San Ignacio Public Library celebrates 90th anniversary

SANTA ELENA TOWN, Cayo District, Sat. Nov. 7, 2026 

   The San Ignacio Public Library (SIPL) celebrated nine decades of service to the Twin Towns of San Ignacio and Santa Elena on November 5,2026, in a ceremony at the library, a branch of the Belize National Library Service and Information System (BNLSIS). 

   It began with Master of Ceremonies Aaron Mai greeting students and well-wishers from surrounding communities who have been benefiting from almost a century of uninterrupted services. 

   In his remarks, Mayor of the Twin Towns Earl Trapp, Jr., remarked, “It’s a huge milestone in its development, developing our youth, developing our people through reading books. The San Ignacio and Santa Elena Town Councils have been supporting the Belize library services since its inception. Everything that they have been doing has been supported by a room right there at the San Ignacio Town Council up to today, well before we left the office downtown where they were hosted, where they were housed. The Council gave that kind donation of this building where they are housed today. This was once a market, and they thought, and we thought, that, yes, it could have been modified into a library, something that students could use and everyone could use.”

   Special recognition was given by Ms. Lusiola Castillo, Chief Librarian of the BNLSIS, to prominent persons who have assisted the library over the years. Castillo said that the night was memorable and would exceed expectations. 

   “So, I am hoping that everybody remembers tonight, as the library started from a humble beginning to what it is now, to what it will be in the future, because we do not plan to close the library; the library will remain open. We will reimagine it; we intend to expand it as well, and this is just the first phase. There is a second phase to this library that we have plans for, but we have not brought it to fruition today; we are hoping that it will come to fruition in the near future,” she said.

   Some of the SIPL major donors were present for the celebrations. This included Lisa Castanedez, who said that she had been born in San Ignacio, left Belize at the age of twelve, but was determined to give back to the country on her return. Another major sponsor of the celebration was Anthony Murphy, a retired U.S. federal agent who by next year hopes to make the Cayo District his final home. 

   The colorful history of the SIPL dates back to 1936, when the Jubilee Public Library established a sub-library in the town of El Cayo, now known as San Ignacio. A release from the San Ignacio Library states that the collection consisted of books housed in the centrally located District Commissioner’s Office, where office clerks kept them in a wooden box or cupboard. The collection included reference and lending materials, which were accessible to the public only during regular office hours.

   However, by 1947, the sub-library had registered 30 members, comprising both juveniles and adults. Although at the beginning, community interest eventually declined, it was revived in 1951 through renewed efforts to reorganize the service. That year, the sub-library was relocated from the District Commissioner’s Office to the lower floor of the El Cayo Town Board building, making it an important step forward in the development of library services in the community. In 1956, the El Cayo Sub- Library was officially recognized as a branch library of the British Honduras Library Service.

   Over the years, the library continued to grow, and its limited space became increasingly inadequate for the number of patrons it served. In response to the need for a larger and more suitable facility, an ambitious initiative was undertaken to establish a new public library that would better serve the residents of San Ignacio and the surrounding communities. The then mayor of San Ignacio and Santa Elena, John August, Jr. was approached, and a site was identified at the former Farmers’ Market.

   Through the contributions and collective efforts of the Social Investment Fund, the Rotary Club, the San Ignacio/Santa Elena Town Council, and BNLSIS, the vision of a new library became a reality. On November 3, 2010, the San Ignacio Public Library celebrated the grand inauguration of its new facility, marking a significant step in the advancement of library services in the area.

  The head librarian of SIPL, Miss Teresita Ulloa, remains thankful for the support she has enjoyed over the years.

   “I want to thank everybody who has had an impact on the library and, in any way or form, has contributed to the growth of the library. That is basically what we want the public to know: libraries are here to stay. We have transitioned from just books on a shelf to much more: programs for children for promoting literacy and also for reading, for promoting reading with children,” she said.