TILBURG--The Dutch fundraising event for the Philipsburg Jubilee Library “Book Storm,” which has counted on broad support from libraries in the Netherlands, will end this month. At the end of this month, the St. Maarten library, which was severely damaged by Hurricane Irma, will receive a donation of 10,000 euros.
Initiatives have taken place throughout the Netherlands to assist the Philipsburg Jubilee Library. The Bijlmer Park Theatre in Amsterdam organised a fundraising evening on October 18 where work of black authors like Maya Angelou, Winnie Mandela and Aimé Césaire was read to the public.
A fundraising concert took place in the town of Wolder on November 5, organised by former Philipsburg Jubilee Library Director Blanca Hodge and her husband Stanley. The Amsterdam Public Library donated book shelves which arrived in St. Maarten on the ship Augusta Sun on December 5. The transport of these shelves was financed by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations BZK.
Public libraries in town like Rijnbrink and Ommen and several churches donated the sale of their book sales and church collections. The children’s books donation non-profit organisation Biblionef has also assisted, while the organisation Books4Life Tilburg has earmarked the St. Maarten library as charitable cause for its 2017 annual proceeds. VBC Notaries donated the establishing of a foundation that will continue the fundraising for the St. Maarten library.
The Book Storm collection drive by the end of December 2017 had yielded 4,850 euros. The Royal Dutch Library will top up this amount to 10,000 euros. The funds will be provided to the Philipsburg Jubilee Library at the end of this month when the fundraising event Book Storm ends.
The St. Maarten library suffered a lot of damage because of the hurricane. The building was already at the end of its life cycle before the hurricane struck. Director Monique Alberts is hoping that the existing plans for a new multi-functional building that would be shared with the St. Maarten Museum and the St. Maarten Archaeological Centre SIMARC will proceed.
In the meantime, the library services have resumed in an adapted format: the building is accessible, while the Internet café and the study room are open. In a unique cooperation with the St. Maarten Mental Health Foundation, the library has been contributing to the psychological effects of the hurricane.
Story teller and social worker Guineta de Palm from Curaçao has come to St. Maarten to start a special programme for the island’s children. The programme stimulates children to share their stories of the hurricane and its consequences on their daily lives through stories, books, games and music. The donations of the Dutch libraries assist in funding these special programmes for the children.
The supporting action Book Storm was started a few months ago by several librarians in the Netherlands in aid of the St. Maarten library. The collection drive is supported by all libraries, united in the Netherlands Library Forum FOBID. University and higher vocational school libraries are also contributing, as are the public libraries.
