A recycled 18th-century former jail (a ‘gaol’ in British English) transitioned into the first public library in the Bahamas in 1873. This library, now a museum too, is still going strong in the city of Nassau on New Providence Island. Using a former jail somehow fits! Afterall, this area of the Bahamas was the site … More Libraries Round the World: In a Former British Gaol
While on a short visit in the Azores island archipelago last month, I spotted several libraries. The Azores (Açores in Portuguese) consists of a group of nine volcanic islands surrounded by the vast blue, azure Atlantic Ocean. The Azores is part of Portugal. The Public Library and Archives of Ponta Delgada (the capital of the … More Libraries Round the World: On a Mid-Atlantic Island
Block Island’s public library dates all the way back to 1875. Impressive, considering that the island covers less than 10-square miles with a population hovering around a thousand today. But this number swells with tourists in the summer, and most arrive on ferries. They disembark right into the Old Harbor Historic District filled with 42 … More Libraries Round the World: A Victorian Summer on Block Island
