$24M bookmobile for National Library

[youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAUPG_rncKY” width=”100%” height=”315″]

– Aims to improve literacy levels in Guyana.

– More than 3000 books will be available.

– Public access to laptops and wireless printers.

DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, January 23, 2019

A $24 Million bookmobile, which will serve the East Coast Demerara, was presented to the National Library this morning.

The donation which is the first of its kind for the Georgetown Rotary Club is aimed at improving literacy among all age groups and strengthen the capacity of the communities and support basic education.

Minister of Education, Dr. Nicolette Henry checking out the books onboard the Bookmobile.

From right to left are Rotary District Governor, Dominique Venre handing over the key of the Bookmobile to Deputy Chief Librarian, Nadine Moore.

…(from right to left)Rotary District Governor, Dominique Venre, Minister of Education, Dr. Nicolette Henry and a student representative from the Bishop High School preparing to cut the ribbon of the Bookmobile.

A section of the gathering at the commissioning of the first ever Bookmobile.

…(from left to right) Chairman Committee of the National Library, Rotary District Governor, Dominique Venre, Minister of Education, Dr Nicolette Henry, Chief Education Officer, Marcel Hutson and President of the Rotary Club of Georgetown, Ralph Persaud.

Some of the 3000 books onboard the Bookmobile.

The brand-new bookmobile in the compound of the National Library.

Minister of Education, Dr. Nicolette Henry who officially handed over the bookmobile said libraries perform an extremely important service in providing support to one of the important pillars of education delivery – literacy.

“This mobile unit will be moving from community to community and it is important in several ways. I believe it is aligned to the principles of access and equity because we are taking the service to the people and this is very important because we live in a society where the further you get from Georgetown the greater the disparity,” Minister Henry said.

The Education Minister also noted her satisfaction that this venture aligns with the vision of President David Granger who said, “Education will be the single vehicle that will take this country from poverty to prosperity.” She underscored that her ministry is modernising education in several ways, however, reading is a very important component in the delivery of quality education.

More than 3000 books will be provided by the bookmobile along with wireless printers and laptops equipped with external memory drives to enable students to access soft copies of research material.

The mobile unit will be visiting outlying communities along with Nursery and Primary schools on the East Coast Demerara. These schools are Grahams Hall Primary, Better Hope Primary, Enmore/Hope Primary, Mon Repos Primary, Chateau Margot Primary, Cummings Lodge Primary, La Bonne Intention Primary, St. Paul’s Primary, Better Hope Nursery, West Road Nursery and Lusignan Nursery.

Ayana George.

Images: Marceano Narine.