Middleton Library Director, Pamela Westby, is helping collect children's books for the African Library Project which partners with volunteers in African comunities to create small libraries for schools and villages.
Her efforts in this area resulted from a conversation she had with one of her library patrons whose daughter, currently working for the Peace Corps in South Africa, is involved in a project to help students obtain the literacy skills that will lead to better jobs and a higher quality of life for them in the future.
The collected books will go to Lesotho, where the Peace Corps has the goal of establishing two school libraries in the hopes of creating a reading culture for the next generation, as literacy is the only way these children will be able to find their way out of poverty.
Pamela says that this particular project meshes very well not only with her own personal goal --- of acting as a gatekeeper so that others may realize their dreams --- but also with the Middleton Library's 2009 institutional goals. These goals include an emphasis on global awareness along with a commitment to conservation and sustainability. She feels that recycling/reusing books is a great tie-in with conservation and that reduction in the inequities of resources and information retrieval opportunities is also a part of sustainability.
More than 700 books have currently been donated, with the hope of reaching a total of 1,300. If you are interested in making a donation to help reach this goal, the need is for preschool books --- things like basic English learning, board books and little golden books. Books will be shipped by February 17, so any donations should reach Pamela by February 12. If you would like to contribute, please contact her at pamela@scls.lib.wi.us or call (608) 827-7425.