Guyana 

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 Formal Name:           National Library
 Name of Librarian:    Gwyneth Browman
 Address:                   POB 10240, Georgetown
 Phone:                      (02) 62699

History

The National Library of Guyana in Georgetown had its origin in the Carnegie Free Library. In 1950 an act of the British Guiana Legislative Council empowered the Library Authority to extend its service beyond the city of Georgetown. giving impetus to the rapid development of a nationwide service. The Law Revision Act of 1972 created the National Library, assigning to it the responsibility for performing the functions of both a national and a public library. The Act also designated
the Nacional Library as a legal deposit library entitled to one copy of every local imprint. It has published the Guyanese National Bibliography since 1972.

Services & Collections

The National Library provides nationwide service through the operation of several service units. The Adult Reference and Lending Departments, a phonograph records service, the Juvenile Department, a toy library service, and one Branch Library serve Georgetown. Two Branch Libraries outside Georgetown, the Rural Services Department comprising 17 Rural Library Centers, two bookmobiles, and deposit colleccions in three prisons jointly provide a service to the rest of the country. The resources of the National Library totaled an estimated 220.000 items in the late 1980s;  they include rare historical documents, manuscripts, and a valuable special collection of research material on Guyana. It is also a depository of Unesco
publications. 

Sources:

World guide to libraries. New York: Saur, 1998.
World encyclopedia of library and information services. 3rd ed. Chicago: American Library Association,c1993.