A HISTORY OF THE PORT OF SPAIN PUBLIC LIBRARY

The Birth of the Public Library

The Public Library services first took the form of a collection of books from a circulating library maintained for many years by leading citizens of Port of Spain. On 1st February 1851, Governor Lord Harris put before the Council of Government an Ordinance towards the establishment of a Public Library in Port of Spain. He called together some of the most distinguished men in Port of Spain and formed a Library Committee.

Ordinance No. 2 of 1851 constituted the library, fixed a Government Grant of 300 pounds a year for maintenance, while members paid an annual subscription of 2 pounds. In 1852, subscription was reduced to 1 pound, and in 1853 the Government Grant was increased to 400 pounds.

Previous Ordinances and another of 1861 were incorporated into Ordinance No. 24 of 1890, under which the chairman and committee were constituted a body corporate. Fees for life membership and the subscription were to be fixed by the committee. At this time the library was designated the Trinidad Public Library.

All Ordinances were consolidated in Ordinance No. 42 of 1922. The Committee now consisted of six members appointed by the Governor, one appointed by the Corporation for every 50 pounds of annual grant, and one by subscribers for every 50 of their number. The purpose of the committee was to provide and set apart some portion of the Library for use as a free reading room for the General Public. Part of the Library was to be used for meetings.

The books of the Library were moved from one temporary location to another, until in 1875 Premises on Chicano Street were purchased out of a legacy. Later the Library moved to a building erected on Woodford Square. In 1901 the Committee issued debentures to pay for the sale of the building, and citizens contributed $3,085. Funds from the sale of the former building also contributed to the venture.

The Library was solidly built with a simple arcaded second story. The ground floor maintained a free reading-room, a well-used lending library, and a small office for the librarian who supervised four assistants.

The number of volumes in stock was 24,321 and long files of local newspapers were also carefully kept. In 1931, the book stock had climbed to 31, 302 books and 21,343 magazines, which were issued for home reading. At this time, inter-library co-orporation with other West Indian Libraries or with the San Fernando Library or even the Tobago Library did not exist.

Subscriptions of $5 annually entitled the user to four books and four magazines or papers simultaneously. If users lived beyond six miles of Port of Spain two extra books or magazines were available. Members were allowed to vote at the Annual General meeting for the election of the Committee.

Occasional subscribers paid one shilling a month for two books or two magazines, or one book and one magazine, or four newspapers at a time. Children under fifteen years paid six dimes a month for one book and one magazine at a time.

By the end of this decade, the POS Library had grown so much that it was thought to be in need of a more appropriate building to house a lecture room, and a museum. In addition demands on the service suggested expansion to cater rooms for fiction, General Reference, West Indian Reference, periodicals as well as a workroom and an Issues / Control Department.

Page Created: 2002-10-21