Sidney Martin Library

The West Indies Collection (WIC)

The West Indies Collection (WIC) contains unique historical and contemporary material on the Caribbean, including information by West Indians, on the West Indies, or published in the West Indies.  It is one of the places and spaces in Barbados where researchers will find seminal material on Barbados and the Caribbean. The quality of the material is such that it attracts both international and local scholars as well as those with a passing interest in things Caribbean.
In addition to current and historical material the West Indies Collection also contains the following government documents:

  • The Official Gazette
  • Blue Books
  • Statistical records published by the Central Banks, Government Depts. and other Agencies
  • Census data: 1911 Barbados Census Survey Report
  • Reports from Ministries and Statutory Boards
  • British Parliamentary Papers: reports from the Select Committee on West Indian Colonies. Among them is a 95 volume series dedicated to matters pertaining to the Slave Trade

Our Microform resources include Barbadian and regional newspapers such as the Liberal Newspaper, a great source for those interested in the cholera epidemic of the 1850s.  Other reels include:

  • Barbados Agricultural Reporter
  • The Slave Register and Newton Plantation papers
  • TAPIA

And the journal collections include:

  • BIM - The Literary magazine of Barbados
  • Brek Loose,  the official organ of the Movement for National Liberation (Monali)
  • The CLR James Journal
  • Caribbean Dialogue
  • FLamingo
  • The Integrationist
  • Kaie , the official organ of the National History & Arts Council of Guyana
  • Savacou
  • Sistren, produced by Sistren Theatre Collective, Jamaica
  • West Indies Chronicle

Finally, the map collection in WIC can be used on a reference basis and is also an excellent source of historical cartography and changing landscape of the region.