After closing its doors almost three months ago and shutting away its treasure trove of books due to the hurricane-battered state of its building, Philipsburg Jubilee Library is reopening its doors on Monday, March 4, in a temporary location and with a vastly reduced number of titles.
The library will open on the first floor of the Adolphus Richardson building on W.
JA Nisbeth Road, just around the corner from Sundial School. A cybercafé and a study room form part of the offerings at the temporary location. Plans are still in the works for a permanent location for the library where the full collection can again be accessed by the public. The reduced collection will feature mainly children’s books to aim for schoolwork and study, magazines and newspapers. All examination-class reading books are also available. Books from the toddler and junior sections are readily accessible as of Monday. Besides the physical location, the library has been working on increasing the titles available via its digital library via the “Libby” app. Some 800 titles are already available via this portal. The goal is to increase that number to 1,000 by the end of the first quarter. The digital library can only be accessed with a valid library card. The library urges all cardholders to visit the temporary location to update their cards; regular fees apply. Prior to Irma, the library was home to more than 60,000 titles; of those, some 8,000 were destroyed in the storm. In the makeshift location in the library’s foyer, where the library operated prior to the building’s closure due to mold and other health hazards, 700 titles were available. The new temporary location has less than that now. All transactions, including the return of books and renewing library cards, can be conducted at the new location. The help desk will also assist library members to download and activate “Libby” on their mobile devices. Library cardholders can park at the old library parking lot or in the public lot across from the temporary location. Library opening hours remain the same: Monday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Tuesday to Friday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, and Saturday 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. The library is closed on Sundays.
