Public Library Services director Paul Robinson dies suddenly

Cayman Islands Public Library Services Director Paul Robinson has died.

Public Library Services made the announcement Sunday night, and advised the community that all public libraries will be closed on Monday, 1 Nov. following Robinson’s sudden passing.

Robinson was appointed director in 2019 and had been with the CIPL for several years.

He was also chairman of the Cayman Islands Information Professionals association and was passionate about literacy.

In interviews over the years, Robinson would share his love of literacy and was an instrumental figure behind the Cayman Islands Information Professionals’ Lera Parchment Battle Of The Books contest.

He was interviewed by the Cayman Current last November and shared his belief that a library is more than a building or books, but is an egalitarian access point for the community to the world’s knowledge.

According to the interview bio., Robinson was originally from near Liverpool in the northwest of England. He studied English Literature and Philosophy at university and held a master’s degree in Information Science.

“A writer himself, Robinson spent a decade working in television as an archivist and librarian, worked in Bermuda for 3 years as an archivist, and arrived in Cayman in 2009 to work for the Cayman Islands National Archive. He moved to the Library Service in 2013, was named Acting Director in 2018 and was confirmed as Director in 2019,” the bio stated.

Robinson, in his interview, said, “a library should be a democratic place. It should be open, and it’s for people to open their minds. Although it’s physically meant to be quiet, it isn’t intellectually meant to be quiet. It’s meant to be very noisy intellectually, and it’s meant to engage people’s minds”.

The Public Library Services said that regular operating hours will resume on Tuesday, 2 Nov.

“The Public Libraries Services seeks the public’s understanding at this difficult time,” the brief statement said.