Spring Village Library Welcomes New Director. November 6,
2009
The Spring village Library
welcomes Rose Cole-Balgrove as its new director. Rose, a native of Spring
Village brings new energy and
fresh perspective as she joins the team to enhance the library’s operations
and help us fulfill our mandate.
For a few months back the
team has been searching for someone locally to help in this area so that the
library can build on its existing success and also move to the next level.
This became even more urgent as our Peace Corps volunteer Craig Erickson
completed his tenure and has recently moved back to the US.
Rose is currently the
secretary of the Spring Village
Gospel Assembly
Church and has offered to help
us. She brings her organizational and leadership skills as well as her
charisma to help fulfill this key role. Both Rose and Jerry Nelson will collaborate
in this roll however she will be on site from time to time to work with our
lead librarian Chrisoula Georges to manage the operations of the library.
Please join us in
welcoming Rose as she brings new insight to such an important institution
within of our community.
Spring Village Bids farewell to Craig Erickson. September 1,
2009
Craig Erickson, a native
of New Jersey USA has served Spring
Village as a Peace Corps
volunteer since September 2007. Throughout his tenure, Craig has made a significant
and lasting impact on the community. He has worked to create key youth
programs and was very instrumental in bringing the ICT4D literacy program to
the Spring Village Library. He also taught computer literacy courses in the
community and also wrote grants to launch a multi-media centre within the
community.
During his tenure, Craig
played a significant role in helping to lay the foundation of the library by working
in concert with Jerry Nelson to define the operations and also manage its
technical aspects as well. Craig also helped to bring various programs into
the library so that a wide cross-section of the community could benefit from
the library.
As we say goodbye to Craig
we cannot help but express our deepest gratitude to him for leaving the
comfort and safety of his country to labour unselfishly among us. For this we
are eternally grateful.
St. Catherine Parish Library visits the Spring
Village Library July 3, 2009
The Senior Librarian of
the St. Catherine Parish Library, Miss Paulette Benjie is scheduled to visit
the Spring Village Library for the second time this year. The first visit was
done a few months ago where the occasion was used to evaluate the library and
provide valuable feedback in key areas.
This is part of the
overall strategy of the Spring Village Library project where the goal is to
establish an ongoing relationship with the Jamaica Library Service and thus
benefit from their expertise so that appropriate methods can be used in the
establishment of the library.
This visit will be used to
train our three librarians to arrange the books using standardized practices
so that they can be located more efficiently by patrons. Discussions are also
underway to allow librarians to attend additional training sessions on
location in Spanish Town
in the near future.
Usage of the Spring
Village Library continues to grow as it is starting to be seen as commonplace
within the community. It gets daily use from the 30 or more HART student
population currently attending the Training Centre plus the surge of
grade-school students (25-30) which comes in daily to borrow books. In
addition, those attending high school as well as college drops in during the
evenings to do homework or to work on their research papers. Finally, the
small but growing number of adult visitors (who are now getting used to the
presence of a library in their community) are slowly but surely coming in to
do their share of reading and learning to use the computers. These successes
underscore the relevance of the library project and are indicative of the
great future which lies ahead.
The Spring Village Library
is extremely grateful for the support of the St. Catherine Parish Library as
it establishes itself and an invaluable resource within the surrounding area.
Its presence eliminates the need for bookmobiles as well as a schools library
program, plus the depth and breadth of its collection will make it a hub for
students and professionals within the surrounding areas and beyond.
The much needed expansion
of the facility has seen setbacks late last year due to the lack of specific
building materials but despite these challenges the focus remains and the
project team will continue to seek support; therefore, it is not a question
of “if” but “when”.
Library Usage Surges Sept.5, 2008
The population of visitors
to the Spring Village Library continues to grow in “leaps and bounds”. Over
the last two months the library has experienced a recent surge of new users.
This started as school began its new term and as students are now getting
back into their studies. The visitors range from youngsters from the basic
school to professionals, as residents are starting to see the resources of
the library a key source for their own development.
The library is fast
becoming a hub for those doing serious research in high school and college
and has also become part of the daily routine for students attending the
Spring Village Training Centre. There are also daily visits from students
dropping in from the All-age school next door who stop by to do their
homework or use the computers.
The Spring village has now
emerged as a key component in improving the quality of education for
residents of the community and is also experiencing a steady population of
usage from non-residents as well.
The library continues to
face challenges since the space is much too small for the level of
utilization; nevertheless those who attend are eager for the breadth of
material they find and are not daunted by such limitations.
Plans
are underway for providing additional space however funding is very limited.
The goal is to add a second floor to the existing facility to improve its
service. If you would like to donate to the expansion program please feel
free to notify us at: svlib@yahoo.com
Spring Village Library Featured on TV Aug. 13, 2008
During the week of Spring
Village Reunion 2008 the Spring Village Library was again placed in the
spotlight. This time a media house was on site to feature some of its key
achievements and to chronicle its progress since its inception. This took
place during the career and Information expo day put on by the US Chapters at
the community centre.
Click to watch
the video!
Library Launches new Website and Online Catalog June, 2008
The Spring Village Library continues to make great strides in
its evolution as it sets course to become one of the most resourceful
libraries in Jamaica. Sponsored by the Spring Village
Associations abroad, the project has been spearheaded by the New York chapter in collaboration with the Spring
Village Development Foundation which is a local body.
Since its inception over the last two and a half years it has
seen significant changes. Some of these key milestones include a collection
of over 10,000 books, tapes, CD’s and videos donated predominantly by the
Morris County Library of New Jersey, USA, Computers donated by the New York
Chapter and other Organizations, High Speed Internet by Jamaica Broilers,
Furniture by the Florida Chapter and library management software by the New
York Chapter.
The latest developments now include is own website coupled
with online catalog (also donated by the New York Chapter). This is in keeping
with the goal of using the most current technology where possible. As a
result the collection is now visible to the outside world. This means that
patrons in the village or outside will be able to search for items before
making a trip to the library. They will also be able to send a note to the
librarian to reserve the item if necessary.
This marks another chapter in the unflinching desire to
improve the socio-economic wellbeing of the community by providing freeform
access to current knowledge.
As a result of the library, for the first time in our history
there have never been more youngsters attending a library and engaging the
reading experience as a natural part of growing up. Slowly but surely, adults
as well as others from neighboring communities are embracing the opportunity
as they are beginning to find it a much needed resource, of course, this is
only the beginning of great things to come.
As time goes by, plans are being made to expand the facility
to create much needed space for additional activities.
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