Biblioteca de Oportunidad

The Plaza library for children (Biblioteca de Oportunidad) opened two weeks ago in San Juan Cosalá with full support of the community.  Money for the library was provided by St. Andrews Anglican Church, through a grant written by Nancy Brown.  The location is perfect, being in the center of town, and before the library opened, over 150 children had been registered by their parents.  The number now is close to 300.  Permission was obtained from the Presidente of Jocotepec to use the kiosk in the center of the town plaza, a government building that had previously been used only for storage.  Windows surrounding the space provide lots of light and make the library visible to the town’s people.  The inviting space is furnished in primary colors.  The library is manned by local ladies who are learning the registration and check-out systems.  They are learning how to shelve and care for over 1,000 books in English and Spanish.  After their initial training, the local librarians will receive training from a group from Guadalajara.  They will learn a method that has proved effective in encouraging reading and an enthusiasm for reading in young people.  The parents will then be trained to effectively read and “teach” a book.
Because the library is so popular, the children have been divided into 16 groups, based on whether the child is in school in the morning or the afternoon and their ages.  Each group has their special time in the library.  Initially the library opened with reading time and the checking out of a book to take home.  Then games were added to the mix.   More projects are planned for the future.  Because many of the Spanish books are at an older interest level, a time will be established for adults to also check out books.  Most of the adult population of San Juan Cosalá has never had the opportunity to read books for enjoyment.  A workshop is in the planning stage for the parents of 3 and 4-year-old children who will be furnished with materials to make alphabet picture flash cards in Spanish. They will also be provided with a variety of ways to use the cards to keep the interest of their children. 
As one of the goals of the library is for the children to begin hearing English words and sounds and to pick up English words in a non-pressured way, CD’s will be made of some of the books in both English and Spanish.  Expat volunteers are being signed up to be guest readers, with the librarians reading a book in Spanish, followed by the book being read in English.  The electronic tablets that have been donated to the library will contain books in Spanish.  Special art projects will also be planned for the various groups. 

The library boasts a section of resources for teachers of English, and these materials can be checked out by any teacher at Lakeside.  It is hoped that the space will be used for a number of activities.  There is presently an English class for adults being taught in the library.

Everything in the library is being provided at no cost to the individuals using the facility.  It is hoped that this space will be a source of joy and love of reading for children and adults.
It should be mentioned that the local ladies working in the library are paid in tokens which can be used to shop in the Token Store.

.If you would like to volunteer as a guest reader in either English and/or Spanish, contact Nancy Brown at nancyb1123@hotmail.com

If you would like to donate to this project to pay for additional books or special projects, please click on PayPal and please indicate your donation is for the library.