Living and working in Africa for 25 years, professional librarian Jane Kinney
Meyers was at the Fountain of Hope drop-in shelter in Lusaka, Zambia, when
she created her first “street kids library” within a converted shipping container.
What she saw there convinced her that access to libraries could dramatically
improve the lives of AIDS orphans and other vulnerable African children. In
2005 she established the Lubuto Library Project to build libraries with local
agencies already serving street children, and to stock them with book collections assembled and shipped by US
schoolchildren who would learn, simultaneously, about the impact of AIDS on their sub-Saharan African peers.
The Lubuto libraries are life-changing. In addition to serving as necessary havens for children who can read about
worlds outside their own, the libraries also help children learn enough to pass high school entrance exams and
attend boarding schools–and that means a home, a uniform, a community, an education. Your support brings hope
for the present, and hope for the future, to these needy, eager learners.
IN THE MEDIA
Dow Jones Hosts Special Library Association International Reception at the Embassy of the Republic of ZambiaPosted Mon Jun 1 2009 by Lubuto Library Project “Dow Jones continues to support the Lubuto Library Project’s mission to bring literacy and hope to Africa’s most vulnerable children,” said Anne Caputo, Executive Director of Learning & Information Professional Programs for Dow Jones, and SLA President-elect. “This initiative not only supports children in developing their talents, skills and self-esteem, but it also connects North American and European volunteers and students with their African peers through community service.”
The Lubuto Library Project: Creating Excellent and Sustainable Libraries for Vulnerable African Children and YouthPosted Fri May 1 2009 by Lubuto Library Project This article by LLP President Jane Kinney Meyers lays out some of theways the organization is establishing "best practices" in development of library services in Africa. The article originally appeared in Focus on International Library and Information Work, published by the CILIP International Library and Information Group, v. 40, no. 1.
Zambian Lubuto Project Nominated to the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) – world’s largest prize for children’s and youth literaturePosted Mon Mar 16 2009 by Lubuto Library Project The Embassy of Sweden in Lusaka issued a press release to announce the nomination of the Lubuto Library Project for the Swedish Arts Council's prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Swedish Ambassador, Mr Lars Ronnås visits the Lubuto Library Project on Monday 16 March at 14.30. According to the Ambassador, "ALMA sends a signal to the world that children and youth literature is worth millions and that children and youth are invaluable. In the same spirit, the Lubuto Library Project engages numerous volunteers who gather street children and youth around the library’s more than 4,000 books as well as theatre, story telling and art – all out of the conviction that books have the power to inspire, take children out of their difficult lives and offer them a look into a world of possibilities."
"Lubuto Library Project nominated for major award," International Reading Association: News from Reading Today DailyPosted Mon Jan 26 2009 by Lubuto Library Project The Lubuto Library Project has been nominated for the 2009 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the world's largest children's and young people's literary award. The award was established by the Swedish government in 2002 is designed to increase interest in children's and young people's literature and to promote children's right to culture on a global level reflecting the spirit of Astrid Lindgren, creator of the world-famous character Pippi Longstocking.
"Lessons from Lubuto," Information Today, December 2008, p. 31Posted Mon Dec 1 2008 by Lubuto Library Project While budget trimming and economic unrest may be causing a collective angst for many industrywide, Jane Kinney Meyers is keeping a spirit of giving alive this season. In fact, her 'season' lasts year-round for Africa's street kids, many of them orphaned in the HIV/AIDS crisis.
