A visit to the library by the library

A few months ago, Audra and I went to the municipal library in Huancayo. It is a library in that it does have books (about 27,000 of them) and people can use the books. But the books are mostly for young people who have graduated from high school and don´t know enough to pass the tests to get into college. They can get a libary card (paying about S/. 5, bringing three passport sized photos, their national identification card and at least three months of utility bills), look at at a list of titles and authors, write it down on a piece of paper, pass the paper through a hole in the wall, sit at a table and wait for the book to come to them. They cannot take it home. They cannot see the shelves where the books are kept. Heaven forbid if they actually walked among the books themselves and browsed a bit for what they wanted. There is to be no talking. Just studying. Libraries, after all, are just for learning. You cannot enjoy yourself there. (At least, that´s what the local logic and tradition says).

Back to a few months ago: Audra and I went to visit them and tell them what we were up to. They were intrigued and for a while sent two librarians to work with us in local schools one day a week. After the break, the director didn´t see any results from the efforts (although he never did leave his office to come out to the schools himself to see what was happening), stopped the program. Two weeks ago, we stopped in and told our library friend that our library for kids was finally open. “I´ll drop in for a visit someday,” she said with a smile.

She visited yesterday along with the other woman who came to the schools with us. I had an English class, but Audra talked with them. After they left, she told me that they were impressed and pleased. She said we could fill a newsletter with quotes from them. Among other things they said we are the only library in the valley that loans books to people to take to their homes (right now we have 138 people signed up).

“How do you verify their address?” they asked.

“We don´t, and we can´t, really,” said Audra. “It´s a matter of trust. Right now the kids are brining the books back because they want to read more. They know they can´t check out a book unless they´ve already brought one back.”

“And if they steal one?”

“At most, they´ll only be able to take one because we have a record of who has what book,” said Audra. “But we don´t see that happening very often at all. Also the kids are good at monitoring one another.”

Teachers are telling their students to come to us to read. Schools are sending classes so we can have story time with them. Parents are coming in because one of their kids has used the library, and they want the rest of the family to be able to as well.

One of the last things our library friends told us is that they have been wanting to do something like this for the past ten years, but had always been told it would never work. That still brings a lump to my throat. A community where people are not allowed to have books in their homes if they can´t afford to buy the books for themselves (which is almost everybody in the community)? That´s wrong. It´s injust. I don´t think at all that it is what Jesus would want.

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