Libros para todos
From Simmons International Relations
"Library Jane" to speak at Simmons College on the development of free lending libraries in Nicaragua
Date:
- Thursday , November 16, 2006, 7 PM
Location:
- Trustman Art Gallery
- Main College Building, Fourth Floor
- 300 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115
Jane Mirandette is the founder and director of the San Juan del Sur Biblioteca Movil in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. The library, which last year celebrated its fifth anniversary, is at the forefront of a movement to make reading materials more accessible to ordinary Nicaraguans. In addition to the library's main location in town, it now runs a large-scale bookmobile operation that brings books to children in more than 20 schools in the nearby countryside.
Mirandette also directs The Hester J. Hodgdon Libraries For All Program, a Colorado nonprofit organization devoted to the development of free lending libraries in Central America. Since its inception, the program has helped in the founding of a number of other libraries throughout the region.
While at Simmons, Mirandette will discuss the importance of library access in developing countries, and will review some of the challenges and opportunities faced by libraries in Nicaragua. The November 16 event will include the photographs and personal experiences of Simmons students and staff who have traveled to Nicaragua over the last two years to help grow the library program. A variety of Nicaraguan crafts will also be raffled off to support the Hester J. Hodgdon Libraries for All Program.
This event is sponsored by Simmons International Relations, a student organization within the Graduate School of Library and Information Science dedicated to exploring issues related to international and multicultural librarianship.
Simmons College has developed a unique bond with San Juan del Sur, a small port town on Nicaragua’s Pacific coast. In addition to the GSLIS library volunteers, students in the College of Arts and Sciences have traveled to the town annually for the last six years as part of a service learning program led by Professor David Gullette. The CAS students assist in a variety of work -- in the past, they have helped build stoves and water filters, operated medical clinics, helped out with the library program, and worked with women’s groups. Gullette also serves as Vice President of the Newton San Juan Sister City Project, which has actively supported development efforts in San Juan del Sur since 1989.
Links:
- Simmons International Relations:
- Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science
- San Juan del Sur Biblioteca Movil
- Newton San Juan Sister City Project
