PHILIPSBURG--Philipsburg Jubilee Library was broken into by burglars between the evening of August 29 and the morning of August 30. Culprits carried away an estimated US $5,000 in items.
Library staff found the glass window to the director's office shattered on the morning of September 1. All the contents of office drawers were on the floor.
The culprits also tampered with the electrical equipment in the library causing further damage.
The incident was reported to the police and a report on the burglary was compiled.
"The fact that our library became the victim of a burglary proves again that the current library building is outdated, not safe and not up to standard. For many years now, we have been trying to convince the policy makers that funds should be made available to properly maintain and upgrade the building, to make it a safe learning environment for the entire community," said Library Director, Monique Alberts.
The library has not been successful in securing those funds.
"We hope this burglary is a wake-up call for the new government to finally tackle this issue ... The library is an important institution in our community which is used by hundreds of children and adults on a daily basis. Yet, our library building is still not on top of the priority list of the policy makers," the director said.
Library management will have to spend some US $3,000 to repair the damages caused by the burglars.
The library is a non-profit organization that relies solely on subsidy, membership fees and corporate sponsors to stay afloat.
