Formally called the Grant’s Town/Southern Public Library, it was opened in 1951. It was due to the lobby of now deceased distinguished gentlemen, Mr. Bert Cambridge and Dr. Claudius Walker (Both Members of Parliament), that this library was opened to meet the reading demand of the Negro populace of the community. Its predecessor, the Grant’s Town Library, opened in 1930, had been destroyed by rioters and set on fire during the 1942 Burma Road Riots.
Mrs. Ruth Russell became the librarian when its doors opened for the first time in 1951. Following Mrs. Russell’s retirement in 1955, Mrs. Lillian G. Weir-Coakley became the librarian. Although Mrs. Coakley had no formal training in librarianship, she worked assiduously for more than thirty-seven (37) years to provide library services to the people of the community. Following Mrs. Coakley’s retirement in 1992 and passing in 2002, the library was named in her honour on July 1, 2004. Replacing Mrs. Coakley was Mr. Jerome Agboyi, who became the librarian until he moved on in 2011.
Synonymous with the Lillian G. Weir-Coakley Library was Dr. Cleveland Eneas who served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1950 until his death in 1995. To honour his contribution to the development of the library, a bust was commissioned in his likeness on January 14, 2000 and is displayed in the lobby of the library.
Irregular and uncertain Government grants paid a toll on the range of the library services available to the public and membership dropped over the years. Nevertheless, it is envisioned that programs and activities would be reintroduced in the near future.
A membership fee is paid yearly as follows:
Students
Users have access to the following:
Activities such as
storytelling, Oral tradition of Bahamian culture, media, reading games, puzzles, miming, music, dance and dramatic plays would be featured from 28th October to 4th November 2023.
