The Library of Dreams/La Biblioteca de los Sueños

 

Inquiry Blog #4: Developing World Libraries/ Mobile Devices

Photo credit Ubuntu Publishers

As far as I remember, my childhood had always been surrounded by books.  Some of the best memories I have are of my late mother reading me a story before bed or reading from the comic section in the newspaper.  I can still recite some paragraphs from “Le Petit Prince” (her favourite story) and remember laughing every time she would read about the Boa Constrictor that looked like a hat.  I would always beg her to read that book to me and even after she passed, I would ask my dad to read it to us before bed.  He always did, even if it brought him painful memories and for that I am forever grateful. 

Extract from “Le Petit Prince” (2001)

This week’s topic about World Libraries was an eye opener for me.  Having been born in South America, I was excited to find out how our libraries compared to theirs and the type of opportunities kids have there to learn new skills in this digital era.  I decided to focus my research on Central America since I was born in El Salvador and lived there for the first 15 years of my life.  I have very fond memories from that time: school, friends, family outings, and Christmases were at the top of my list.  As I walked down memory lane I was suddenly brought back to reality when I realized that no matter how hard I tried I could not remember ever visiting the Public Library or even the library at school.  All my reading memories are of my parents, aunt, and grandparents reading to us and buying us books.

How could this be?! Had I simply forgotten all the times I visited?  After all, my mother was a librarian working at the National Library in San Salvador surely enough I would have visited right? I decided to contact my childhood friends and ask them questions about the libraries and the different programs they have to offer.  I was astounded when they told me that the National Library had been demolished and that what I have come to know as “the hub of a community” was simply not the case in El Salvador.

Sadly enough, this seems to be a trend with developing countries.  Liah Shonhe discusses this in her article  “A Consolidation of Challenges Faced by School Libraries in Developing Countries.”   She argues that “one of the problems (when trying to achieve quality education in developing countries) is the inability of governments to invest in the development and management of effective school libraries.” (2019) It seems that most school libraries are being neglected even though they play an important role in students’ learning progress.  Shonhe also mentions some of the challenges developing countries face when trying to create successful library services and programs.  These challenges include poor staffing, little to no funding, lack of a library policy, poor ICT infrastructure, poor library facilities, and lack of awareness of the importance of school libraries (2019.). In her article, she shares a literature analyses she did of 13 developing countries...wow talk about an eye opener! It really broke my heart to learn that in some countries, El Salvador included, education and literacy take a back seat and in some cases is not even brought up for discussion!  To access a copy of her Literature Analyses, click here.

At this point I was hooked.  I started calling childhood friends and researched the web to try to find out more about the challenges Libraries face in other countries.  I concentrated on El Salvador as I wanted to know more about my place of birth and what I could do to help out.

I was surprised to find out that El Salvador had only one Public Library called “BINAES (Biblioteca National de El Salvador.)”. This place was opened over one hundred years ago and it mainly housed classical and academic books.  Not only is the library located in one of the most dangerous places in San Salvador (due to gang wars) making it hard for patrons to visit, but the place had also endured earthquakes and flooding making the structure weak and dangerous to use.  After a lot of talking back and forth, the new President (Nayib Bukele) managed to get his cabinet to agree on demolishing the building and, with the help of The People’s Republic of China, start building a brand new Public Library.  I was happy to learn that other countries have stepped in to help build the new structure; however, all that excitement vanished when I realized that the building was demolished in 2019 and it has taken 2 years to approve the project! I was floored to find out that the country does not have a public library at all!   Sure you have private libraries in universities or private schools (I will discussed this shortly), but access to those is only allowed if you are a student at the aforementioned places. 

The pictures above show the state of the library prior to being demolished.  

Being a Teacher Librarian in training, I was intrigued to find out what the children’s section looked like and was surprised to find out that it was a very small room with no windows and a few shelves with a number of books in Spanish and English where parents could come and read to their kids.  Below is a picture of this “reading room.”  There were no computers due to lack of funding and theft. 

Photo Credit: La Prensa Grafica

At this point I was very discouraged.  My heart hurt for all those children with no access to all these amazing worlds the written word creates.  I felt even more discouraged when I discovered that reading does not play a big part in the culture.  I was one of the lucky ones whose parents loved reading, so they were able to instill that love of literature in all of us kids.  The reason being that access to books is not as easy as going to the library to borrow books, as you have already seen.  The only other alternative is purchasing books but in a country where the average daily working rate is about $7 USD, buying a book is a luxury not many have.  So how else can they access books?  I found out that the majority of people have devices and access to cheap internet so I thought, there it is! A solution…wrong! Children do have access to devices; however, they have not been taught where they could access free books, apps like Youtube or Reddit are only used to watch videos or play games and not too many people are willing to purchase monthly subscriptions to the “Online Bookstores” available to them through private companies.  

