JKPL’s digital village to be ‘expanded’

The Joeten Kiyu Public Library’s plan to build a state-of-the-art digital village at the back of the library will be expanded at the request of Gov. Eloy S. Inos, according to JKPL executive director John Gonzales.

He said the digital village will be changed from an 85-seater to three times the seating size than originally planned.

According to Gonzales, Inos was excited about the project and asked the library to make some changes.

“The governor said that he wants to do it right and do it once, instead of having them come back and extend through construction,” Gonzales told Saipan Tribune.

He said Inos wants the amphitheater to be “the center of the community.”

“The governor envisioned that this project will be the center of the community for education, social gatherings and also for celebrations,” Gonzales said.

The amphitheater in the digital village will now be expanded from two floors to four or five floors, he said.

“We want to accommodate all ages from young to old,” Gonzales said.

He noted that the amphitheater could be used for conventions and meetings for any business or organization.

According to Gonzales, the digital village will also have built-in solar panels on the rooftop as part of the library’s cost saving strategies.

When asked about the grant for the digital village and how far they’ve gone with it, Gonzales said that he had already met with Joe Diego from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Guam.

According to Diego, JKPL has to wait for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s announcement on the funding opportunity that would open and start a competitive application timeline.

What happens if JKPL is not approved to get the grant? “We would have to go through the Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs and check on their grants. Another option will be for us to explore their Capital Improvement Project grants,” Gonzales said.

According to him, the project’s blueprint is now being worked on at the Department of Public Works. The DPW architect will notify him next week and that he will then present it to Inos.

“This project will help us celebrate our diversity and we can feature community interest topics through lecture series by authors, poets, and many more people. Our main goal for this project is to promote overall comprehensive community literacy,” he said.

Gonzales noted that they will focus first on the Public School System and Northern Marianas College to use the digital village for ceremonies, graduations, or any other school activities.