1 November 2023, day 2 librarian training: Nadhif enters bibliographic information into the laptop, while Tika cuts plastic for covering the books. Damar and Ririn were reading books
Peace libraries commit to develop library collections and activities to spread the message that peace is possible and can be found in everyone and everywhere. But it can not happen without a person who is committed to being a peace librarian.
This problem has occurred at Joglo Preschool in the last few years. Nanik (Joglo Preschool headmaster) organized library activities and took care of the books. But she had limited time and energy to do library work. At Peace Library’s librarian meetings, we often discuss that Joglo Library should immediately look for someone to focus on managing the library. Nanik shared this idea with parents and intern teachers, who were interested in becoming librarians. Nadhif, Joglo teacher and Tika, parent of a Joglo student, have interest and commitment to develop the Joglo Library. It is a happiness to hear that Joglo Peace Library now has librarians.
As a start, I offered training for library management to librarians for three days consisting of: book care, bibliography, labeling, agreements in the library, membership, and book circulation. It is very exciting to share knowledge with people who are curious and have the same interests. The three days turned out to be not enough, so we increased it to 4 days because it is not only training but also practice.
Our activities for several days aroused curiosity from parents who were waiting for their children and they wanted to help. The librarians have massive support from parents to cover books with plastic (in Indonesia, we deal with humidity. Covering books with plastic helps the books last longer).
After the training, Tika and Nadhif managed their time and energy to continue organizing the library. They are preparing to open the library to the public every Friday at 9:00 – 11:00 and start registering new members.