Why We Are Entering the Golden Age of Books—Sixth in a Series

How some libraries around the world are leaping into the 21st century

It was the first time any guests had asked to be shown the local library. But my son and I were interested not only in cycling this famed region of Chile during his spring break, but also in seeing all the bibliotecas we could along the way. As we walked the few blocks from our hotel in Temuco to the municipal building, our three guides, who lived in the area and were proud to show us its ample charms, tried to manage our expectations. “No muy bueno,” said one. “Not very good.”

Our progress was slowed by scattered groups of teenagers in school uniforms chatting and laughing. Schools had begun their fall sessions a week earlier in this city of a quarter million, located as far south of the equator as Washington, D.C., is north of it.

Arriving at the somewhat worn municipal complex at a busy intersection, we entered the darkened foyer and obtained permission to pass through a windowed hallway. Sunbleached glass cases exhibited the books of the city’s two Nobel-winning poets, Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda. We entered a room about the size of a grade-school classroom. This constituted the public space of the Temuco Municipal Library.

To our left, eight computer terminal seats where full with attentive patrons—mostly young people—while two other people waited their turns. Our chief guide, Alejandro Levy—whose English was nearly as poor as my Spanish—motioned for me to follow him to the counter across the room, where he asked the librarian for a Spanish-English dictionary. She retrieved a well-worn tome with a cracked plastic cover over its yellowed spine. Alejandro turned to a Spanish word and put his finger under it so I could read the translation.

The word was vergüenza. The translation is shame.

Connecting in Chile

I shook my head no. While the library was humble by American standards for a city this size, the free Internet access and avid patrons gave the room a vitality. Outside the door to the room was a painting of Neruda next to the Biblio Redes sign, the Gates Foundation initiative to spread free Internet access around the world.  The words on the sign translate to:

“BookNet: Open your world: Free Internet here in your public library.”

We were to come across this welcoming blue sign outside many libraries on our tour of the Lakes and Volcanoes region of Chile. Some of the libraries were architecturally beautiful, as in the town of Pucon, not to mention the stately Biblioteca  Nacional in Santiago.

Where public-access computers were absent, however, the difference was stark. In this photo set of the Orsono Municipal Library, perhaps you can feel the dull atmosphere that enveloped us despite the brilliant blue morning outside.  Empty seats before empty tables, a lonely counter where one submits one’s requests, after having looked up books in card catalogs. Quaint is perhaps the kindest term one might use to describe Orsono’s library.

But this will change when public-access terminals arrive in Orsono, as they surely will in this country that enjoys the highest Gross Domestic Product, per capita in Latin America.

Aspiring in Egypt

Facing a more daunting challenge is Egypt. Its population of 82 million, compared with Chile’s 16 million, is younger, with a median age of 24 versus 31. Moreover, Egypt’s literacy rates are lopsided and low, with only 83% of males and 59% of females over the age of 15 deemed to be literate, compared with Chile’s 96% literacy rate for both genders.

On our trip to Egypt this past winter, there were encouraging signs on the library front, not only in the stunning world-class facility at Alexandria, but in the spreading Mubarak Libraries, which for the last dozen years have sprinkled modern facilities with Internet access around the country.

In the Mubarak Library in Luxor we visited one weekday evening, after paying a nominal entrance fee we found inviting stacks open for browsing, and were gratified to see young women surfing the Net. Computer terminals can be far less expensive than thousands of books, to say nothing of the large buildings customarily used in the developed world to house such books.

Can new models for libraries open the world to hundreds of millions of people in the developing world?

If so, one country in need is Cambodia.

Hoping for Cambodia

In 2004 our family had the good fortune to be able to visit Siem Reap, Cambodia. We went, as so many tourists do, to see the temples of Ankor Wat. I asked our tour guide, who spoke remarkably good English, if there were a library in town. He didn’t know the word library so I tried bibliotheca, which he did know.

“No, we have no bibliotheca in Siem Reap,” he said. “I think there is one in Phnom Penh…”

“Is there a bookstore in Siem Reap?” I asked.

“Yes, we have that,” he replied.

He took us to a busy thoroughfare with open markets and brought us to something akin to an American convenience store. Crammed between shelves of snacks and soft drinks were a few shelves of books—mostly in English about the temples, and a few in Khmer. This would have to suffice as book inspiration for the 750,000 citizens of Siem Reap, about the same number of people who reside in San Francisco.

Cambodia is a country in need of almost everything. Fortunately, people from many nations are building hospitals and hotels and preserving its priceless temples. Cambodia faces daunting literacy statistics akin to Egypt, with estimated literacy rates of 85% for men and 64% for women, and a median age of a mere 21.

There was actually one old biblioteca in Siem Reap—or what might have been one—among Ankor Wat’s temple ruins, which date back to the 12th century. Yet I can imagine a new structure alongside the road, perhaps next to the one-room school shown in this photo, modest but clean and networked to the world so that a fifteen-year-old Cambodian girl in Siem Reap can look up international literacy rates as easily as I have done here in my comfortable seat in Delray Beach, Florida.

