As you may already know, at the beginning of this year St Barnabas College weathered some unexpected challenges, brought by the particularly extreme climatic conditions. One of the areas affected by this unprecedented turn of events has been the college’s library.
Due to the weather, a large amount of water leaked down one of the inside walls of the library and onto the floor, resulting in significant carpeting and small amount of ceiling damage. Fortunately, there was very little damage done to the library’s extensive collection of books.
However, what followed was the gradual process of repair: the entire library work room had to be cleared out; the large compactus needed to be emptied, dismantled and then stored offsite; an initial 3000 books were moved and stored, by staff, on whatever spare shelving and tables were available; a further 7000 were then moved and stored by removalists all through the library on mobile shelving; the carpet needed to be replaced and part of the ceiling repainted; and finally when all of this was done, everything needed to be put back to where it originally was!
Though it has definitely been a long process, the “deluge” of support shown by our team of volunteers, contractors and staff, has ensured that the library is up and running once again, with a consistent workflow, ever making forward progress. Our cataloguing operation has resumed with a total of 2,670 items now listed in the catalogue; two new rows of shelving have been added as a permanent fixture to the library to accommodate the growing number of catalogued books; ongoing book sales run every week comprising both general and theological texts; and the College Council is setting policies in order to guide our acquisitions and borrowing systems, in addition to clarifying the overall vision and direction of the library.
Most importantly, however, is that we are well on our way to having a fully operational lending system by July 10th – the beginning of Semester 2. To begin with, lending will be for students and staff of SBC only.
So, whilst it has been a challenging number of months, it has also been an exciting time – the library is moving forward toward becoming a hub for learning and a resource for the community of St Barnabas College, encouraging all of us in our journey to know and love God. We also hope to have an update about how to make tax-deductible donations to the library in the coming months.
If you have any queries, or wish to make a donation, please contact Ros Devenish, or check out our website here and here.