Lead Ed­i­tor-News­gath­er­ing

Amid the hus­tle and bus­tle of Up­per High Street in San Fer­nan­do, where taxi dri­vers could be heard court­ing pas­sen­gers for Princes Town and Gulf City Mall, the his­tor­i­cal red build­ing sits dor­mant in the heart of the city.

Red sheets of gal­vanise have been erect­ed along its fence, but they hard­ly hide the de­te­ri­o­ra­tion of the Carnegie Free Li­brary. Since Jan­u­ary 2015, the li­brary has been closed “due to nat­ur­al con­di­tions and ex­po­sure to the el­e­ments”, ac­cord­ing to the Na­tion­al Li­brary and In­for­ma­tion Sys­tem Au­thor­i­ty (NALIS), which is in charge of the fa­cil­i­ty.