After decades of repression and censorship the people of Myanmar are getting their books and libraries back! Since the military leadership lost power in 2011, the country has developed a network of mobile libraries to compensate for the vast network of public libraries that are in various states of disarray. Through the non-profit Daw Khin Kyi Foundation foundation, created by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and new leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, resources are being harnessed "to promote health, education and living standards". As you can imagine, little energy went to the development or care of the library system during military rule. The libraries were...
The challenge is on: How might we leverage libraries as a platform to build more knowledgeable communities?
The Good Food and Bookmobile This project will take a traditional bookmobile and add kitchen components to bring core community services to people in rural areas, building community, increasing community capacity, and ensuring access for all. The mission of the Knight Foundation is simple: To support "transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged." One way they do this is to pose a challenge to the community at large, sift through the responses and then fund the winners. The latest challenge is: How might...
Of Interest : Book Burning, a Bad Library Idea, Go-Sees, Riprap, Jean Prouvé, Peking the Beautiful, Newer Book picks and more
This week's Of Interest takes us from a rare book on Peking to an anthology of one line poems to a collection of songs inspired by books with a sprinkling of newer books that have caught our fancy. First a few headlines: Seems like the burning of books is a hot topic these days - Pro-Russian demonstrators are burning Ukrainian-language books "in small bonfires in the street" http://ow.ly/uRGOL In what might a first - Vandals torch a Little Free Library near an elementary school in Tuscon, Arizona http://ow.ly/uR7R5 and in what might just be the most nearsighted, wackiest story in some time...
Books on Wheels: A Global Jaunt
Antonio La Cava's Ilbibliomotorcarro - Italy Recently we posted a photo on Tumblr of Antonio LaCava roaming around Italy in his three-wheel creation. It has turned out to be a very popular post so we thought we would expand it a bit to feature some wheeled libraries from around the world. From India's first bookmobile to Raul-Lemesoff's book tank the power of the written word remains strong and our hats are off to these dedicated people of the book. Raul-Lemesoff's Weapon of Mass Instruction, Argentina Image (cc) by Carlos Adampol on Flickr Mr Doi. And his bike, Japan Eastern Europe? Bicicloteca, Brazil Kordestan, Iran,...
Where in the World is Roberto Murillo Martin Gomez?
He's at the beach,around the military, in the classroom,hey and there he is with former President Bill Clinton,he's at the hotel,and the bus stop,and there he is on the bridge....Roberto Murillo Martin Gomez seems to be everywhere in his hometown of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia."Libri, libri freschi, libri belli!" (Books! Fresh books! Beautiful books!) is his call and as you can see he pushes his Literary Cart with purpose.La Carreta Literaria ¡Leamos! (The Literary Cart! Read!) is first ballot bookmobile hall of fame.Two-minute video profile of Gomez (in Spanish)Roberto Murillo Martin Gomez on Google+: h/tPreviously on Book Patrol:Have you hugged your bookmobile...