Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve heard Jane’s lending library sales pitch enough times that I could probably recite portions in my sleep. She is a passionate advocate for placing books in the hands of children — and others, for that matter — by building a network of lending libraries. Phrases like “prestar los libros” (to lend the books) and “libros en los manos de niños” (books in the hands of children) pop up frequently in both English and Spanish.

Jane is living proof that a good idea can transcend language barriers. She is not a native Spanish speaker (she lived in the U.S. most of her life), and her constant projects have cut into time spent on formal language training. But when evangelizing for libraries in Nicaragua, her questionable verb conjugations and occasional Spanglish patois are subsumed by the power of her ideas and her personal conviction that she is helping build a brighter future for her adopted country.

The most moving parts of her pitch, however, are not her own creations. They are testimonials of those who have seen first-hand the benefits of the lending library model used in San Juan del Sur. She focuses specifically on two things. One is a letter from an education official noting the dramatic changes in students whose schools participate in the Movil (bookmobile) program, and requesting that more schools be added. (I will try to post this later.) The other is a poem written in honor of the library’s fourth birthday by Rhina Ercilia Guadalupe Pomares Herrera, a fourteen-year-old library patron. Jane gave me permission to repeat that poem below, first in English, and then in the original Spanish:

Happy Birthday Biblioteca Movil

With baloons of colors

Ribbons and streamers

There is festivity in our hearts

On this, the 4th anniversary of our library.

From her there is joy

and to us a better future

For this we celebrate this day

With soul, life and heart.


Coming to us are one thousand books

to read with our attention

And coming to her, 100,000 niños

To celebrate this day with love.

Library, from you I have the total of my wisdom

and so this poem is for you

and because you have illuminated by days

Today I give you my gratitude.

Feliz Cumpleaños Biblioteca Movil

Con globos de colores,

Listones y paletas

Se festeja en nuestros corazones

el 4to aniversario de nuestra biblioteca.

De ella es la alegria

y de nosotros un futuro mejor

por esa celebremos en este día

Con alma, vida y corazón.

Vengan nosotros mil libros

para leer con atención

y vengan a ella 100,000 niños

para celebra este día con amor.

Ya que eres toda mi sabiduría

entonces este poema es para ti

y porque has iluminado mis días

hoy te doy las gracias así

This poem was chosen from among 35 submitted for a contest to honor the anniversary, and Jane notes that many of the kids spoke of the library as their own, referring to it like they would a revered teacher or beloved grandmother. “Knowing the library is seen this way by the children is both my reward and a greater motivation to continue this amazing program,” she notes at the bottom of the published poem. “I urge you to join me in continuing these efforts.”

At the end of our trip, we will be posting information on this blog on how you can help support Nicaraguan lending libraries. I hope you’ll seriously consider doing this — those of us who have seen the projects in action can attest that the small investments in these libraries pay great dividends here in Central America.