NASSAU, NEW PROVIDENCE (Herald de Paris) – Octagonal. The National Public Library of Nassau, a small pink tower built in 1778-1800, is octagonal. Its history resonates through each preserved panel of wood, through each nook and cranny. In fact, if I were location scout on the Harry Potter films, I would say its perfect. It also appears to take us effortlessly, in one full turn, from the present to the past and back to the present again. Through each small tall dusty dark wooden arch, books line the eight small rooms from top to bottom. The sunlight finds its way through and stops just short of the octagon’s small centerpiece – an old wooden octagonal desk, with three public computers perched on top. Through one archway opposite, a roomful of Bahamian newspapers is stacked neatly into bundles and piles, each edition since its inception. The newspapers take up the entire room. Printed newspapers may be a thing of the past. In the future, this is all that may remain in each city worldwide of the printed newspaper industry. Three local schoolgirls huddle in crisp white shirts near one of the arches. That is about all the school girls that will fit into the small space on this first floor. That, plus the three adult Bahamians sitting at the computers.
New Providence, Bahamas
