R is for reading fairs

And now, an overdue entry in the “Bolivia libraries program ABCs”:

R is for reading fairs—a new and collaborative effort for the MCC Bolivia libraries program this year.

The thing about a building is, it just sits there. Here in Bolivia, where libraries are still a relatively new part of the culture, it’s not enough to just put up a building and stock it with books; you have to get people to come inside. That’s where the reading fairs come in.

Starting in June and finishing up in October, MCC and other organizations working to promote reading and writing in the department of Santa Cruz are working together to organize reading fairs in ten libraries, both here in the city and in rural areas. We held the first fair on June 16 in a public library in a neighborhood on the edge of town. The second was at Rancho Nuevo, an MCC-sponsored library outside the “industrial park” area of the city. (The pictures in this entry were taken at Rancho Nuevo. The sign pictured above, painted by an art student volunteer, says, “Welcome to the first reading fair of Rancho Nuevo Cultural Center.”)

The idea behind the reading fairs is to create a kind of living welcome mat—to attract people to the library with music to please their ears, posters and banners to open their eyes, and the scent of hot dogs to entice their noses (and stomachs!). Once the neighbors wander in, there are books laid out for young and old to browse, songs and dance numbers (presented by students from the local schools), poetry readings (also presented by students), and a variety of mini-workshops and other activities for all ages.

In the photo above, you can see me introducing the younger children to the storybook Taky the Penguin, which Sandra (my work partner) then read aloud to them. Meanwhile, the older kids attended a puppets workshop or got their faces painted, and the young people and adults looked at books and presentations on various subjects presented by the local high schools. The morning was rounded out with a surprise for the library: the presentation of a set of pocket-sized books donated by Santa Cruz’s leading newspaper, El Deber, one of the organizations collaborating on this reading fairs project. Don Beto, a founding member of the library’s organizing committee, was tickled to receive the donation and looks forward to seeing the books put to good use. (See photo above.)

According to don Beto, Rancho Nuevo’s two young women librarians, and the other people I talked to, Rancho Nuevo’s first reading fair was a success. Among the participants were kids, young people, and adults who’d never entered the library before. Sandra and I and the rest of the organizers look forward to helping generate more excitement about libraries in the reading fairs planned for the months ahead.