OFFICIAL OPENING OF

THE HARRY C. MOORE LIBRARYAND INFORMATION CENTRE

FRIDAY THE EIGHTH DAY OF APRILTWO THOUSAND AND ELEVENTEN O'CLOCK IN THE MORNINGHARRY C. MOORE LIBRARYAND INFORMATION CENTRE GROUNDS

THE COLLEGE OF THE BAHAMAS;e~tb~$

PROJECT SUMMARY

Central to The College of The Bahamas' planned evolution

to a university, the Harry C. Moore Library & Information

Centre is a key facilitator of the institution's focus on

research and innovation. The $28 million library, at the

southwest quadrant of The College's Oakes Field campus,

was constructed to meet the needs of a growing student

population, expanding baccalaureate and master degree

programmes and the increased demand for library services

and holdings by the College community and the public.

The library memorializes the late Harry C. Moore, former

Chairman of the Lyford Cay Foundation, and a former

member of the College Council (1996 - 20011, by bearing

his name. Mr. Moore was an outstanding friend of The

College and advocate of the library project. He persuaded

members of the Lyford Cay Foundation and friends to

contribute, securing an extraordinary $5 million commitment

from the Foundation; $3.5 million for the furnishings, fixtures

and equipment and $1 .5 million for the Virtual Library.

The project also received in excess of $5 million in financial

'-'rr"""d Milestones

support from the government which also guaranteed a $23

million loan facility. Additionally, The Sir Lynden 0 Pindling

Foundation has already given $300,000 toward a $500,000

commitment. The library will house a permanent exhibition

in honour of the life and legacy of former Prime Minister Sir

Lynden Pindling. Over the years, faculty and staff members

have given approximately $120,000.

With a holdings capacity for 150,000 volumes, institutional

archives and special collections, the library's phenomenal

digital capacity facilitates an electronic catalogue, full-text

periodical databases and multi-database searching for full

information discovery.

A circular design that lends to vistas of The College's

Oakes Field campus, the 60,000 square foot library can

accommodate approximately 650 library users and has

group and study spaces, a 75-seat auditorium and is

handicap accessible. It also features a 24-hour Internet

cafe and has wireless access throughout the property.

April 2005 Ground breaking ceremony held March 2009 Launch of Virtual library and opening

of Information Commons

September 2006 Tucker Road aligned to accommodate

the prolect December 2010 Migration of existing libraries to new

library begins

May 2008 Site preparations begin

February 2011 Occupancy certificate received and

June 2009 Construction begins unofficial library opening held

MESSAGE FROM THE COLLEGE LIBRARIAN

Today is both an emotional and joyous occasion. We

warmly welcome you to these ceremonies which mark

the official opening of the Harry C. Moore Library &Information Centre It has taken more than twenly-six of

my twenly-eight years at The College to see the fruition of

this goal, initially conceived by former College Librarian,

Mrs. Vanrea Thomas-Rolle

Along the journey to this momentous occasion today there

have been many players on the scene. Regrettably, some ofthe key individuals are no longer with us, like Mr. Harry C.Moore whose dream it was to see the construction of

a universily library, Bishop Michael H. Eldon and Dr. Keva

M. Bethel, although I daresay that their spirits are rejoicing

with us today. Those of us who are present to experience

this national landmark event, however, know of the struggle

it has been to land us at this moment. There were many

changes to the design, in the architectural team, and most

of all scaling back to meet cost constraints.

Today, we officially open what is expected to be a

wonderful national facilily to educate, inspire and inform

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present and future generations of Bahamians, residents

and visitors. We offer our deep gratitude and appreciation

to the many staff of the libraries over the past twenly-

five years who have all contributed ideas to this project,

including the present library team who did a yeoman's task

in amalgamating three libraries into a single facilily. We

also offer very special thanks to present and former College

Councils, present and former Presidents, the Lyford Cay

Foundation, the Moore family, the project managers,

Dr. Pandora johnson and Melanie Roach, architects,

Mr. Leslie johnson and Mr. jackson Burnside, the contractor,

Carl G. Treco and his team, including the sub-contractors,

the landscapers, and any other individuals and/or group

that I have failed to name.

May, the God of peace and wisdom crown all those who

enter these hallowed halls to learn and grow so that together

we can build a Bahamas that is better tomorrow than

yesterday or todayl

Blessings to all

Willamae M. Johnson

ORDER OF CEREMONY

I The College of The Bahamas Choir

m..............~ ...

Canon Warren Rolle

Assistant Professor, School of Sociol Sciences

Mr. T. Baswell Donaldson

College Council Chairman

Mr. Stuart Ray

President, Lyford Cay Foundation

Mrs. Monique Moore

Widow of Harry C Moore

Mrs. Sharlene Smith

Administrative Assistant, College Libraries

Hon. Desmond Bannister

Minister of Education

~~rtJ£ff/ rtJPAVUM/f)......................." " ·,·····",·UI..·~·~··~·~-~··=·,····,-·7·= ..=..~··~·:·7··· .Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham

Prime Minister

The College ofThe Bahamas Choir

~~j/hffUZ.,_ _." __ _ ~.~.~.·~··~·~··7······

Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham,College Council Chairman Mr. T. Baswell Donaldsonand Mrs. Monique Moore

Q2)ocn rtJ~AUM/f)··_-,······,·· __···,_··,_··_·····,··7~·,:·~··~·:,·7··· .. ,.",-,'..

Ms. Jasmine Rahming

Student, Bio-Chemistry major

Mrs. Monique Moore

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Construction progresses. [March 2009]

.,A view of the foyer and second floor.

An aerial view of the library. [August 2010] The Library's auditorium.

Canon Warren Rolle blesses the new library. [February 28th] Library users in the Information Commons

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