Libraries for All is an amazing program that inspires learning by delivering books to kids who truly would not have the opportunity to read without this program. Their expertise and execution makes a great impact on the most needed population.
Thank you for providing access to books and learning to the people of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua; and for the Mobile Project extending these services to nearby rural communities. You are indeed “Repairing the World!”
My friend has worked with this nonprofit for many years. I have seen her travel down to Central America and bring them books. The children are always so greatful and happy to see them. It really makes a positive impact on their communities. The group helps to form connections between people that are states and even countries away.
I had the pleasure of visiting the Hester J. Hodgdon Libraries for All Foundation in January 2024. During my visit, I visited a local school with staff and a librarian specialized in early childhood education. We did crafts, readings and sang songs with the kids. The joy on their faces was heartwarming! The foundation’s dedication to fostering literacy and creativity in underserved communities is truly commendable. The staff and volunteers are passionate about their mission and make a significant impact in the community. I highly recommend supporting their efforts!
My partner and I, along with our three kids (aged 8, 10, & 12 at the time) lived for six weeks in San Juan del Sur and volunteered with HJH Libraries for All. It was a delightfully intense experience – and one which had profound impact on each of us. In addition to parenting while living in a new culture, speaking in a new language, experiencing new foods, we spent our volunteer hours making craft kits, visiting schools and other libraries, and reading and interacting with kids in various parts of the country. We loved connecting with the library family and genuinely felt a part of the team. Visiting schools was both heart-warming – seeing children delight in exchanging books, having a story read to them, making a craft (many children experienced this for the first time with us) and heart-breaking - seeing the lack of resources, run down infrastructure, serious poverty, and lack of investment and opportunity. As challenging as the experience was, it was so impactful on our children. Now, years later, they yearn to return and volunteer again. We believe HJH Libraries for all is deeply impactful in this small corner of the world and a model for other libraries all over the world. It is helping to build community and empower individuals. – Arthur J & Brandy H
**Each of our kids wrote their own testimonial, below:
Two years ago, my family and I spent 6 weeks in Nicaragua volunteering with the HJH library. We traveled to schools around the country, shared stories, and made crafts that corresponded with a book. The library visits each school once per month and each kid gets to choose a book from a variety of books in Spanish to take home and cherish for the month. Our trip was a life changing and educational experience. I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to deliver books and joy to kids who don’t have the same access to books as I do. The library has such a wonderful impact on San Juan del Sur as well as other communities in Nicaragua and I hope that it can continue to grow.
- Soleil H, 14
Jane invited our family to volunteer at the HJH Library in San Juan del Sur. We went to schools and read “Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon” in Spanish and English and then made paper dragon puppets. I remember playing with some of the boys – “shooting” at each other with our dragon’s flames and playing soccer and tag. My Spanish wasn’t very good, but doing the projects and playing with the kids helped me learn more. There were times it was really hard being there, and sometimes I was not excited to make one more dragon, but I pulled through and am glad I did. Spending six weeks in Nicaragua made me realize that some people don’t have the same living conditions and educational opportunities as us. They deserve it as least as much as we do. It would be really cool if the livrary could get more money for the crafts and the books they bring to kids in the truck. These kids only get 1-2 books each month. In my own house we have as many books as the entire mobile library. I miss the people I met at the library and I hope I get to go back and visit and volunteer again someday. I’ll never forget this experience.
Sincerely, Jasper H., age 10
The HJH library in San Juan del Sur is a wonderful program. It helps kids find books and learn how to read. The kids we visited in Nicaragua don’t have much access to books and the HJH library helps kids have access to these books and learn responsibility for them. Each month they bring their book back and they can borrow a new book. It is really important to support the mobile library because it is a unique “Library on Wheels” and gives kids in remote areas a chance to get new books. When I traveled to Nicaragua with my family, in the winter of 2022, I was shocked when I saw the library because it was so small compared to the libraries we have in Colorado. It made me realize how lucky I was to have access to so many books. It was hard to get used to, but once I started volunteering I had a difficult time stopping. The kids were so grateful to do crafts and hear a story in both English and Spanish. I would get a bit impatient at times and upset that I had to keep explaining how to glue on something (a simple task for me) but then I would remember that they didn’t have access to the same craft materials that I had used since pre-school. The kids were so kind and excited and wanted to connect with us. Volunteering with the HJH library was really important. It helped me become more aware and it helped the staff because they didn’t need to cut and assemble the crafts we were teaching. I am really grateful that I had the opportunity to live and serve in Nicaragua.
