This colorful, elaborate building was first constructed in France for the 1889 Paris Exposition. It was then dismantled, shipped and reassembled in downtown Fort-de-France. When it opened in 1893, it contained 10,000 books donated by Victor Schoelcher, the library’s namesake. He was a French political leader of the abolitionist movement during the 19th century. The collection now contains over 300,000 volumes.