Directory Information Library: Bibliotheek van het Cultureel Centrum Suriname (Library of the Suriname Cultural Centre Address: POB 1241, Paramaribo Contact: G.R. Koornaar Telephone: 472369 Fax: 473903 Http: E-mail:

History & Collections

Suriname has had a tradition of libraries since the 18th century, when the capital of Paramaribo had a large scientific library comparable to similar libraries in Western Europe and the United States. The library was destroyed in the 19th century by a fire set by the freedom fighters of the time, the Maroons. Various private libraries also date from this period, as do personal libraries. The so-called Volksbibliotheek (People s Library) was set up at the end of the 18th century under the influence of the Maatchap pij tot Nut van het Algemeen (Public Benefit Company) in the Netherlands, but that library was also destroyed by fire in 1821.


Between 1821 and 1856 some brief attempts were made to establish loan associations for books on a commercial basis. In 1856 two medical doctors, F. A. G. Dumontier and C. Landre proposed a plan to set up a library in Paramaribo. Their plan was successful, and on December 1, 1857, the Colonial Library was established under the jurisdiction of the Inspector of Education. This was the first attempt to found a national library, which had to serve as both public and research library. A lack of expert personnel and poor facilities caused the National Library to close in 1957. The collection was distributed among a number of libraries in the Netherlands, including the library of the Royal Institute for the Tropics and the Royal Library. In 1950 the collections for adults and children had already been turned over to the Public Library of the Cultural Centre of Suriname (CCS), which had begun operating in 1949.

Sources:

World Encyclopedia of Library and Information Services, 3rd ed., (Chicago: American Library Association, 1993), 801.