-River H, age 12
I have been volunteering with this organization for the past year and am very impressed with the dedication and passion of the board, staff and other volunteers who keep the foundation running smoothly. I feel honored to be involved with this wonderful team of people! It is rewarding to see the joy on children's faces when reading a book written in their Spanish language. Also to know that this exposure to books will help kids to dream big and establish a lifelong enjoyment of books.
HJH Libraries for All Foundation supports a much loved local library in San Juan del Sur Nicaragua, but that place is much more than just a library, it's a community center providing computers and textbooks for doing homework in a welcoming environment, internet access to receive or send emails or just explore the various offerings of the web. It provides classes in the use of cutting edge technology, ie. 3D printers and recently access to RACHEL - (Remote Area Community Hotspot for Education and Learning) offering a collection of the world's best free Open Education Resources.
I am on the Board of the HJH Libraries for All Foundation and also a volunteer. Even after being involved with the Foundation for more than 15 years I am still in awe of the many ways that the Foundation contributes to the welfare of the community.
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The HJH Libraries for All, is exactly that- a library for all no matter where they live! The Library lends books not only in its town location, but also to children who live out in the countryside, and who without the Biblioteca Movil (book mobile) piece of the operation, would never have access to books and the knowledge, experiences, wisdom and adventures that books offer. I was lucky enough to go on a day trip with the Biblioteca Movil truck to visit one of the local elementary schools. The truck had a bench on each side for us to sit on, the middle part stocked with boxes filled with books. I sat on the back of the truck with library staff and visiting volunteers as we bounced thru uneven dirt roads, crossed small creeks, saw spider monkeys swing from tree to tree, but the best part was yet to come. As we approached the school where the children were waiting for the Library truck, some of them came running toward us. There were smiling faces all around as the children waited for the library staff to set up the area for the event. A table was set up where the books were to be signed out, boxes of the books were lined up against the school wall. The children crowded around the several book boxes, picking out books and gleefully flipping thru the pages as they shared their finds with each other. After the children signed out the books they were going to take home, it was time for arts and crafts. The Library staff brought paper and glitter and scissors and showed the children how to make “stuff”. One of the children wanted to be read to, she cozied up to me and showed me the book she wanted me to read. Not being Spanish literate, but able to read the Spanish with an American accent I read the book, pointing to the pictures and we both laughed at my pronunciation and the funny pictures. We parted with hugs all around, the children waving and running behind the truck as we drove away. It was such a heartwarming experience. I will treasure the memory and will always be grateful for HJH Libraries for All for making that experience happen for me, but most importantly for the children of Nicaragua.
I got involved with this organization back in 2014. Since then, several initiatives have been implemented to enhance the quality of life of both students and residents in the SJDS community.
We started with a small project to implement a catalog system. We are currently serving 35+ schools, developed very successful 3D Print workshops, and several presentations to sister organizations and local universities on the technologies we have adopted to make the SJDS library a strong foundation for both staff and users.
Victor Zuniga
The SJDS Library will celebrate its twenty-second anniversary on November 11th.
With the continued support of our donors, in 2023 HJH Libraries for All was able to pull the thread of its origin story a little further into the SJDS community, by:
• expanding the 3-D printing program - providing 101-level classes for over thirty people (the majority of whom were young women)
• establishing two sites for RACHEL (a reference library on a hard drive that can be accessed via a LAN – without the internet)
• adding another school to our Bookmobile program . . . we are now visiting 39 schools each month
As we begin our twenty-third year we are still on our mission to “. . . put books in the hands of children,” and optimize the contributions of everyone who supports HJH Libraries for All.
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In 2012, a few weeks before I took my first trip to Nicaragua, I attended a conference on The Future of the Library in Washington DC. This conversation included a Library’s architectural possibilities and the cultural, organizational, and technological pressures on it.
After arriving in San Juan del Sur, I visited the library (just off the town square) and realized that in addition to addressing issues similar to those discussed at the conference in DC, SJDS brought a socializing dimension to their library by bringing together enthusiasts of the book and the community.
