Nargis Library Recovery

Three directors of NRL [Hector Rivas, Jack Simpson and John Badgley] join Myanmar Book Aid and Preservation Foundation directors on October 31 at Park Royal Hotel, Yangon for a day-long discussion about our joint project. U Thaw Kaung will moderate discussion as noted in the attached agenda. Dr. Thant Thaw Kaung will report on how staff of Myanmar Book Centre and librarian volunteers unloaded, sorted, selected and distributed over 100,000 books thus far, and the additional 100,000 scheduled to arrive by year’s end. How that work is accomplished, how libraries are selected to receive our assistance, and proposed improvements in our program will take up our morning discussion.

We hope to begin funding repair and reconstruction of structures in 2010, which is a very different task than replacing books. Discussion of how to raise funds for that purpose, criteria to use as we select libraries, and how we will contract workers to rebuild each library will take most of the afternoon.

NRL directors will visit a number of libraries in Pyapon and Bogalay Townships that we are assisting on October 27-28, then return to Yangon to survey libraries we helped this year, or hope to assist in 2010. We will also meet with program administrators of other INGO Nargis relief projects and embassy officials supervising distribution of the Tripartite Core Group funds [UN, ASEAN and Myanmar government].

Our November post will be delayed so all this activity can be incorporated.

MYANMAR BOOK AID AND PRESERVATION FOUNDATION’S AGENDA
ROUNDTABLE MEETING WITH NARGIS LIBRARY RECOVERY DIRECTORS

Date : 31st October 2009 (Saturday)
Place : Park Royal Hotel, Shwedagon Pagoda Road
9:00 am Opening Speech U Thaw Kaung
9:10 am Introduction to directors of MBAPF and donors Dr. Thant Thaw Kaung
9:20 am Explanation of the Program Details Dr. John Badgley
10:00 am Coffee Break
10:30 am Criteria for selecting libraries for book donation & book replacement subects Dr. Thant Thaw Kaung
11:15 am Future fund raising program John Badgley
12:00 noon Lunch
1:30 pm Review of visits to libraries in delta & Yangon Jack/Hector/John/Thant
2:00 pm Future Criteria of rebuilding libraries Thant/ John
2:30pm Coffee Break
2: 45pm Winding up and general discussion
3:00pm Closing Speech U Thaw Kaung
*A dozen Burmese librarians, publishers, authors and business representatives will participate. Their commitments have made our success thus far possible.

NARGIS LIBRARY RECOVERY PROJECT NEWSLETTER #8, OCTOBER 2009

Our fourth container of books ships from Seattle October 9, with Thrift Books donating 30,000 children’s, 10,000 trade hard/soft back NYT bestsellers, plus 5,000 reference and ‘how-to’ titles and 2,000 cookbooks, plus 3,000 academic texts donated by University of Washington Libraries. As noted in previous postings, 10-15% of these books are sold through charitable book fairs and Myanmar Book Centre stores in Yangon and Mandalay to raise funds for Burmese languages texts and study aids. These were distributed to 83 school libraries in the delta in 2009. By year’s end we will have dispatched 200,000 books to Yangon to distribute or sell at charitable book fairs, which have already raised 13 million kyats.

As we gear up for 2010, our initial goals are being refined by directors of the two NGOs working on this project—Nargis Library Recovery and Myanmar Book Aid and Preservation Foundation. Libraries are learning of our effort and stepping forward to seek specific help, such as expanding their facilities, improving their equipment, and training volunteers to staff their service desks. Last month I described the remarkable success of ICE-Youth Library; this month we will meet their leaders and visit a dozen libraries in Pyapon and Bogalay townships, some reachable only by boat.

Our second annual roundtable is October 31 where we will establish criteria for selecting libraries to help, and consider how to induce local libraries to more systematically improve collections and collaborate in rehabilitating damaged structures. Anecdotal reports of ‘books on wheels’ in several regions are heartening, I hope we can learn from local initiatives to use elsewhere, thereby strengthening the entire country’s library system.

This project is entirely funded by individuals thus far, although I continue to contact larger donors and stakeholders within Myanmar and abroad. While corporate book donations and transport have been vital to our success, we would enjoy no progress without cash donations of families. Most of our management costs are defrayed by volunteers, within Myanmar as well as in NRL, however expansion of our effort to meet the needs of more delta town and village libraries requires additional funding.
I am heartened by the spate of diplomatic exchanges the past couple months, from the highest levels on both sides, to proposal to send additional humanitarian aid to sustain INGOs already operating in Myanmar. Both EU governments and the US seem to be taking seriously the critique that Myanmar receives less per capita development and humanitarian assistance than any comparable country in the world. Assigning blame for this situation is not constructive at this time, but enhancing library programs is crucial to improving the lives of all Burmese. Bringing knowledge into local libraries is our passion; we cannot do it alone, please lend a hand. Consider joining the few who are making such a difference for so many.

Call 425-697-5414, or e-mail john@myanmarbookaid.org, or write me at 9911 220th St. SW, Edmonds, WA 98020.

John Badgley, Executive Director
Nargis Library Recovery