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Saturday, April 24, 2010

Foundations Supporting Libraries

Next month, I will be speaking to a group of teacher-librarians and library volunteers from the AHON Foundation on reading and the promotion of library services. This is one speaking engagement I am excited to do. The topic given to me is my favorite, something that is very close to my heart. Besides, I have been meaning to help AHON Foundation since 2008 but was too busy with regular work and family duties. I am busier actually, but this time around, I have control of my own schedule. Lastly, this is the kind of advocacy I would like myself to be involved in.

As I reckon the many strategies I can share on reading and library promotion, I could not help but marvel at the many non-government organizations (NGOs) that help libraries. Apart from AHON Foundation, there's the Good Neighbors Foundation in Montalban, Rizal that runs a children's library. The owners are Korean and they've been around for a good two years. Sambat Trust, a UK based charity, that ships children's books to school libraries in Tanauan, Batangas is another. Sambat Trust is also involved in the physical renovations of some select school libraries there. And the there's the Mini-Library Project of Bernadette Wolf. She is based in Mindoro. Together with her husband, she is working up strategies to begin a community library in Puerto Galera by coordinating with the local government unit.

Wonderful developments indeed but you and I know that growing pains go with a growing library. So what can we do? I suggest you check the links of these NGOs or search them online using your favorite browser. They need all the help they can get. A library is like a child. It takes a village to raise them!

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