Nothing but the best for Dr Rouse-Jones

"I am a strong believer in doing things to the best of your ability. When we were given chores as children we had to do them to my mother’s standards or do them over until she was satisfied. I do my work in the same manner and everyone who works here knows that. If you’re shelving books you should be the best shelver of books that you could possibly be. The Vice Chancellor’s Award that I was granted last year vindicated this in my view," said the accomplished librarian.

Rouse-Jones’ achievements include, a PhD in Philosophy (History), writing of many scholarly papers, contributions to several books including the Guide to Manuscripts, Special Collections and other Research Resources for Caribbean Studies at The University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus Libraries, the 1974-1976 Rockefeller Fellowship (Johns Hopkins University), 1962-1964 Trinidad and Tobago Government House Scholarship and most recently 2004 Vice Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in the category: "Service to the University Community" (The University of the West Indies) and the 2004 Award for Excellence in Research and Publications in the Information Field in the Caribbean (University of Puerto Rico) from the Association of Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL).

With a resume that could easily fill the pages of People magazine, she simply said, "I have a sense of purpose, I truly believe in Jesus Christ and I believe that God has a purpose for my life and I also believe that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing with my life. Whatever you are supposed to do, God gives you the enabling to do it. Motivation also comes from the fact that I love my job, I enjoy what I do, I love the university and it’s academic environment." Rouse-Jones was born into a humble family which included eight children.

"My parents were people who believed that the best way for the children to have a better life, than even they had, was to educate us. My mother had a post-primary education and was involved in sewing, she was an excellent seamstress. My dad was a civil servant who moved up the ladder as time went by. They both stressed the importance of education. They successfully put a mechanism in place for us to acquire the best education possible; they really did the best that they could.

"I got my secondary education at Bishop’s Anstey High School which really offers an all round education and self-confidence. I left Bishop’s with a vision for life that I could follow and the more I progressed the more I enjoyed studying. I love to do research, having done a PhD. I taught at Cave Hill but had to leave due to a number of personal experiences. It was then that I came to realise that being the librarian offered me the same status as the academics. I considered it suitable. I love the academic environment and I think that being a librarian turned out to be the better option," added the former Palo Seco Government Secondary school teacher.

Rouse-Jones began her tertiary education at UWI then moved on to John Hopkins University in the US and was awarded her PhD at the University College, London.

Regarding her education and resultant travels the eight-year university librarian said, "not just studying but travelling in general broadens you. One of the things that it did was expose me to many of the major libraries of the world. While in the US I spent time at the Library of Congress and while in the UK I spent time at the British Public Records Office. I have had a lot of experience at the user end of these libraries and this serves as a point of reference.

"One of the things that we feel as a university library in the English-speaking Caribbean is that we must be the best at Caribbean studies. I feel the need for this to be the first place people come to study persons such as Derek Walcott and Eric Williams, I mean their major papers are here. Those who have come here from abroad, keep coming back. I actually spent the bulk of my career in the West Indiana Division of the Library."

Her faith in God has brought her through a significant challenge.

"I have a 26-year-old daughter, Candace, who is very severely physically and mentally challenged following a bout of meningitis at the age of seven months. However, I have an extremely supportive husband who is the director of nursing at Port-of-Spain. If I have to travel as I do on many occasions he is always there to offer the needed support. My parents, while they were with us, also provided a lot of help as my daughter would go to their home after school. The Immortelle Children’s Centre has been assisting us since she was three-years-old and I have helpers at my home six days a week."

The active member of faith-based organisation Elijah Centre and a practising Christian continued, "The experience has led to a strengthening of my faith in God. I recall when she was two I had problems lifting her and said to myself that I wouldn’t be able to continue doing it but now she’s 26 and I can still lift her. I tell people not to allow the tragedies which they face to become greater tragedies. I could have been a bitter person as a result but God has brought me through."

We have opened our hearts and homes to a lot of other young people as well," said the surrogate mother of many.

She then spoke of a Tobagonian child whom she would pick up and drop to the university every morning.

"That girl did her PhD and is now lecturing at Cave Hill. When her mother passed she upgraded my status and she’s really like a daughter to me. I have tracked her career and feel very proud of her accomplishments."

The proud academic has no plans of turning her back on research and following her retirement plans to write several books in addition to travelling to visit the friends that she’s made through the years.