A lot of work to do: Library Project

The School Library


The main room


Room 1


Room 2

This is the current library at my school. I am glad there is space put aside for something at all, but there are many challenges.

1. The two rooms in the library are always locked, making them useless to the overall function of the library.

2. The librarian is at school maybe 2 hours a day, always at different times. She is the only one with a key. She goes to the market to sell things to supplement her income. She makes about 30 dollars a month.

3. The librarian wants me to wait for the mythical new building our school is supposedly going to build (was supposed to start building this month) before making any changes.

4. There are numerous shutters in every room that are in disrepair and allow copious amounts of dust and water into the rooms. As you can imagine, this is not good for books.



5. Most of the books are old editions that are not even readable because of damage. The school wants to keep them "just in case".




6. I asked if I could take down the wall between the smaller rooms to make a medium sized room and I was told I could not because the school does not own the building.

7. There is no system to how the books are put on the shelves or lent out to students. The library currently functions mainly as a place for students to rent out their books for class at the beginning of the year.

There are however things in my favor:

1. Energetic co-teacher who is willing to help.

2. Director agreed to pay electricity if I could find some computers.

3. The students REALLY want a library they can use and that will be a great resource to them. They volunteered to help clean the place up.


For some reason the locked rooms are filled with boxes of beer cans and water bottles

4. There are some English books and a few Khmer books that are in good shape.

5. I think I might get my own key to the building. This will be a great help so I don't have to stalk the librarian to get inside the building.

Just in my initial investigation to improve the library there have been many challenges. The kids and teachers want a space that they can go to read that is quiet and has materials they are interested in. This project is very personal to me because I grew up in libraries. I always took out the limit for borrowing books and my first volunteering experience was at the local library. To me they are a special place where I can learn about anything, pretend I'm anyone, and use the quiet to achieve a focus to really get things done.

These are my objectives for the school library:

1. Upgrade the facility (safe from weather and theft, add places to sit, clean up)
2. Add more books in Khmer in English that the teachers and students request
3. Add scholarship and college information
4. Encourage students to volunteer to help the librarian keep the place clean
5. Improve the general interest in reading
6. Organize the books in some kind of system

I would really like to add two computers that would serve as learning tools and a listening lab, and possibly record local stories and history. I am going to spend the next 6 months (at least) applying for grants, talking to NGOs (asking for money, donations, or general advice), and trying to overcome the barriers that stand before me. I am planning a library clean up for next week. When I told the students, they let out cheers of joy akin to me telling them they won concert tickets to Justin Bieber. That's a positive start. Wish me luck!