able to put into a project like this, and certainly we’ll welcome that investment, we’ll welcome partnership with organizations as well, who would be interested in helping us see how we can look to mobilize the necessary resources which would be quite a significant amount I am anticipating in order for us to be able to do this. The government is committed to doing what it has to do to rebuild.”

 

She noted that work to create the National Art Gallery at The Garrison is also ongoing in the government’s commitment to preserve Barbados’ cultural heritage.

 

Between 1883 and 1929, Carnegie’s programme supported the construction of more than 2 500 libraries worldwide, the majority in the US but with significant clusters elsewhere in the Americas, including 125 in Canada and several in the Caribbean and Latin America.

 

The Coleridge Street building was the largest Carnegie library in the British West Indies, the first of eight built in the region. The steel magnate’s grants went to Barbados, Dominica, Guyana, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, and two locations in Trinidad and Tobago. Carnegie’s gift to Barbados was worth US$46 660 in 1906, equivalent to just under $2 million today.

louriannegraham@barbadostoday.bb