The eighty year old Carnegie Free Library is entering a new phase under the new National Library and Information System (NALIS), of which it is now an integral part. This new national dispensation for the public library system will see many changes in terms, not only of the organisational structure, but certainly in the way services will be provided, streamlined and made more end-user friendly.

Carnegie has always tried to be relevant to its community of users. With technological change already impacting on the delivery of its services, it is retooling in order to be flexible. As a consequence the staff skills and competencies are being upgraded, with training in new areas being anticipated in order to equip individuals with the necessary knowledge and skills, to cope in this fast-changing environment.

The Reference Services, formerly housed in the old building which has been providing a one-stop-shopping service, have been relocated on the top floor of the La Pique Shopping Plaza, just across the street, since June of this year. The space formerly occupied by the Reference Services, on the ground floor of the library, have since been undergoing physical refurbishing, in order to transform the area into a public Reading Room, a Young Adult Corner, and Paperback browsing area.

These three separate spaces will take on a new look - just as inviting as that which confronts the user when he/she enters the Adult Lending Library. A purpose built circulation desk now wraps around a once adamant and dysfunctional concrete column with professional purpose. Lighting has been increased, the island stacks have been re-arranged to facilitate easier access between the aisles, the interior repainted and several intervening partitions have been removed to give the space an open plan feel.

The public Reading Room will be soon ready for browsers to come in and sit, relax and check out a wide range of magazines - about fifty in number, plus the daily newspapers. This has been a sorely needed facility which has been absent for the better part of twenty-five years. It is hoped that the housewife, the professional, sporty, arty, business, unemployed, and man in the street would return to the library.

The Young Adults corner is being specially designed with the 13-19 age group in mind. Books, magazines, CD ROMS, videos, computers, book talks and other social sessions, would all form part of this service. Care is being taken to select the right furniture, color scheming and décor that would enhance the ambiance of the area.

The popular paperback collection - an always sought out genre of reading materials - will be housed adjacent to the Young Adults area. Paperbacks constitute on an average, about -  52% of our monthly book loans.

The transformation of the Carnigie Free Library under NALIS is a responsive change. Computers are already part of the information providers in the Reference Section, offering free internet access to members of the public. Soon, the lending libraries and the catalogues will be fully computerized thus further extending the hand of information technology to the people of Trinidad and Tobago.

Carnegie is embracing the change. It is also looking forward to greater physical expansion in the millennium.
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