Feleti Barstow Public Library is the main library in

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

, and is located in the village of

Utulei Utulei or Utulei is a village in Maoputasi County, American Samoa, Maoputasi County, in the Eastern District, American Samoa, Eastern District of Tutuila, the main island of American Samoa. Utulei is traditionally considered to be a section of Fag ...

in Maoputasi County. It is the central public library for the territory and is situated immediately across from the Office of Tourism, next to the Executive Office Building, and just behind

Samoana High School Samoana High School (SHS) is a prominent high school in Utulei,History
" Samoana High School at C ...

. Besides a permanent display depicting American Samoa’s involvement in the Apollo Space Program, the library has also worked with the American Samoa Historic Preservation Office (ASHPO) since 2000 at creating a historic Polynesian Photo Archive. The goal of the project has been to electronically catalog and archive around 6,000 still and moving images of

Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...

which were collected by the American Samoa Government. The library has an extensive Pacific Collection which houses articles, books, and reports relevant to Pacific- and Samoan history. A large collection of photographs are stored in its Polynesian Photo Archive, which is a subset of their Pacific Collection. The library is named after Frederic “Feleti” Duclos Barstow, the first American philanthropist to come to the Samoan Islands. His trust fund, the Frederic Duclos Barstow Foundation, has contributed generously to the library.

History

Governor Clark Daniel Stearns built American Samoa’s first library which he stocked with books that he personally solicited from friends in mainland United States. The library was built in Samoan-style at the later site of the Congressional Church of Jesus in

Fagatogo Fagatogo () is the downtown area of Pago Pago (the territorial capital of American Samoa).Grabowski, John F. (1992). ''U.S. Territories and Possessions (State Report Series)''. Chelsea House Pub. Page 51. . Located in the low grounds at the foot o ...

. The library served the public until its stock and functions were merged into the High School of American Samoa in 1950. The Feleti Barstow Public Library building was constructed with the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relatin ...

appropriations. It also received $60,000 from the Barstow Foundation to buy its opening stock of books. The library opened by the

dockside in April 1973. Hurricane Val caused irreparable damage to the former library in 1991, and as a result of executive order 09-1991, a new public library was set to be developed. Construction on the new library was completed in 1998 and the library officially opened on April 17, 2000, during American Samoa's Centennial Flag Day celebrations. In 2005, the library held over 27,000 items and had 13,000 card members. An

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...

50th-anniversary exhibit was held at the library in July 2019, in order to mark the milestone of 50 years since the first Moon landing. First Lady Cynthia Malala Moliga was among those present attending the exhibit opening. A gallery was part of the exhibit and included photographs of the airport welcoming for the astronauts and a photo of President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

presenting the American Samoa flag and Moon rocks to Governor John Morse Haydon. The exhibition was produced by Feleti Barstow Public Library, Jean P. Haydon Museum, and the Office of Archives.

References

{{Coord, -14.28074, -170.68408, format=dms, type:landmark_region:AS, display=title 1973 establishments in American Samoa Libraries established in 1973 Library buildings completed in 1998 20th-century establishments in American Samoa Buildings and structures in American Samoa Pago Pago