In future posts, we’ll look into some of the technological efforts under way to open the world to the young millions worldwide who are growing up far from the sheltering libraries of the developed world.

Until then, please send me your experiences with libraries in the United States and around the world. What have you seen?

Just click on the Comments link below. (If you’re reading this as an email, click here and you'll connect to Comments).

Comments

[Darugh]

Thank you for this view of libraries. I had not thought before of the importance of the internet in this regard.

I still have a memory-scent of the library in my small Texas town back in the Forties and Fifties. There was no air conditioning. When you entered the darkened and quiet hall, it felt like hallowed ground. The historic building, which was one of many built by Carnegie, was torn down for a modern, flat, faceless ediface in the Sixties. When I go back to visit my hometown (after fifty years), I miss the library still. But the new building does have computers - windows on the world for most of us, though I will always be in love with books.

[Paul Gregg]

Obtaining an interlibrary loan of microfilm materials is hard in Houston, TX. I live in a subdivision and the Humble, TX library doesn't have a microfilm reader. At the local college, one must be a student to request an interlibrary loan. When I tried to order the microfilm to a geneological library, I was rejected because I don't have a Houston City library card. So I'll have to go to downtown Houston, apply for a card, and then make my request. Phew! It should be easier than this.

[Claire]

In today's society, your tour points out the importance of libraries in bringing more information to those who otherwise could not afford to learn or do research - especially via internet. The tour also makes the point that it is what's inside a building that really counts. Thank you for "taking us along" with you.

[BarbS]

So how can we help with getting modern libraries to some of our fellow readers across the world? I remember having friendly librarians help me to climb out of a very difficult family situation into books that took my imagination far away...to better times...and to HOPE for better times in real life (which I've had the good fortune to find in the last fifty years, due to many blessings and a lot of hard work and help from strangers, taxpayers, and friends...) So, how do we pass it on?

[Becky M.]

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to study abroad during college in the early 90's (before the internet explosion). I attended University Blaise Pascal in Clermont-Ferrand, France. I didn't have to spend much time studying (I was taking mostly "foreign student" classes that were not very taxing academically and mostly dealt with learning French grammar and a bit of literature) However, I did have to do a bit of research to write a paper on one occasion and so I headed off to the library to peruse some magazines for current information on my topic. I can't remember what the topic was, but I do remember that I found an article that was exactly what I needed. The library itself was a rather small space, and I don't recall seeing any public computers (they were still pretty pricey machines back then). I do remember there were a lot of students packed in there and most were socializing instead of studying. Not really conducive for concentration. So I went in search of a copy machine to make a couple of copies so I could read through this 3 or 4 page article (written in French) at my own, slow, don't-really-know-French-fluently-yet pace. I didn't see a copier anywhere, a machine that is pretty much a staple at every American library. Hey, almost every university here has machines with fancy magnetic card readers on them that allow you to load a bunch of money on a card and then swipe it when you need to make your copies. So I inquired, in my broken French, about where I could find a copy machine. I was BLOWN AWAY by the answer. The folks working there behind the desk (and I remember there were a few of them - and not too busy at the time...) would be glad to make a copy of the article for me. However, to get it, I needed to fill out a request form with page numbers, etc, stick it inside the magazine, give it to them and, here's the kicker, COME BACK IN THREE DAYS! I had to ask several times to make sure I understood that last part correctly. Standing there at the counter, I could SEE the copy machine in the back, resting there unused at the time. I even pointed to it and asked if they could do it while I wait. It was only 4 pages! That's about 30 seconds on a copier! I even asked if I could just go do it myself. Oh no, was the response... That wasn't allowed. I would have to come back in three days. Crazy.... I was almost tempted just to take the magazine and smuggle it out in my bag. I wondered how many other desperate students were driven to do that as paper writing deadlines approached.

Similar to an earlier comment, my thought was "It shouldn't be this hard." Thankfully, here in America, we have self-serve copiers in most of our libraries - all you need is some loose change! I chose not to steal the magazine and to stay there amid the noise and confusion and take some notes for my paper, but it was certainly NOT convenient. I was missing home a lot at that moment - and I will be forever grateful for the little conveniences my local library offers.

[Paul E. Douthit]

I want to thank you for your posts on libraries and literacy rates around the world. I have traveled some but never thought to look for libraries in my travels until now.
Also thanks for the different products you carry. I have just begun using the Circa system and several of my family members are clamoring to use the system as well. I currently have two of the True Writers and for the money they can not be beat.

[Ian W]

Recently I was in Auckland New Zealand. I went to the library, I have always checked out the library when I've traveled. In Auckland's central library was an entire wall of books by NZ authors. I had no idea that there were so many NZ authors. As a Canadian I was embarrassed because we seem not to high light our authors.
The library, more than the internet is a place where national identity lives and can be promoted. The great classics are wonderful and the foundation of our culture, but...read a book by a national author, or better still by a local author. It is important to encourage local talent, it has its place too.

I enjoy your site and your company's products and philosophy.

cheers