Saturday, February 25, 2012

The Suva City Carnegie Library (Suva, Fiji)

In 1907, Andrew Carnegie donated $7,300 (equivalent to £1460 at the time) for the establishment of the Suva City Carnegie Library in Suva, Fiji. The library is still in operation today.    

Sources: Panapasa, Geraldine. “Library Comes of Age.” The Fiji Times Online. Fiji Times Unlimited, 14 Sept. 2008. Web. 3 Feb. 2012. ; Calvert, Philip J. “Pacific Island Libraries.” International Dictionary of Library Histories, Vol. 1. Ed. David H. Stam. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2001. 125. Print. ; Williams, Esther Batiri. "Fiji." World Encyclopedia of Library and Information Services. Ed. Robert Wedgeworth. 3rd ed. Chicago: American Library Association, 1993. 293-294. Print. ; "Suva City Library Celebrates 100 Years." The Fiji Times Online. Fiji Times Unlimited, 3 Sept. 2008. Web. 3 Mar. 2012.

Update 04/13/2012:

  William Thomson, the great-grandson of Andrew Carnegie, was special guest at the Suva City Carnegie Library 100th Anniversary Celebration.

Source: "Suva City Library Celebrates 100 Years." The Fiji Times Online. Fiji Times Unlimited, 3 Sept. 2008. Web. 13 Apr. 2012.

The following monographs on the Suva City Carnegie Library were found through a search on OCLC's WorldCat database:

Baksh, S. The Suva City Library: A Brief History and Development, 1909-1980. Suva: Suva City Library, 1980. Print.

Cerelala, Isimeli and Frances Pene. Suva City Carnegie Library: 100th Anniversary. Suva: Admed Consultants, 2008. Print.

Update 10/03/2012:

 Before the Suva City Carnegie Library was established, there were earlier initiatives to provide library services in Fiji. One such initiative was the creation of the Levuka Reading Room in Levuka, Fiji by William Thomas Pritchard. The Levuka Reading Room was built between 1858 and 1862, and remained in operation until 1872. The reading room's collection was later transferred to the Levuka Mechanics Institute.

Sources: Calvert, Philip James. "The Levuka Reading Room: Fiji's First Library." Journal of Library History 20.3 (1985): 302-309. Print. ; Mason, James E. Handbook to Fiji and Catalogue of the Exhibits. London: William Clowes and Sons, Ltd., 1886. 27. Print. ;Calvert, Philip J. “Pacific Island Libraries.” International Dictionary of Library Histories, Vol. 1. Ed. David H. Stam. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2001. 125. Print. ; Cooper, H. Stonehewer. Our New Colony Fiji: Its History, Progress, and Resources. London: Mortgage and Agency Co. of Australasia, 1882. 17. Print. ; Horne, Gerald. The White Pacific: U.S. Imperialism and Black Slavery in the South Seas after the Civil War. Honolulu: U of Hawaii P, 2007. 80. Print.

Update 09/30/2015:

Related posts:  Carnegie Free Library of Barbados (Bridgetown, Barbados) ; Carnegie Free Library of San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago; and Carnegie Free Library of St. Lucia (Castries, St. Lucia).

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