Section 3 Summary

The narrator worries that Antigua is in worse condition as a self-ruled nation because of the corrupt government that is in power. The library is now situated in the upstairs of a run-down building, above a dry-goods store. The books are chaotically boxed and possibly becoming ruined. The library hosts a Teenage Pageant and the narrator is disgusted by the lack of education exhibited by the Antiguan youths. The librarian searches for people with the influence and money to help restore the library. The Mill Reef Club may relent and assist in building a new library.

The narrator remembers the head librarian's suspicions when she was a child. She admits that the suspicions were justified because she used to sneak extra books under her dress and often did not return books because she could not bear to part with them after reading them...