Roving Reference: GSLIS Students Lend a Hand (and Books) in Nicaragua
Over the last four years, GSLIS members of the Simmons International Relations (SIR)
student group have traveled to the seaside town San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, to volunteer
with a public library and its mobile project, delivering books by truck to patrons in rural
farming communities. In January 2009, nine students went on the trip, including Jessica
DeAngelis, who writes an account of her experience.
Below are excerpts from interviews with students Charlie Remy and Lauren Vander Zanden,
who also went on the 10-day trip.
Charlie Remy
I have an undergraduate degree in Spanish and studied abroad in Santiago, Chile for a
year. I really missed being able to speak the language 24/7 and loved the idea of combining
my interests of the Spanish language/Hispanic culture with librarianship. I was able to
meet and develop relationships with a lot of wonderful people. This would have been much
harder if I had not been fluent in the language. I also loved traveling through the
countryside on the bookmobile. Meeting the well-known author and former vice president
of Nicaragua, Sergio Ramirez, was also a highlight.
One of my hobbies is collecting books in Spanish. Whenever I go to a Spanish-speaking
country, I always try to visit the bookstores and get a good sampling of the national
literature. This was very frustrating in Nicaragua because there are hardly any bookstores
outside of the capital city (Managua). Even in Managua, it was very difficult. I had to
hire a taxi driver to take me to a few stores and once inside I noticed that their national
literature offerings were paltry at best. Most of the books were imported from Spain and
other parts of Latin America. Apparently books are not a priority in a country where
subsistence is a daily struggle.
My goal is to be a Latin American bibliographer in an academic library. At this point
I think I want to stay in the States and work at a university library here. Libraries in
Latin America tend to function on an older, more traditional paradigm — more closed stacks
and less emphasis on public service.
Lauren Vander Zanden (http://luluabroad.blogspot.com/)
The Nicaragua trip for me started off as a whim and turned into so much more. I love
to travel, and I also really enjoy working with children, so when I learned more about the
project and the bookmobile I was really excited to be a part of it. The trip was amazing,
and I really got a lot out of speaking with Jane Mirandette, the founder of the San Juan
del Sur Biblioteca. Talking with Jane or riding on the bookmobile really illuminated a
whole different aspect of service in the field of librarianship.
When it dawned on me that she has essentially created the institution of a lending
library from scratch in a developing country, a program that is now thriving, it makes
services in the US pale in comparison. After all, there are few librarians in the US that
ford rivers in trucks to bring books to a school, and once you arrive there are pigs
roaming free and children come running up the road to select new books before engaging you
in a game of soccer or sitting for a read-aloud. It is my hope that someday I will be able
to create a similar program. In the meantime, I am still a volunteer with SJDS and have
plans to return in January for a longer stay and more volunteering.
Links:
The UNC/Oxford Summer Seminar: Q&A with Leslie Ward
In May 2008, Leslie Ward '09LS traveled to Oxford, England to participate in a two-week
summer seminar on British librarianship. The program is run annually by the school of
information and library science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is
open to any students and professionals. (Ward heard about it in an e-mail from UNC that
was forwarded to GSLIS students.) Ward got academic credit for the seminar.
What did you do over the two weeks?
The time there consisted of a combination of classes about and tours of some of England's famous libraries, including the Bodleian library and the British library. This seminar is also offered for credit, so students were given free time to make use of the Oxford University Library System to research a topic of their interest on Oxford libraries. The topic I chose to write about allowed me to combine my academic and library related interests: architecture and library access. I wrote on the functionality of the Radcliffe Camera, an 18th century Oxford University library, as a library in the modern age.
What were some of the highlights for you?
To me, the Oxford program acted as an introduction to different types of libraries, librarians, and patron needs by giving those things a context. We visited libraries and heard talks from librarians on topics from preservation and digitization to children's collections and library marketing. The program also acted as a great way to meet fellow librarians and network. One of the classroom lectures by a librarian was with Sarah Thomas, Bodley's Librarian and a Simmons alum. It was a great experience to see how a Simmons alum worked her way up to become one of the world's most famous librarians. We heard stories from librarians at Oxford about how they became librarians, as well as how they see the field today and its future. Being at Oxford University taught us that the difficulties we experience at our home libraries — like space issues, serving a variety of patron needs, copyright and access issues, and marketing for the library — also happen in big library systems like Oxford.
The major highlight of the program was just being in the heart of Oxford. Being a stone's throw from some of the oldest universities, museums, and libraries in the world was awe-inspiring. And being given a reader's card for the Bodleian Library was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was like being a student at the University! We even had the opportunity check out books from the Bodleian, visit colleges and go shopping at the famous Blackwell's bookshop. Being able to walk in the footsteps on some of Oxford's most famous former students and fellows in the beautiful English weather (that's right, no rain for two weeks!) was an opportunity that everyone should be able to have.
Do you plan to work internationally?
I am currently looking to work in an academic setting. I would like to return to England to work in a university library and have applied for a few positions there. It can be difficult to obtain a work visa for the UK, but I will continue to attempt to obtain a job there.
International Librarianship Support & Job Links
GSLIS Links
American Library Association:
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions:
Other links to jobs and scholarships:
