In June 2007 when I arrived here, there was no library – no school library or community library. Now we have a library that serves both groups! It took 11 months and a lot of luck. Mostly, though, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Pam C. who got the ball rolling with six boxes of books from her own bookshelves and those of her neighbors. That one gesture opened the door to many more books and opportunities; it set in motion a chain reaction that energized the whole community; and it gave us all the courage to believe that a library was possible.
When I came to Belize I settled in a seaside village with one primary school (equivalent to grades K – 8 in the United States). In September 2007, I began working with 14 teachers and almost 300 students. In lieu of physical room to call a library, I began a “mobile” library system. With an armload full of books, I’d visit each class once a week, give out library cards, and display the books at the front of the room. Each student would choose a book, fill out a library card, and then keep the book for a week until my next visit. It was a workable, but clumsy, system.
Then in February, Pam’s boxes of books arrived. And right away, I incorporated the new old books into my mobile book cart. And soon there was a group of girls who were writing poetry, another group of remedial students who were reading the Come Dick Come books and yet others who were doing reports with the help of the great reference books. My favorite was a group who got interested the 1990s Adventure magazines!
About the same time that the books arrived, the principal of the school told me that the pre-school classes would be moving into a new building and that there was a possibility that their old building could be converted into a library. Everyday I rode my bike past the old pre-school and everyday I’d peer in through the windows and imagine a room full of books. But months went by without any more news. Then in early June, the last month of the school year, the pre-schoolers moved into their new digs and work on the library began! In one afternoon the older school boys moved the pre-school furniture out and the library shelves in. That was on a Friday. On Saturday a group of us scrubbed the one-room building inside and out, painted the floor, and fixed some of the leaks in the roof. As soon as we had confidence that the books wouldn’t get wet in the next rain storm we moved boxes and boxes of books – starting with the six from Pam. We found others which had been stashed in classroom closets and still others which were donated by people who heard by word of mounth about the library. In all, we now have over 1500 books. And they all stayed dry in last month’s terrible flood (see previous blog).
School is closed for the summer, but the library remains open. I really didn’t expect to see such tangible results this first year, especially because I got a late start out of the gate. But there it is – the proof is in the pictures attached.
When I came to Belize I settled in a seaside village with one primary school (equivalent to grades K – 8 in the United States). In September 2007, I began working with 14 teachers and almost 300 students. In lieu of physical room to call a library, I began a “mobile” library system. With an armload full of books, I’d visit each class once a week, give out library cards, and display the books at the front of the room. Each student would choose a book, fill out a library card, and then keep the book for a week until my next visit. It was a workable, but clumsy, system.
Then in February, Pam’s boxes of books arrived. And right away, I incorporated the new old books into my mobile book cart. And soon there was a group of girls who were writing poetry, another group of remedial students who were reading the Come Dick Come books and yet others who were doing reports with the help of the great reference books. My favorite was a group who got interested the 1990s Adventure magazines!
About the same time that the books arrived, the principal of the school told me that the pre-school classes would be moving into a new building and that there was a possibility that their old building could be converted into a library. Everyday I rode my bike past the old pre-school and everyday I’d peer in through the windows and imagine a room full of books. But months went by without any more news. Then in early June, the last month of the school year, the pre-schoolers moved into their new digs and work on the library began! In one afternoon the older school boys moved the pre-school furniture out and the library shelves in. That was on a Friday. On Saturday a group of us scrubbed the one-room building inside and out, painted the floor, and fixed some of the leaks in the roof. As soon as we had confidence that the books wouldn’t get wet in the next rain storm we moved boxes and boxes of books – starting with the six from Pam. We found others which had been stashed in classroom closets and still others which were donated by people who heard by word of mounth about the library. In all, we now have over 1500 books. And they all stayed dry in last month’s terrible flood (see previous blog).
School is closed for the summer, but the library remains open. I really didn’t expect to see such tangible results this first year, especially because I got a late start out of the gate. But there it is – the proof is in the pictures attached.
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