The Sunny Isle Public Library 

The Sunny Isle Public Library (Kiosk)  was originally the Grove Place Public Library, the first of its kind to be constructed outside the continental United States.  It was dedicated on October 14 1982 and was located on the campus of the Euralie Rivera Elementary School.  This type of structure was chosen for economical reasons in effort of the Government of the Virgin Islands, Department of Conservation and Cultural Affairs and the Bureau of Libraries, Archives and Museums to expand library services in the Territory.  For Grove Place residents and those located between the two main towns on St. Croix it  was meant to serve the basic needs of the area’s residents and reducing the number of trips to main libraries to borrow books.  Reference and other material could be obtained from other libraries via inter-library loan.  The library is 170 square feet (interior) and will hold up to 5,000 soft cover or 3000 hard cover books. 

In 1989 hurricane Hugo devastated the island of St. Croix and severely damaged the Grove Place Public Library kiosk.  The building was refurbished and relocated on the grounds of the Sunny Isle Shopping Center, a spot donated by the De Chabert family, the owners of the shopping center.  For a considerable period of time following hurricane Hugo, the Sunny Isle Public Library was the only library of any kind on the island of St.Croix that was open for service. The library was outfitted with a computer terminal which provided access to the Virgin Islands Automated Library System (VIALS) making it possible for patrons to access the library collections of all the public libraries, three public high school libraries and the two curriculum centers of the Department of Education.  Patrons could check out books and access other services of the public library system.  In 1995 hurricane Marilyn caused severe damage to the facility causing it to be closed for an extended period of time.  The library is now open for service once again with a new collection of “best sellers”, paperbacks, access to the internet and the VIALS. 

This project originated as an Outreach Services Project as proposed by then Outreach Librarian, Wallace Williams.  Funding was received by the HUD Community Development Block Grant  Program.  Subsequently, funding for refurbishment of the facility following destruction by hurricane Hugo was provided by FEMA and again by HUD Community Development Block Grant Program following damage by hurricane Marilyn.  Michelle Martin, Library Technician, has been the staff member operating and providing service at this facility since its opening in 1982.

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