Editing United States Virgin Islands (section)

===Libraries===
Soon after becoming a US territory in 1917, the first public library was formally accepted as a gift from the Junior Red Cross. The St. Thomas Library opened in December 1920. The library occupied rented quarters and frequently moved. The [[Carnegie Corporation of New York]] provided grant funding from 1929 through 1933 to the US Virgin Islands for the development of library services by sending librarians, funding for books, and training for the supervising librarian.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Garrison |first=Gretchen |date=April 1943 |title=Peacetime Story: Virgin Island Libraries, 1920 - 1941 |journal=Wilson Library Bulletin |volume=17 |pages=622–625}}</ref>

An early and enduring pioneer for libraries in the Virgin Islands was Enid M. Baa. Ms. Baa was one of the four first high school graduates in St. Thomas and participated in the establishment of the first high school library. Soon after her graduation, Ms. Baa was selected by the Carnegie Foundation and Governor Pearson for a scholarship as a special student to the Graduate Library School at Hampton Institute. After graduating from the program in 1933, Ms. Baa returned to the Virgin Islands to be appointed by Governor Pearson as Supervising Librarian for the Virgin Islands. She was the first woman to hold a cabinet-level office in the Virgin Islands government. In 1943, Ms. Baa returned to the US to complete her studies at Columbia University and worked in the library field in the US. Among the positions she held include Head of Serial Cataloging Section at the United Nations Library and Specialist in Cataloging of Spanish or Portuguese materials at the New York Public Library. In 1954, Ms. Baa was appointed Director of Libraries and Museums under Governor Archibald Alexander. She received the John Jay Whitney Foundation Fellowship in 1955 on the basis of her contribution to the preservation of the Sephardic Jewish Records of the Virgin Islands and the re-indexing of these records in a card file. The family records of US senator [[Judah P. Benjamin]], artist [[Camille Pissarro]], medical pioneer Jacob Da Costa, and others can be found in the documents.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 26, 2021 |title=USVI Public Library System, Enid M. Baa |url=https://www.usvipubliclibraries.com/enid-m-baa-public-library-and-archives |access-date=November 26, 2021 |archive-date=November 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126205901/https://www.usvipubliclibraries.com/enid-m-baa-public-library-and-archives |url-status=live }}</ref>

The US Virgin Islands Public Library System currently consists of five libraries. Three in St. Croix: Athalie McFarlane Peterson Public Library in Frederiksted, and the Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped and the Florence Augusta Williams Public Library, both in Christiansted. One in St. John, Elaine Ione Sprauve Public Library and Museum of Cultural Arts in Cruz Bay. While St. Thomas has two: Charles Wesley Turnbull Regional Public Library in Estate Tutu and Enid M. Baa Public Library and Archives in Charlotte Amalie, the Enid M. Baa Library is currently closed to the public and used for administrative purposes. The US Virgin Island Public Library System is administered by the USVI Department of Planning and Natural Resources' Division of Libraries, Archives, and Museums.<ref name="www.usvipubliclibraries.com">{{Cite web |title=US Virgin Islands Public Library System |url=https://www.usvipubliclibraries.com/ |access-date=November 26, 2021 |archive-date=November 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126205850/https://www.usvipubliclibraries.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The US Virgin Islands Public Library System provides free reader services to adults, children, young adults, and seniors. Collections include: adult fiction and non-fiction; children's fiction and non-fiction; reference materials, magazines, daily newspapers, and DVDs. The library system also houses original and microfilm collections of Virgin Islands Archives, records, newspapers and other materials. The Virgin Islands Automated Library System provides a database and computerized support network for books, reading materials and patron records for the library and archives collections. The viNGN Public Computer Centers provide patrons with free access to high-speed connections to access the Internet and the World Wide Web.<ref name="www.usvipubliclibraries.com"/>