From the Ground Up:From the Ground Up:Developing Sustainable Partnerships with Libraries in Rural Communities in Latin America

Jessica Haglund, MLS and Hannah Miller, MLS

Sister Libraries Workshop – April 2nd, 2011

Growing a Grassroots LibraryGrowing a Grassroots Library

Getting to Know the Community and Patrons:

Know your audience• Who are your patrons?• What is the community like?

Know the needs• What are the information wants/needs?

Cultivate appropriate information resources

Forms Libraries Can TakeForms Libraries Can Take

Mobile Book Projects

School Libraries

Libraries/Community Centers

Mobile Book ProjectsMobile Book Projects

School LibrariesSchool Libraries

Libraries/Community CentersLibraries/Community Centers

Collecting and Sending Collecting and Sending Information ResourcesInformation Resources

Securing Donations• Annual library conferences, Publishers, Partner with

foreign language departments and/or libraries at colleges

• Look for books in other languages at major book retailers, college bookstores, and look into publishers that publish in specific language(s) for donations

Sending Books • Partner with airlines to ship books abroad• Send books with volunteers• Mail books to U.S. headquarter address (if one

exists)

Importance of Lending LibrariesImportance of Lending Libraries

Trust and ownership

Importance of Encouraging Importance of Encouraging ReadingReading

Some communities lack a reading culture. When living requires everyone to pitch in, time to read is often a luxury not a necessity.

School is not affordable and therefore limited or no exposure to reading.

Lending libraries in these communities offer free and readily accessible information. They can also encourage families to read together.

ObstaclesObstacles

Sustainability

Lack of local community buy-in

Lack of linguistically, socially, and culturally appropriate information

Infrastructure

SustainabilitySustainability

What is “sustainability”?• “Capacity to endure”• “To keep up or keep going”• “To provide for by furnishing means or funds”• “Support by lending or giving aid” *www.dictionary.com

Ask yourself:• How sustainable is this idea, project, donation, etc.?• What are potential problems or issues that can

arise, and how can they be dealt with or resolved?• Can the community ensure the sustainability?

Lack of Community Buy-InLack of Community Buy-In

Organic Need vs. Imposed Entity

“This is what I think you need”

Lack of Appropriate InformationLack of Appropriate Information

Many communities lack socially, culturally, and/or linguistically appropriate information

Local or Indigenous Publishing companies do not exist

Where to find the information?• Publishers, conferences, foreign language departments,

academic bookstores• Be creative! Partner with local agencies and institutions.

Beware of Book Dumping!

InfrastructureInfrastructure

Electricity

Internet access

Passable roads

Staff

Skill Share Fosters Skill Share Fosters Librarianship Librarianship

Across ContinentsAcross Continents

To overcome some of the obstacles in developing grassroots libraries, it is important for Librarians to participate in skill share opportunities to assist the local librarians and help them to trouble-shoot their obstacles, such as lending/circulation without electronics, cataloging books without MARC, collection development and book repair.

The End…The End…

Hannah Miller – hannah.miller27@gmail.com

Jessica Haglund – jessica.haglund@comcast.com

© 2011 Hannah Miller/Jessica Haglund