Moving fast

This week is going by so fast. I can't believe that it's Friday already. Today we went to a public library. This was really an exciting outing for me since I am the only public librarian in our group. It was hard not to compare the differences between this small library and the library system that we have in Haywood County. As we spoke to the director of the public library of Cochabamba, it became very clear that this library was different in many ways. Most of the books in this library were used for reference work. They have very few requests for fiction. We did not see more than a small area of fiction literature. All of the books were very old. To our amazement the director showed us a case of old and rare books that dated back hundreds of years. He opened the case and placed a few of these delicate books into our hands. I held a book that was dated 1691. We worried that the oils on our skin would damage these fragile artifacts. The director was very proud to show off this rare collection.

We also visited a school that contained about four hundred and fifty students ranging in ages from about six to fourteen. The teachers were hard working, lovely women that obviously cared about the students and their need for good literature. Everywhere we go, we are told of the shortages of literature in Cochabamba. As we walked through the school yard, the children pranced around us with huge smiling, brown eyes and posed while we took their pictures. We made a game of taking their picture and letting them see the instant results. It was such a delight for them to see their own image on the screen.

After we left the school, we hurried back to the hotel to retrieve the books that didn't make it to the Biblioteca Th'ruchapitas on Wednesday. They had arrived late along with our luggage. After presenting more books, we held a mini workshop on restoring and backing the books that Gaby had picked out for us to repair. Unfortunately, some of the books were in too bad of condition to try to repair. Gaby explained that it was truly a blessing to have us show them how to save as many books as possible.