School Libraries suffer the same faith as the Public Library.  Public schools often lack the presence of a library and if they are some of the lucky few with a collection of books, these are often very outdated, uncatalogued and poorly organize making it difficult for students to borrow resources.  Other books have been locked in cabinets to prevent wear and tear and only teachers are able to access them.  Private schools have more funding for their libraries but again, due to the lack of trained library staff or a library committee, the books purchased are mainly textbooks or dictionaries.  The magazine called “The Citizen” (El Ciudadano) published an article in 2018 where a study showed that about 80% of schools lack a library…80%! I couldn’t believe this…after all “a school library is vital to the learning and teaching activities of any school as it acts as an information hub and an innovation Centre.” (Shone 2019)

Student looks through the shelves of books at his school library.  Photo credit El Ciudadano.

So what is the government doing to help the Ministry of Education address all these issues?  I was happy to find out that President Bukele has been working side by side with the Ministry of Education to come up with a plan to bring education back to the negotiation table and start working on getting more funding.  The People’s Republic of China has also donated $54 million USD to build the new National Library and to purchase new books and furniture.  

Other politicians have also stepped in and have started funding projects that will help children have access to literature.  One of the projects I read about is called “Reading Oasis.”  This is the first Digital Library to be opened in San Salvador.  It is located in one of the major parks in the city.  According to Ernesto Muyshondt, the Mayor of San Salvador, the new library “offers free WIFI, 30-plus personal computers and thousands of analog and digital books, the library fosters a culture of learning among the city’s youth. Its specific resources on science, technology, arts and math will be available for local schools.” (Creative Magazine, 2021.)   There is also another project underway to create more Digital Libraries around the country.  

Another great project that has been underway for a few years now is called “The Library of Dreams.” I have to say that this is by far my favourite and I’m already trying to get in touch with the founder to see how I can help.  Author Jorge Argueta is at the heart of this project.  Born in El Salvador, Jorge left for the United States as a kid fleeing the Civil War of the 80s.  He has been traveling back and forth bringing suitcases full of bilingual books to share with the children in his old neighbourhood.  In 2017, he decided to open a safe haven for children in the neighbourhood.  The library was created “for children in the neighborhood of San Jacinto to help them feel safe and have the opportunity to become excited about literature in a way that they might not be able to at home.”  (Argueta, 2017) Located in a brick cabin at the heart of the neighbourhood, this place will help children learn to dream, strengthen their spirit and to learn about their culture through books.  Every day, Argueta hires a bus to collect the children and bring them safely to the library.  It is his dream that through books, children will learn to be strong and choose life and education over a life of violence.  

This video is a walk through of the Library of Dreams.

This journey back to my roots has taught me so much.  I am itching to learn ways I can help not only my community back home, but also my school community here.  I have learned how important having access to resources and technology is.  I feel lucky to be in a place where I can easily take my children to the public library for an afternoon or curl up with a Kobo and read one of the digital copies we have borrowed for the week. I can see how having access and knowledge about the various digital resources available to us is important to support the learning process in children.   

So what can we do to help children in developing countries?

Here is a list of projects or foundations you can reach out to if you would like to take part in these amazing projects:

1) Room to Read: an organization with the purpose of “creating a world free from illiteracy and gender inequality. We are achieving this goal by helping children in historically low-income communities develop literacy skills and a habit of reading, and by supporting girls as they build skills to succeed in school and negotiate key life decisions. We collaborate with governments and other partner organizations to deliver positive outcomes for children at scale.” (Room to Read, 2022) For more information click below.

2) Jorge Argueta: if you would like more information on ways to help him create more Libraries of Dreams send him an email.  His personal webpage has all the information you need to reach out.  Click the picture below to learn more.

3) MNC Build Foundation: an organization with the purpose of creating opportunities for children and adults with scarce resources.  To learn more about their mission click on the picture below. 

I hope you have learned as much as I have about world libraries, especially El Salvador.  Do you have any other projects or foundations we could look into to raise awareness?  I would love to hear from you...until next time,

The Duchess of Bookington 

References:

"10 recuerdos sobre la Biblioteca Nacional de El Salvador" (algunos que tal vez no conocías). (n.d.). Noticias de El Salvador - La Prensa Gráfica | Informate Con La Verdad. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://www.laprensagrafica.com/10-recuerdos-sobre-la-Biblioteca-Nacional-de-El-Salvador-algunos-que-tal-vez-no-conocias-t202201040001.html

(Website is in Spanish)

"80% de los colegios en El Salvador no cuentan con bibliotecas." (2018, July 23). El Ciudadano.  Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://www.elciudadano.com/latinoamerica/80-de-los-colegios-en-el-salvador-no-cuentan-con-bibliotecas/07/23/

Biblioteca de los Sueños. (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLIstCULA0s&t=52s

“Library of Dreams: brings books, safe space to kids in El Salvador." (n.d.). NBC News. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/children-gang-ravaged-el-salvador-explore-library-dreams-n683506

Reading oasis: Digital library opens in San Salvador. (2021, February 10). Creative. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://www.creativeassociatesinternational.com/stories/reading-oasis-digital-library-opens-in-san-salvador/

Room to Read: Building Libraries, Schools, and Computer Labs in Developing Countries. (n.d.). Edutopia. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://www.edutopia.org/global-education-libraries-developing-countries

Shonhe, L. (n.d.). "A Consolidation of Challenges Faced by School Libraries in Developing Countries." Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5867&context=libphilprac