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Local Effort Leads to Community Libraries
By Ray Remmington, Jr.
In a new settlement above Lima where there is no running water or electricity, what you do find is a community library. What sustains this library is the desire of the members of the community to improve themselves. There is no budget available for this library. Instead, the support comes from the desire of the community and its' willingness to follow through on a commitment.
Located in a very simple structure, it is not only a place for reading, but also a meeting place for the people. Children, teens and members of the family always find something to do here, be it read a book, do your homework, have a meeting or have a summer course.
Ernesto Yepes, the Executive Secretary of Promolibro, has seen the opening of 300 such libraries . He said: “We give them the materials, and some training, but the members of the community are the ones who maintain the library.” Since April, 2005, Promolibro has pushed the idea of community libraries as a way to bring books to the people. Initially, the organization delivers a packet of 100 books for use in the library with the possibility of supplementation.
In the municipality of Lima there now exists a network of 234 community libraries. Some of them share space with communal kitchens, markets, community meeting halls or even cabinas de Internet.
In order for Promolibro to install a library, there has to be some fundamental commitments from the community such as a place with furniture, book shelves and, most important, volunteers willing to support the library. These individuals must undergo training so that they have the skills to foster literacy and the management of the community center.
Many of the city governments in greater Lima support this program, but with elections recently completed, it is hoped that newly elected officials will also adopt the program.
Although not directly connected with Promolibro, the city of Lima also has a project called Bibliotecas Solidarias whose purpose is similar. This program currently has seven locations.
Just completed as a summer activity was Reading in the Parks, another program to stimulate interest in reading, with 10,000 participants, and supported by 20 municipal governments.
For further information on the community library program go to the web-site www.promolibro.org or call by telephone at 215-5873.
(Translated from a report in El Commercio,
March 4, 2007.)
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