Guam Public Library System (
Chamoru
Chamorro (; ch, Finuʼ Chamorro, links=no (CNMI), (Guam)) is an Austronesian language spoken by about 58,000 people (about 25,800 people on Guam and about 32,200 in the rest of the Mariana Islands and elsewhere). It is the native and spoken l ...
: Sisteman Laibirihan Pupbleko Guåhan) is the
public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants.
There are ...
system of the
United States territory of
Guam. The main library is the Nieves M. Flores Memorial Library at 254 Martyr Street in the village of
Hagåtña.
History
The Guam Public Library System officially opened January 31, 1949 sourced from two
Quonset huts near the Agana Azotea. A division of the Department of Education, the original collection contained 13,000 books which were sourced mainly from deactivated Navy libraries. Many of the books also came from a substantial donation from the
Los Angeles Public Library.
By 1953 a bookmobile service began, allowing those in remote reaches of the country to have access to new books. The following year the library became an independent government agency, separating itself from the Department of Education.
In 1960 the library relocated to the first floor of what used to be the Guam Administration Building. Because of its continued growth, and the need for more room, the library expanded to the second floor in 1968, and to the third floor in 1979. At this point the building was entirely used by the library and therefore was renamed the N. M. Flores Memorial Public Library.
In 2011 the library system became a division of the
Department of Chamorro Affairs.
Branches
The Guam Public Library system consists of 5 library branches located in various villages throughout the island.
The following locations each have their own library branch.
*
Agat - 165 Follard Street
*
Barrigada - 177 San Roque Drive
*
Dededo
Dededo ( ch, Dedidu; formerly in Spanish: , in Japanese: , ''Dededo'') is the most populated village in the United States territory of Guam. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Dededo's population was just under 45,000 in 2020. The village is loca ...
- 283 West Santa Barbara Avenue
*
Merizo - 376 Cruz Avenue
*
Yona - 265 Sister Mary Eucharita Drive
The Agat and Dededo libraries were completed in 1968, the Barrigada Library was completed in 1970, the Merizo Library was completed in 1974, and the Yona Library opened in 1993. As well as having five branches and one main library, the system also reintroduced a bookmobile in 1990.
See also
*
References
External links
Guam Public Library System* Scott-Smith, Christine K.
" Guam Public Library.
{{Hagåtña, Guam
Buildings and structures in Guam
Libraries in Guam
Education in Guam
Libraries established in 1949
1949 establishments in Guam
State libraries of the United States