I remember that it seemed apt to describe the atmosphere of the SJDS library as magically putting books in the hands of children and providing information for everyone.
As I understand the story of SJDS Library’s origin: it began as a bookshelf in the lobby of the hotel Isabella owned by Jane Mirandette. People from the community would come into the hotel lobby take a book from the shelf, sit down, and read.
In response to this trend, Jane opened a lending library across the street from the hotel in 2002 . . . the first stationary lending library in Nicaragua. A year later, in response to requests from the region, the SJDS Library began a Book Mobile that now serves 37 communities, bringing books, education, and public health services that would otherwise not be available.
The SJDS Library also offers a Library in a Box program that “seeds” new libraries throughout Central America.
Several years ago, the SJDS Library moved to a larger building in that is better equipped with tech for patrons and classrooms where English is taught on Saturdays. There is also a lab for teaching 3D printing. The SJDS Library is still immediately adjacent to the town square, playing an even larger (and more magical) role in its community.
I recently joined the Board of HJH to help it scale.
HJH Libraries for All is a great organization. I was introduced to their activities in Nicaragua in 2015 when I went there with a library tour. I learned about their work in the library in San Juan del Sur, their truck bookmobile service in that area to schools, and the Library in a Box program for creating libraries in areas beyond the San Juan del Sur area. After the original tour, I helped with cataloging the books going to Nicaragua, visited for their Anniversary celebrations and workshops to Nicaraguan librarians and teachers, and became a board member. The volunteers and staff are dedicated and those using the library and the school children visited by the mobile service really appreciate having books to borrow, and the other library services. Each year the organization has worked to improve their services and is doing a great job.
I absolutely adore the Hester J Hodgdon Libraries for all Foundation. I have traveled with the library team to some very remote locations. The services they provide to the children and community members are vitally import to improve the quality of life for everyone they serve.
I have been donating to HJH for about ten years, increasing my donation every year. I am inspired to do so after hearing about the exceptional work HJH does for its community. Two friends and colleagues, Pat Herron and Lily Griner, whose recommendations and judgment I hold in the highest regard, introduced me to HJH and have kept me informed of all the great things they accomplish. Pat and Lily have made countless trips to Nicaragua to volunteer. I also had the opportunity to meet Jane Mirandette last year and was impressed by her earnest commitment to HJH. Personal recommendations are worth a lot, and for me any organization that has won Pat's and Lily's strong loyalty over such a long period deserves generous support.
I made two trips to Nicaragua in 2023 as both a board member and volunteer of HJH Libraries for All and saw firsthand the incredible progress the Foundation is making in providing educational opportunities and resources for the local youth. The course the Main Library offers high school students in 3D printing and modeling is an incredible success and is currently in its fifth iteration. The acquisition of a new and more robust 3D printer and software gives the students experience in the production of more advanced and complex products. We introduced the RACHEL (Remote Area Computer Hotspot for Education and Learning) system which brings a LAN of educational materials to schools with limited to no access to the internet to two locations in San Juan del Sur a year ago. On our visits we found that the resources in RACHEL are being incorporated into the curriculum and are providing teachers with high quality pedagogical materials. These are just two of the many success stories that continue to develop through the efforts and hard work of the Library staff and the HJH Libraries All Foundation. Patricia Herron
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This last year the Hester J. Hodgdon Libraries for All Foundation has continued its education and literacy work in Nicaragua. We recently installed a World Possible RACHEL (Remote Area Community Hotspot for Education and Learning) system in an elementary school and in the main library in San Juan del Sur. In addition, our Library 3D Printer Makerspace staff have started offering classes in 3D modeling and printing to the area middle and high school students. This state-of-the art technology offers unique educational opportunities for the area youth and supports the needs of the local businesses and community. We are very excited about these new opportunities and continue to look for ways to enhance our mission of leveraging the power of education and literacy to enhance community vitality.
Libraryjane 09/21/2022
Rosemary, we are very grateful for your expertise and the tremendous amount of work you did to make this project such a success. It was a delight to work so closely with you and learn from you. Jane
I had the unique privilege of volunteering with this foundation for nearly two months. Within that time, my outlook on life and understanding of the world was profoundly changed..
