GREAT BAY--Nearly a decade after Hurricane Irma severely damaged the St. Maarten Library, construction of a new facility officially got underway Tuesday with a groundbreaking ceremony in Philipsburg.
The reconstruction is being carried out by Steel Structures Trinidad and Tobago Limited under the Fostering Resilient Learning Project, implemented by the National Recovery Program Bureau (NRPB) on behalf of the Government of St. Maarten.
The project is financed through the St. Maarten Recovery, Reconstruction and Resilience Trust Fund, funded by the Government of the Netherlands and managed by the World Bank.
Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Melissa Gumbs said the reconstruction is particularly important for a generation of children who have grown up without the original library.
“There are students celebrating a decade of life next year that were born as our original library lay in ruins,” Gumbs said.
She recalled the freedom children once had to explore the library’s shelves and discover books beyond their age level.
“There are kids I meet in this function that never experienced the thrill of hiding in the stacks while reading a book three years above their age level, simply because they could,” she said.
Gumbs also highlighted the island’s growing focus on literacy, saying her call for greater efforts to promote reading has received support from schools, youth organizations and community groups.
“Something I’m very proud of in my time as Minister so far is that my call to action on literacy, on instilling a love for reading for people of all ages, has not gone unanswered,” she said.
She pointed to the CLIMB Foundation’s “Drop Everything and Read” initiative, along with literacy efforts being embraced by public, subsidized and private schools, as well as youth organizations such as Teen Times.
Prime Minister Luc Mercelina congratulated the stakeholders involved in the project and described the library as part of the country’s broader nation-building effort.
“I am an advocate of nation building. This is an institution that contributes to nation building,” Mercelina said.
He pointed to progress on several major infrastructure projects, including the reopening of the international airport, developments at the hospital and work toward a new prison and mental health facility.
Mercelina also praised Gumbs for pushing the education agenda and expressed confidence that additional school projects, including the Charles Leopold Bell School, will move forward.
“I can assure you that great things are happening for St. Maarten,” he said.
Before Hurricane Irma, the library welcomed approximately 40,000 visitors annually and served as a center for reading, learning, cultural activities and community programs.
The new facility is being developed as a modern, accessible and hurricane-resilient public space. The project includes furniture and equipment, with plans for expanded learning activities, special events and the possible development of a digital library platform.
