National Library to re-open in May 2023 |09 June 2022
Viewing ongoing renovation work at the site yesterday (Photo: Joena Meme)
- National Archives to get new building
The National Library is expected to re-open its doors to the general public in May 2023 but without its neighbour, the National Archives.
It was the general manager of Green Island Construction Company (GICC), Angelic Antat, who made the announcement during a press briefing yesterday afternoon on the ongoing renovation work on the building.
Also present were the permanent secretary for Culture, Heritage and the Arts in the Seychelles National Institute of Culture, Heritage and the Arts (SNICHA), Cecile Kalebi, and the chief executive of the Seychelles Infrastructure Agency (SIA), Jitesh shah, among other representatives from both GICC and from the institute.
Ms Antat stated that all of the old structures inside have been demolished and new structures are being built to support the glass separations to be installed. For complete silence in the building, the floor tiling will be replaced by carpets among other finishing touches materials to add for it to be ready by May 2023.
Apart from being spacious, it will also be equipped with a new centralised air conditioning system that will make it resilient to fungus.
Work to completely renovate the old National Library and turn it into an airy, modern library started in February this year. The renovation work is being undertaken by GICC at a cost of R75 million.
Once finished, the ground plus two-storey building will be equipped with modern library facilities for children and adults, open air spaces for study, a computer room, a cafeteria among other services to beoffered, including offices for the institute.
The National Library, which also housed the National Archives and several other offices for the then Ministry of Culture and Tourism, closed down in 2019 after being infested with mould. The fungus was first detected in 2012 in the National Archives which triggered a two-week closure to remove it. The National Library closed for a second time in August 2013 and a third time in 2016, specifically for the Library and National Archives sections after more complaints that the mould was still around and staff, mostly from the National Archives, were being affected by the fungus.
After seeking help from a South African contractor specialised in removing mould and humidity, the building was re-opened in December 2013 for the library and archives only to be closed down again in 2016 after the fungus re-appeared.
It is to be noted that following an investigation in 2017 into the fungus infestation, people whose health were affected by fungus emanating from the archives section were compensated. Most of them suffered chronic skin problems.
Speaking on the fate of the National Archives, PS Kalebi said that the plan is to relocate it in a new building to be constructed, details of which will be announced in due course.
She added that inadequate space at the National Library is the main reason for relocating the National Archives in its building so that in the event of another fungus outbreak, only the library will be affected and not the whole system.
She noted that the archive is carrying on with the process of scanning and treatment of all of its old documents.
With regard to the children and adult libraries, PS Kalebi stated that the fiction copies being lent out to the public will be hard copies in the two libraries as well as their electronic (E-Book) versions. As for the very old books, work is underway to make available their digital copies.
She added that the library is also outsourcing new books that will attract the general public, especially the youths, to the library.
Mr Shah said that the main cause for the mould invasion in the building was as a result of poor ventilation.
He noted that with the new centralised air conditioning system that will be put in place along with the easy to clean fungus resilient materials to be used as finishing touches, will prevent the occurrence of another mould invasion.
The design for the complete renovation of the building was done by Ah-Time Architects in consultation with SNICHA and SIA.
The National Library, a contribution from the people of Seychelles, was officially opened by former President France Albert Rene, on June 18, 1994, after three years of construction which started in 1991. It was formally known as the Carnegie Public Library from way back in 1910 until it was declared the National Library of Seychelles in 1978.
The accompanying photos are an artist’s impression of what the interior of the National Library building will look like after the renovation work.
Patrick Joubert