In the United States, we are guaranteed access to books and quality education. Whether it be through schooling or our immense public library system, we have the distinct luxury of virtually unlimited access to books and educational material. In Nicaragua, the situation is very different. Traveling to rural schools on the Mobile Library, our foundation serves as one the few lines of direct access to additional books. Seeing the kids, clamoring towards our truck with their library cards in hand, I can tell how appreciated our service is. From school supplies for teachers to books for the students, our library fills a grievously neglected void in Central American education. And for this foundation specifically, change is enacted through community-led reform at the hands of former fishermen, hospitality workers, and others.
This library is a beacon of hope advocating for the transformative power of education, so let us unite in our commitment to ensure the prosperity of this foundation and ensure the further empowerment of this community with knowledge.
Hola hoy voy a hablar un poco acerca de la biblioteca móvil, este ha sido un programa de mucha importancia para la comunidad y sobre todo para los estudiantes en San Juan del Sur porque permite a los niños y niñas tener un libro en sus manos el cual pueden tenerlo es su casa. Así como el proyecto móvil que visita 38 escuelas en todas las comunidades de san juan.
También las personas adultas de la comunidad como los extranjeros tienen las posibilidades de llevarse un libro ya sea en ingles como en español .
También hemos tenido muchas becas para diferentes estudiantes de pocas posibilidades y que ahora son unos profesionales y otros que están siendo beneficiados hasta la fecha .
así que este programa es muy importante para jovenes y adultos en general .
Gracias a todas las personas que asen posible este proyecto que el Señor los bendiga.
More than a decade ago, my husband and I started searching for an opportunity to engage in impactful service as a family. Our three children were enrolled in a dual-language (Spanish/English) academic program in Fort Collins, Colorado. Not only were we looking to engage in service as a family, but we were also hoping our children would be able to immerse themselves in the culture and language that they were immersing themselves in at school. The roadblock we kept finding ourselves at, however, was that it seemed that every service opportunity we learned about was somehow religiously based. We were not members of a church or organized religion and were looking for an opportunity that wasn't affiliated with a church. Luckily, I was introduced to Jane Mirandette. Jane invited my family to her home in San Juan del Sur Nicaragua for a month, where we would be able to volunteer for the library program she had founded.
While in Nicaragua, we learned about the high level of literacy rates amongst Nicaraguans, but the lack of libraries and books that were available outside of the classroom. We had the opportunity to engage with children at the San Juan de Sur library, as well as organize the lending materials and space. However, the most profound experiences were our daily sojourns into the countryside to bring books to remote schools whose students wouldn't be able to visit the library in town. We visited schools that were anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours away down bumpy, rural roads. We met many caring teachers and support staff as well as hundreds of happy, smiling students. The excitement was palpable as we set up the tables and books and readied ourselves to help students return their previously borrowed books and borrow a few new ones. The books we were lending were well-loved: damp from the humid jungle air, covers and pages wrinkled from many hands and households. The kids didn't care how old or abused the books were; they were just excited for a new adventure to take home with them until next month when the mobile library would return.
When our family returned home from Nicaragua, we all wanted to be able to do more. Luckily, Jane's Colorado home is just 20 minutes from us. Although we haven't been able to return to Nicaragua, our family has been able to help the library out in other ways, mostly having to do with organizing donated books that are being housed at Jane's Colorado house.
I've learned through these years of service that Jane, as well as the entire library board who are all volunteering their time, have worked tirelessly to make the San Juan del Sur library program self-sustainable in the future. They have provided employment for local residents of San Juan del Sur who manage and run the day-to-day operations. Jane's hope for the future is that when she is no longer around, the Nicaraguan employees of the library will be able to continue providing books to their community. Jane Mirandette, nearing 80 years of age, is my personal hero. She works tirelessly for the benefit of the San Juan del Sur library. She is constantly making friends and forming connections that result in more and more books being donated to the San Juan del Sur library and other libraries she has been able to form partnerships with. Oftentimes, the bounty of books is happily in excess of what the library in San Juan del Sur can handle. Then, Jane finds connections with other Nicaraguan schools and charities, as well as with other organizations in need in the United States.
I feel so fortunate that my family was able to meet the wonderfully energetic, gracious, hard-working, giving human being of Jane Mirandette and become involved in a program as worthy as the San Juan del Sur library program.
