Update: October 10, 2005
(Readers new to this blog may want to read the prior posts for background)
Dear Friends: Now, as to the matter of where all the books for the GGA Khayelilhia Library have come from. This morning, 10 October 2005 I processed books numbering in the mid 1400's. There will be right around 2000 when I wind things up in earlyNovember.
(Reference Center pictured left)
When I started in April I was hoping for something in that range, but didn't know whether it was possible. I had the small cache of books that I had brought with me from Bloomington. About 50 in all. I'll never forget Bob andI re-arranging books in different suitcases to meet airline weight limits on the floor at O'Hare Airport.
But those books, many of which were gifts such as the Winnie the Pooh and Shell Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends, from Liz and Roger Akin, The Dr. Seuss books from the Lenahan family, a special quiltbook from Pam Steward, and the Harry Potter's from Stacey and Ryan Stoner formed the foundation for the library.
Several weeks into my stay I went to the warehouse for the first time and found stacks of donated books on shelves. They were right out in the open! Some of them had been there awhile. I'm sure that no one knew just what to do with them. They were dusty, insect and mouse nibbled, and unsorted. While I would say that a majority of what was there was not suitable for the library I was building, I did sort out several hundred that would fit in nicely.
(Junior Books pictured left)
At onepoint I had a huge pile on the floor to be burned and was told that my standards were too high. My standards were too high? Yippee! That week I brought baskets full of old books to Mary Rondavels and began washing them off and sanitizing them. I found a goodly number of Baby Sitter Club mysteries as well as Goosebumps. I even found a copy of the "Five Chinese Brothers." a book, which I enjoyed so much when I was in 1st Grade.
I found an encyclopedia(Collier's) that was 18 years old and a little moldy, but was certainly useable. All the volumes were there. I also found a Charley Brown Encyclopedia for the younger children - almost all there, and several volumes of Childcraft that I was able to salvage. I also found things like old textbooks for an engineering course. Lots of need for that here! Yearbooks from car clubs from the 1970's. Right down our alley! I also found books in French and German. Lots of call for that here! What are people thinking when they send such things to a Zulu children's home?
I no where near got through all of the books that are there and plan to go back one more time before I leave and see if my standards have changed. Then I started poking into shelves and cupboards in the offices and found lots of books of one sort or another, and began making stacks and piles in the office that I had etched out in what is called the "Hospice."
A monumental boost came via friend and author Jenny Hobbs. She wrote some letters and made several phone calls to organizations in South Africa that donate books to special libraries such as ours. The first to respond was "Center for the Book", an affiliate of the South Africa National Library who supply books for young children in both Zulu and English. They gave us such beautiful books and of a high quality. They asked in return only the postage and a small donation so they can continue their work. Then I heard from Biblionef, a Dutch based book foundation also affiliated with SANL. They sent over 200 books in English and Zulu. They were some of the greatest books I've ever seen. I got an application from the UK organization called The Book Foundation. Elizabeth Anderson who heads up Center for the Book is also affiliated with the Book Foundation. I filled out the application and sent it in, and recently got R 11,500 for books and supplies for children. And finallyI received word that we were to receive a grant in the spring (now, Africa time) from Exclusive Books, the largest book chain in South Africa, and recently unpacked over 170 brand new books and fit my subject matter criteria perfectly.
The value of this donation is in the R15 000 range. And you should see the books! One day a truck drove up, and unloaded 14, quite large boxes, that said they were from a high school in Baltimore, in the states. It was apparently a senior project to send books for children to GGA. There were hundreds of books. Lots of Disney, Winnie and Pooh and Peter Rabbit. But also other good books in fine condition. I gratefully added them to my growing stacks.
I started making lists, and dreaming about a special Africa collection, and Dorothy's Top Ten. I went to new and used bookstores in Cape Town, Pretoriaand Johannesburg as well as Durban and Pietermaritzburg. It was a tough job, but someone had to do it! Driver, Victor was one who frequently took me into"town", and then helped me carry the books home. Victor unexpectly died last week of pneumonia at the age of 45. What a shock and what a loss. I bought world maps and globes in Johannesburg that drew this comment from driver,Peter. when he picked me up at the Durban Airport. "You afraid you're going to get lost?" I loved it.
Amazon, U.K. started sending me packages, and books dribbled in from all over. I have received additional books from Liz Aikin, Judy Jennings and the Bob andSandy Anderson. A wonderful box arrived from the group from Idaho who had painted the library. And many volunteers here have given books either when they were departing, or have sent them after they got home.
One of my favorite stories is about volunteer, Paul, from Montana. Tall and lean. A College baseball player. Paul stopped by my office one morning. He looked at the books stacked all around the wall, and drawled, "You know, Dorothy, they're not going to let you go home until all these books are on the shelves, and I think someone is coming in at night adding to the stacks."
Well, that's about all for now. I attended part of the funeral services for Victor. There were four services going on at the same time. There are so many deaths. It's been a very cool spring and all of us have colds. Kind of a coughing thing. This weekend we have a dance festival going on here. Children from all over the valley will be here. We're expecting 800 visitors. It should be fun.
(Libby and Dorothy pictured left)
My roommate Libby from Australia is leaving for home on Wednesday.
I'm going to miss her.
