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 booksto 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.