Feleti Barstow Public Library is the main library in

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...

, and is located in the village of

Utulei Utulei or Utulei is a village in Maoputasi County, American Samoa, Maoputasi County, in the Eastern District, American Samoa, Eastern District of Tutuila, the main island of American Samoa. Utulei is traditionally considered to be a section of Fag ...

in Maoputasi County. It is the central public library for the territory and is situated immediately across from the Office of Tourism, next to the Executive Office Building, and just behind

Samoana High School Samoana High School (SHS) is a prominent high school in Utulei,History
" Samoana High School at Cyb ...

. Besides a permanent display depicting American Samoa’s involvement in the Apollo Space Program, the library has also worked with the American Samoa Historic Preservation Office (ASHPO) since 2000 at creating a historic Polynesian Photo Archive. The goal of the project has been to electronically catalog and archive around 6,000 still and moving images of

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

which were collected by the American Samoa Government. The library has an extensive Pacific Collection which houses articles, books, and reports relevant to Pacific- and Samoan history. A large collection of photographs are stored in its Polynesian Photo Archive, which is a subset of their Pacific Collection.

History

The library building was constructed with the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

appropriations. It also received $60,000 from the Barstow Foundation to buy its opening stock of books. The library opened by the

Fagatogo Fagatogo is the downtown area of Pago Pago (the territorial capital of American Samoa).Grabowski, John F. (1992). ''U.S. Territories and Possessions (State Report Series)''. Chelsea House Pub. Page 51. . Located in the low grounds at the foot of M ...

dockside in April 1973.

Hurricane Val Severe Tropical Cyclone Val was considered to be the worst tropical cyclone to affect the Samoan Islands since the 1889 Apia cyclone. The system that was to become Severe Tropical Cyclone Val was first identified during the opening days of Decem ...

caused irreparable damage to the former library in 1991, and as a result of executive order 09-1991, a new public library was set to be developed. Construction on the new library was completed in 1998 and the library officially opened on April 17, 2000, during American Samoa's Centennial Flag Day celebrations. In 2005, the library held over 27,000 items and had 13,000 card members. An

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, an ...

50th-anniversary exhibit was held at the library in July 2019, in order to mark the milestone of 50 years since the first Moon landing. First Lady

Cynthia Malala Moliga Cynthia is a feminine given name of Greek origin: , , "from Mount Cynthus" on Delos island. The name has been in use in the Anglosphere since the 1600s. There are various spellings for this name, and it can be abbreviated to Cindy, Cyndi, Cyndy, ...

was among those present attending the exhibit opening. A gallery was part of the exhibit and included photographs of the airport welcoming for the astronauts and a photo of President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

presenting the American Samoa flag and moon rocks to Governor

John Morse Haydon John Morse Haydon (January 27, 1920 – April 18, 1991) was the governor of the American Samoa from 1969 to 1974. Haydon attended the University of Washington. He served as a First Lieutenant in the United States Air Force during World War II and ...

. The exhibition was produced by Felipe Barstow Public Library, Jean P. Haydon Museum, and the Office of Archives.

References

{{Coord, -14.28074, -170.68408, format=dms, type:landmark_region:AS, display=title 1973 establishments in American Samoa Organizations established in 1973 Library buildings completed in 1998 20th-century establishments in American Samoa Buildings and structures in American Samoa Pago Pago