SPRING Into Action for National Library Week!

On Saturday April 11, the Library Project kicked off National Library Week with our SPRING Into Action! book fair at Chester County Book and Music Company.  Throughout the day, friends of the Library came in to get a head start on their summer reading for a good cause – 15 percent of the sales from a specially marked register went directly to the Library Project.  I got to spend the day catching up with long-time supporters and introducing new people to the Library Project’s work.  Leah Johnson, pictured here with me, is a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church, where the Library Project got its start, and she’s been a supporter from the start. 

Take a second look at that photo, and you’ll notice I’m wearing a La Entrada Library Project shirt.  The logo on the tee is a copy of the logo on the wall of the library in La Entrada.  Please send me an email if you’d like to purchase a La Entrada t-shirt to show your support.  They are made one at a time and the color and text can be changed to suit your personality. 

Chester County Book and Music Company has been a great help to us over the years, from our first event, a book fair and signing with illustrator Mike Berenstain in 2006, to the donation of items for our 2007 Holiday Bazaar, to a series of collections benefiting the foundation.  I encourage you to stop by CCBMC the next time you’re looking for a good read, and support a local, independent, socially-conscious bookstore and their wonderful staff, like Thea Kotroba, pictured, who has been a great help in organizing Library Project events.  I have nothing but good things to say about CCBMC and everyone who works there, and I thank them for another successful Library Project fundraiser.

Photos by Teresa and Anne Hawkins

Event: SPRING Into Action!

I'm hoping to see you tomorrow at our SPRING into Action! book fair at Chester County Book and Music Company.  Fifteen percent of book, calendar, card, game and plush toy sales made at a special marked register (follow the balloons!) will support the Library Project.  I'll be there, too, with information about book sponsorship - a great gift to slip into someone special's Easter basket.  I'll also be sporting my hot-off-the-presses La Entrada Library Project t-shirt, coming soon to a torso near you.  Check it out!  CCBMC is a great locally owned and operated book store, and they have been a great partner over the years.  

Upcoming Events

Mark your calendars!  

• On Tuesday, April 7, I will be on WCHE's "This Week in Business" with Cynthia Ericson at 3:45 pm.  Tune in to 1520 AM.

• The following Saturday, April 11, the La Entrada Library Project is having an in-store book fair at Chester County Book and Music Company.  Fifteen percent of all book, calendar, stationary, card, plush toy and game purchases made at a designated register will benefit the Library Project.  Come out and share your love of books with readers around the world!
  

Coming soon to the blog: Writer Wednesday interview series.  Let me know who you'd like to hear from, and what you'd like to know.  Some questions will be selected from your suggestions!  

Let's Talk

Hi there!  Yep, I'm talking to you.  I have lots of things in the works for the Library Project, but nothing pressing this week - so I want to have a chat.  Email me, call me, write me, comment below.  I want to know about you; who you are, what you do, what you like about the blog and the project.  If you have a question, I want to answer it.  If you have a comment, I want to hear it.  I don't run this project alone.  I do it with a lot of help from my board members, and from you, so I want to hear your thoughts.  Together, we can build a Library Project that goes beyond La Entrada - so let's talk.

Media Update: Radio News

This Friday (2/20) tune your computerized radio dial to www.brandywineradio.com between 10 and 12 a.m. Eastern time for a story on the Library Project by Brandywine Radio reporter Sarah McGlinchey!  

If you catch the story, let me know what you thought in the comments.  Thank you for your interest and support.  More updates as they happen!

Background: FAQ

Where is the library located?

In La Entrada, Honduras, in the northern mountain range near Honduras' border with Guatemala. La Entrada is a large commercial center, home to almost 40,000 people in a nation of 7.5 million.

What is the library like?

It is currently in a storefront space owned by the city, located across the street from La Entrada's municipal complex in the city center. It has more nearly 2,000 books and averages 200 patrons each month. Many of these are students who use the library as a resource for homework, enrichment, or just pleasure reading.

Does the library have multimedia capabilities?

Not yet. Once renovations to the municipal building are complete, the library will move to a

larger space there. At that time, we would like to aquire more computers, learning software, and

phonics learning equipment for the library to help its patrons satisfy a wider range of needs.

Do you take used books?

Yes, but because the people of La Entrada speak and read Spanish, we do not accept books written in English.

How can I help?

Right now we are focused on maintaining the library and making a smooth transition to municipal control in February, 2011. If you would like to arrange for a speaking engagement, donate, or ask for more information, please contact Anne Hawkins.

Email: laentradalibraryproject@gmail.com

Telephone: 610-405-5452

Mail: 502 Dilworth Farm Lane

West Chester, PA 19382

and check back frequently for more updates here on our blog.

Photo by Teresa Hawkins

Update: Current Events

You'd have to be fairly oblivious to have missed the fiscal crisis that has shaken the U.S. - and most of the world - over the last six months.  Everyone is feeling the pinch and looking for ways to stretch their dollars.  Donations have gone down in recent months, and I have hesitated to solicit more because, frankly, now is not the time.  

The problem, however, is not what we all know, but what goes unnoticed.  Honduras is a developing nation, and barely a blip on the radar for national news in the U.S., taking up less space than Pennsylvania, with a population  just under 7.5 million.  

Honduras relies very heavily on exports to the U.S., and as our economy goes, so does theirs.  The situation is amplified, however, by the high rate of unemployment, estimated at almost 30%, and by extreme income desparity between the average worker and the small, wealthy class that owns many of the factories and large farms in the nation.  (You can read more about that in the CIA's World Factbook.)  Since December 2008, the instability has increased as President Jose Manuel Zelaya ordered a 60% increase in the minimum wage for workers in urban areas.  The factory and company owners are protesting because their businesses can't handle the increase, and the workers who benefit are trying to keep as much of the raise as they can, with both groups protesting in front of the Supreme Court.  (If you would like to learn more and can read Spanish, I recommend looking this information up with El Heraldo, one of the major newspapers in Honduras.  Most English-language news outlets aren't covering these stories.)

The important part of all this for the Library Project is that, first of all, we have to increase the wages we are paying the librarian.  If we don't, we may be subject to the $1,300 fine for each instance.  As we near the end of our financial commitment to the library this August, our funds are dwindling.  Also, the city of La Entrada, which is supposed to take over the library's expenses in August, wrote their budget for 2009 in October, when the financial crisis was only beginning.  Right now, the future of the Public Library of La Entrada is uncertain, just like almost everything else, but I and the board members of the La Entrada Library Project are committed to keeping it open however we can.  And although I know that you, like me, may be counting pennies, I'd like to ask you to consider giving a few dollars if you are able.  Just five dollars is a small commitment for most of the library project's supporters, but if everyone who has supported it in the past were to give that much now, it would extend the time we could support the library by several months, hopefully long enough for Honduras (and the world) to regain its fiscal footing.