The Library Services Department is the recipient of a donation of two 35mm wide angle camera lenses to help build its Virgin Islands heritage collection.

The lenses were donated by the father and son team of Mr. Deon Crabbe of Island Concrete, and Mr. Autley Crabbe Autland Heavy Equipment at a handing over ceremony held yesterday Monday, December 29. 

In his remarks at the event, Mr. Deon Crabbe of Island Concrete said that he was happy that the importance of the history of the Virgin Islands is being recognized and told, history, which he said had been hidden for a long time. He explained that the two companies decided to seize the opportunity to make the important contribution to assist in the preservation of the heritage of the Virgin Islands.

Mr. Crabbe said, “When we learned that the library was building a Virgin Island heritage collection through the creation of a cultural heritage database, with the use of the special equipment that simply needed two wide angled camera lens to effectively continue this important work, we felt that here again was the opportunity for our heritage to be preserved and told to future generations.”

Mr. Crabbe thanked the Chief Librarian and her staff for affording the two companies the opportunity to make the contribution to the creation of the Library Services Department heritage collection.

The lenses will be set up on the digitizer machine in the Caribbean Studies Unit, which was donated by the Church of God of Latter Day Saints and launched earlier this year.  It will be used to scan important historical events that occurred in the Virgin Islands from local newspapers or extra-large documents, which will in turn be imported into the Library’s Cultural Heritage Database.