Metamorphosis

Because the Library Mission is meant to be something useful, expect to see a lot of practical changes in the next couple of months. As I mentioned before, when my youth group returns to Nicaragua we will be doing something Library Mission related. Several adults planning the mission trip have been brainstorming how my youth group can be involved in this mission: what are the most practical and beneficial ways. I’ve only heard snippets, but I am extremely grateful for all the thinking they have been doing. Something they thought of that never occurred to me is the matter of cleanliness. Originally, it was the idea to establish two library branches that would share books over a period of time. Aside from the logistical challenges of transporting them between places, the matter of germs is something to pay attention to. It makes much more sense medically to keep the books where they are originally put so that less children are exposed to germs from other locations. In conclusion, it is now the plan to establish separate libraries.

Another thing I expect to be reevaluating is the books themselves. Once the library is already in place on however small a scale, I hope to have communication about what type of books would be of interest and usefulness to the children. Culturally, literature varies. The collection of books may be unusual in the beginning, so I want to want to make sure that it grows with applicable materials. What does this mean practically speaking? I’ll be revising book donation standards over time. It also means I want to look for ways to in the future to raise money that can be used to buy books that are specifically chosen by someone in Nicaragua. I could do that on a small scale myself by having a garage sale and using the proceeds for the Library Mission. Groups of people interested in helping could do something similar.  The Library Mission has a long way to go. Let’s enjoy the journey.

Book Drive Fever

During the relatively short existence of the Library Mission I have brainstormed quite a few things. But nothing has been nearly as arduous or beat-your-head-against-the-wall-ish as my current project. How do you organize a book drive? And without the assistance of a major established organization specializing in such things? You got me. But not for long!

Initially, a couple “musts” came to mind:

• You need some business/organization/place in general that serves as a drop-off point for books
• You need guidelines about what kind of books you will accept–and in what condition
• You need a way to pick up the books and sort
• You need to promote the book drive. How? With Fliers? Who will make/distribute them? Where?

  After googling several variants of “book drive ideas,” I have come across a couple more things to consider:

• Where will the books be stored once the drive is over and before they are sent to their final destination?
• Will you involve any schools/businesses (or will they consent to be involved) and will there be incentives of any kind?
• How will you inform people of the book drive’s progress?
  (Me: A blog! 
  Me #2: How about posters? One of those cool thermometer ones! 
  Me #3: Or… we could let them guess?
  Me #1 & #2: <_<
  Me #3: Or not.)
• How long will the book drive run?
• Will people want to donate money? What do I tell them?
• Would an option for the above point be to refer them to the Amazon Wish List?
• Would we collect reading-related materials or classroom materials? What kind of classroom materials/reading-related materials would be worth collecting alongside books if at all? Or would they have to be collected separately?

So, yes. Welcome to my world. Heh. I’d love to hear absolutely any input you may have! =]

Club Leo: Take Two

We’ll be finishing this second round of Club Leo by the end of February, and I’m pleased to say that someone already returned an order form. A couple weeks ago I got a chance to tell the Middle School students at Ginger Creek about the Library Mission, thanks to Jenn Roy who coordinates a lot of what goes on in that arena. Sometime during the summer, a bunch of those students will be going down to Nicaragua, and I’m excited to see how they respond, what impacts them, what kind of an impact they make.

I  set up a page for the Library Mission on Dosomething.org, you can check it out by clicking here.

10 Books

When the most recent group of people from my church went down to Nicaragua, they brought with them ten books. (See which ones by clicking that link.) By the way, Marcia, if you are reading this, thank you for finding a way to work it out on such short notice. =]

Most of the group will not return for a few days more, and I can’t wait to hear how it went. Marcia will remain in Nicaragua for a couple more months, though.

Great News

Today the book cover roll and book tape that I ordered came in the mail. =] Apparently the warehouse is located in Wisconsin and not Florida or somewhere equally distant. I’m grateful for the uncertainty, though, because it helps me to put things in perspective.

With the help of my sister, I was able to cover two books. It wasn’t as simple as I imagined, but I’ll get the hang of it. In any event, I won’t be doing this forever because I’d like to send the rolls of book cover down so the people in Nicaragua can do it themselves. I took a couple pictures while I was covering the books. You can see them below.

Waiting

I placed an order the other day for two items from Highsmith. However, they are being delivered via ground shipping, so I’m a little concerned that they will not arrive before January 14th. In any event, God is in control, so I’m not worried. =] If I have to send some books down there without protection, so be it. If I have to wait a little longer, so be it. The biggest thing–as it is with everything–is that I’m listening for God’s voice, and praying about the decisions I have to make. I’d appreciate it if you would pray as well–not just about this isolated situation, but that God’s mission and God’s plan would be done through all the Library Mission’s actions. It’s important to keep things in perspective: when it comes down to it, our mission is the Great Commission.

Highsmith and Rasmussen

I finally decided where I’m getting the book protection stuff from, thanks to a recommendation from Mary Dimaggio, Rasmussen College’s librarian. She’s been an incredible help in getting ideas and lists together. (As a side note, Rasmussen College itself is nice.) Anyway, I made a tentative Wish List on Highsmith.com’s library materials site today, and plan on ordering some things in the next couple of days.  They have a great selection, and the catalog has given me even more things to think about–surprise, surprise. Shelving is understandably very expensive, but looking at different designs gives me something to keep in mind if we make some.

Today I went back to Pan de Vida and found a nice hardback Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, some Spanish children’s music, and a neat kids book. The concordance was my big expenditure, but it’s worth it. I didn’t want to spend much more so I can afford a good variety of book tape and book protection. Fortunately, these things are reasonably priced. You can see for yourself by clicking the “Wish List” button. I’m starting to think seriously about card cataloging systems, and they’re surprisingly expensive–though maybe that’s me being naive. I want to call some libraries in the area and see if they might know of anyone who would have one…

Oh! I realize that I never gave an update on our first Club Leo collection. We got three books for this first one, which is fine because it was all done on a small scale with limited time. We’ll  be doing this again in 2010. Speaking of which, I hope your year of 2010 is delightful. =]

Ginger Creek Missions

I mentioned earlier that some of my youth group friends are in Nicaragua right now. Please visit the blog links below to read about what they are doing.

Day 1 of the Medical Clinic

End of Medical Clinic – Day 1

Pochocuape Location Update

Thanks to a friend of mine, I have an image of Pochocuape from Google Earth–and consequently the latitude and longitude!

Here’s the screen shot he sent me:

Pochocuape

(Click to enlarge)

Using the latitude and longitude, the location is pinpointed on these maps as well:

http://www.gorissen.info/Pierre/maps/googleMapLocation.php?lat=12.042678&lon=-86.181578

http://www.mapquest.com/maps?l=12.0426&g=-86.1815

With the first link you can zoom in pretty far and click “satellite,” but the best aerial image is, by far, the one found by my friend.

La Chureca Location Info Update

I just found a great image showing the location of La Chureca. Thus, I have updated the post entitled “Where is La Chureca?“

Check it out.