Well, at the bare minimum it requires books and shelves and some kind of building to house them in. It’s simple and easy. Anyone can have a library.
But what makes a good library?
Well, that would have to be the people. The people who run the library. The people who come and visit the library. Please excuse the bias but Ecole Emmanuel has an excellent library!
The head librarian is the chief example. Her presence is a gracious blessing. Her love for the library creates a welcoming and hospitable atmosphere. She is constantly crafting, creating little decorations and signs. Last Christmas she decorated the classrooms with golden stars and wrapped boxes that doubled as presents. There was a tree and a wreath for every door. For Valentine’s Day, the walls are covered with pink and red hearts and little
notes saying, “Love is patient, kind, trusting, trustworthy, etc.” Most mornings she is bustling around the library straightening books on the shelves, greeting the students that come to read, waving at the neighbours that pass outside the door. She helps one morning with conversation classes and another morning she tutors one-on-one with a level 2 student. She said recently, “Well I have so much to do and I would probably get more done, but people just keep coming by. And I have to stop and talk to them. I think I am becoming more Djiboutian. I just have to stop and talk to the people!” The students love her and speak fondly of her happy greetings and bright parasol she carries whenever she walks out in the sun.
Outside of the school, her focus is still on the library and the people who come to visit. Each week she chooses a new book to read herself. After reading she writes a review and then advertises that book to the students. Her first few choices have been from the young adult fiction section or the easy reader section. Her first book review was on War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. Within days of her reading the book, it had already been checked out by a student. Her aim seems to be to read the whole library while she is here, all with the goal of getting the perfect book into the hands of the students.
There are other people as well that help make the library a welcoming place. At the desk sits the receptionist. He is a local worker who has served with the library for years. He knows everything there is to know about the school and library and helps in a dozen different ways. He is the School’s cultural broker and translator. He helps set up for classes every evening, acts as the door guard during classes, checks books out for library members and registers new books in the online systems, communicates with students who are absent, and coordinates with other local workers if help is needed with plumbing or maintenance. If there is ever a question about the country, culture, language, or the school, he has the answer. The students respect him and in turn respect the school more because of him. Ecole Emmanuel has seen many teachers throughout the years, but it would not be Ecole Emmanuel without him.
And of course, the students: Each morning the school is open from 8am until 12pm. Students are welcome to come, read, use the computer, study or practice English. Four mornings a week there are conversation classes that allow students to practice their English for two hours in a discussion setting. We have some students who come almost every morning to read while one student comes to watch inspirational speakers on the computer. Another student comes when he needs to read the reference books. Another reads and write his own poetry, carrying on the rich history and culture of poetry in this region.
The atmosphere in the library is one of peace and welcome. It is a place where people can come and practice English but it is also a place where people can gather, knowing they are welcome to sit or study, discuss or question.
Kerith Trust 