The Bahamas is home to over 400,000 people living across a wide spread of islands, with a rich, multicultural history and thriving tourism industry. Although the country has important historical records, a strong tradition of print media and a vibrant cultural production scene, as of today, there is no established National Library.

A National Library is responsible for collecting, preserving, and ensuring access to the memory and national cultural heritage of a country. They often host the National Bibliographic Service and oversee legal deposit, cataloguing and preservation, digitisation and digital services, and other services for citizens and visitors alike.

Establishing a National Library

In late 2024, IFLA was approached by UNESCO Kingston, the UNESCO Office for the Caribbean, with a proposal to collaborate with the Bahamas’ Ministry of Education & Technical & Vocational Training to help guide the first steps towards the establishment of the first National Library of the Bahamas.

This initiative is being led by H.E. Minister Ms. Glenys Hanna Martin, Minister of Education of the Bahamas. The new library is intended to be a repository for Bahamian intellectual and cultural heritage and contribute to the national identity.

Enabling Experience Sharing

IFLA celebrates the opportunity to work with our partners at UNESCO to help a national government expand the role of libraries in society. This is an opportunity to tap into our international network of experts and thought leaders to share their experiences and exchange with colleagues across the world.

We are therefore grateful to work with experts from our National Libraries Section, Bibliography Section, and the Preservation and Conservation Centre hosted at NALIS, Trinidad and Tobago.

IFLA and UNESCO will organise a series of webinars for an intersectoral national committee, made up of representatives from the Bahamian National Library Service, the Department of Archives, private sector stakeholders, local universities, the National Commission for UNESCO, and representatives from the Ministries of Works, Economics, and Education.

We thank representatives from the Standing Committees of IFLA’s National Libraries and Bibliography Sections for their valuable input in the kick-off webinar, which explored different models of National Libraries. This will help guide the future direction of the work.

In the coming months, we will explore topics related to Legal Deposit, forming the national bibliography, preservation and conservation services, and library services to the people of the Bahamas.