Go well....Dorothy
Dear Friends: Now, as to the matter of where all the books for the GGA Khayelilhia Library have come from. This morning, 10 October 2005 I processed books numbering in the mid 1400's. There will be right around 2000 when I wind things up in earlyNovember.
(Reference Center pictured left)When I started in April I was hoping for something in that range, but didn't know whether it was possible. I had the small cache of books that I had brought with me from Bloomington. About 50 in all. I'll never forget Bob andI re-arranging books in different suitcases to meet airline weight limits on the floor at O'Hare Airport.
But those books, many of which were gifts such as the Winnie the Pooh and Shell Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends, from Liz and Roger Akin, The Dr. Seuss books from the Lenahan family, a special quiltbook from Pam Steward, and the Harry Potter's from Stacey and Ryan Stoner formed the foundation for the library.
Several weeks into my stay I went to the warehouse for the first time and found stacks of donated books on shelves. They were right out in the open! Some of them had been there awhile. I'm sure that no one knew just what to do with them. They were dusty, insect and mouse nibbled, and unsorted. While I would say that a majority of what was there was not suitable for the library I was building, I did sort out several hundred that would fit in nicely.
(Junior Books pictured left)At onepoint I had a huge pile on the floor to be burned and was told that my standards were too high. My standards were too high? Yippee! That week I brought baskets full of old books to Mary Rondavels and began washing them off and sanitizing them. I found a goodly number of Baby Sitter Club mysteries as well as Goosebumps. I even found a copy of the "Five Chinese Brothers." a book, which I enjoyed so much when I was in 1st Grade.
I found an encyclopedia(Collier's) that was 18 years old and a little moldy, but was certainly useable. All the volumes were there. I also found a Charley Brown Encyclopedia for the younger children - almost all there, and several volumes of Childcraft that I was able to salvage. I also found things like old textbooks for an engineering course. Lots of need for that here! Yearbooks from car clubs from the 1970's. Right down our alley! I also found books in French and German. Lots of call for that here! What are people thinking when they send such things to a Zulu children's home?
I no where near got through all of the books that are there and plan to go back one more time before I leave and see if my standards have changed. Then I started poking into shelves and cupboards in the offices and found lots of books of one sort or another, and began making stacks and piles in the office that I had etched out in what is called the "Hospice."
A monumental boost came via friend and author Jenny Hobbs. She wrote some letters and made several phone calls to organizations in South Africa that donate books to special libraries such as ours. The first to respond was "Center for the Book", an affiliate of the South Africa National Library who supply books for young children in both Zulu and English. They gave us such beautiful books and of a high quality. They asked in return only the postage and a small donation so they can continue their work. Then I heard from Biblionef, a Dutch based book foundation also affiliated with SANL. They sent over 200 books in English and Zulu. They were some of the greatest books I've ever seen. I got an application from the UK organization called The Book Foundation. Elizabeth Anderson who heads up Center for the Book is also affiliated with the Book Foundation. I filled out the application and sent it in, and recently got R 11,500 for books and supplies for children. And finallyI received word that we were to receive a grant in the spring (now, Africa time) from Exclusive Books, the largest book chain in South Africa, and recently unpacked over 170 brand new books and fit my subject matter criteria perfectly.
The value of this donation is in the R15 000 range. And you should see the books! One day a truck drove up, and unloaded 14, quite large boxes, that said they were from a high school in Baltimore, in the states. It was apparently a senior project to send books for children to GGA. There were hundreds of books. Lots of Disney, Winnie and Pooh and Peter Rabbit. But also other good books in fine condition. I gratefully added them to my growing stacks.
I started making lists, and dreaming about a special Africa collection, and Dorothy's Top Ten. I went to new and used bookstores in Cape Town, Pretoriaand Johannesburg as well as Durban and Pietermaritzburg. It was a tough job, but someone had to do it! Driver, Victor was one who frequently took me into"town", and then helped me carry the books home. Victor unexpectly died last week of pneumonia at the age of 45. What a shock and what a loss. I bought world maps and globes in Johannesburg that drew this comment from driver,Peter. when he picked me up at the Durban Airport. "You afraid you're going to get lost?" I loved it.
Amazon, U.K. started sending me packages, and books dribbled in from all over. I have received additional books from Liz Aikin, Judy Jennings and the Bob andSandy Anderson. A wonderful box arrived from the group from Idaho who had painted the library. And many volunteers here have given books either when they were departing, or have sent them after they got home.
One of my favorite stories is about volunteer, Paul, from Montana. Tall and lean. A College baseball player. Paul stopped by my office one morning. He looked at the books stacked all around the wall, and drawled, "You know, Dorothy, they're not going to let you go home until all these books are on the shelves, and I think someone is coming in at night adding to the stacks."
Well, that's about all for now. I attended part of the funeral services for Victor. There were four services going on at the same time. There are so many deaths. It's been a very cool spring and all of us have colds. Kind of a coughing thing. This weekend we have a dance festival going on here. Children from all over the valley will be here. We're expecting 800 visitors. It should be fun.
(Libby and Dorothy pictured left)
My roommate Libby from Australia is leaving for home on Wednesday.
I'm going to miss her.
Go well....Dorothy
posted by Dorothy Kennett | 9:30 AM
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