Support for this organization helps provide for the ongoing success of the library and its affiliate programs in and near San Juan del Sur. Monetary support provides books, shipping, and materials needed to successfully maintain the library as well as the mobile program (fuel, truck maintenance, etc.) Funding also helps provide employment for the Nicaraguan residents of San Juan del Sur who staff the library and make sure the mobile library can reach as many schools as possible during the school year.
Ha sido una gran experiencia estar en la biblioteca. Visité varios proyectos de escuelas donde les brindan la facilidad a los niños de leer un libro y no sólo niños también adultos que pueden alimentar su mente de libros interesantes. La biblioteca ha tenido buen recibimiento de la comunidad en general y espero que los proyectos en camino sigan teniendo éxito.
Review from Guidestar
I have been involved with The HJH Libraries foundation for many years and I am still in awe of the foundation’s many accomplishments and the many ways the foundation supports the local community.
Some examples of its contributions to the community:
1. The foundation has for decades promoted education and literacy by being the founder and supporter of a lending library in the town of San Juan del Sur. The library is run by locals who were trained and are paid by the foundation to provide the many different services that the people in the town need – transforming the library into more of a community help center.
2. The library’s books and inventory come mainly from donations. Some of these funds are used to support a book mobile that provides books and crafts to 35 elementary schools in the rural areas outside of San Juan del Sur, promoting education and literacy in these rural communities.
3. The library has several computers that anyone can use to send an email, watch a YouTube video, or just browse the internet - bringing the benefits of technology to people who otherwise could not afford it.
4. The library’s services go beyond simply feeding the mind of the local residents. During the pandemic the library brought bags of basic food stuffs (rice, beans, flour, oil, etc.) to people in the rural areas who were in dire need.
5. The foundation provides small educational grants to young people who don’t have the money to continue their education, providing monies for things such as transportation, books, tuition.
HJH Libraries foundation is a remarkable foundation, run by a compassionate President and Board of Directors who try as hard as they can make life better for the people of San Juan del Sur.
En biblioteca movil San Juan del Sur, se esta realizando un nuevo proyecto de impresiones 3D donde seda un curso gratuito abierto para niños y jovenes de la comunidad de san juan del sur.
ya esto siendo muy nuevo para todas las personas por que es una forma de diseñar lo que se nos venga en mente y estemos actos en realizar dependiendo de la capacitacion que allamos obtenido. esperamos y bblioteca movil siga constribuyendo al desarroyo de la tegnologia en nuestro municipio.
En mi paso por Biblioteca Móvil San Juan del Sur, puedo destacar la importancia de este hermoso y gran proyecto que no solo a venido a beneficiar y dar espacio a los niños, jóvenes y adultos de este localidad Nicaragüense , si no también a 42 escuelas de diferentes comunidades que les han permitido a biblioteca móvil no solo llevarles un libro si no ir instalando bibliotecas en 14 escuelas rurales, beneficio que ha inspirado y ayudado a muchos estudiantes y docentes que no tienen acceso Internet ni a ningún tipo de información. Cada día que pasa se reconoce el invaluable valor e importancia que tiene la biblioteca y el impacto que a causado en cada uno de los habitantes. Un proyecto único ,fantástico de mucho valor y ejemplo a seguir. Este ha sido mi mejor voluntariado.
The San Juan del Sur Biblioteca has become a community staple and the services the HJH Libraries for All Program provides for the surrounding communities are invaluable. It has been such a pleasure to work with this organization for so many years and to see it grow alongside the communities we serve.
In August this year, I traveled to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, to help install a small digital library system in a rural school. The project was sponsored by HJH Libraries for All Program and was 2 years in the making. Every minute of fundraising and planning was worthwhile. Our team spent 2 days training very excited teachers in a small, bilingual charter school near the edge of the town. The real joy for all of us came in turning the students loose on their new computerized library. The digital library system includes hundreds of full-text resources - books, instructional materials, guides, and more - as well as a wealth of children's activities, games, videos, and music. Best of all, the system can create its own local network, so internet access is not required. In the next phase, we hope to install the digital library system in the local library, thereby expanding the library's services and collections to more people in the community. I am very proud of this project, and I am grateful to work with an extraordinary team of people devoted to the community of San Juan del Sur.
Libraryjane 09/21/2022
Rosemary, we are very grateful for your expertise and the tremendous amount of work you did to make this project such a success. It was a delight to work so closely with you and learn from you. Jane
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I had been familiar with the HJH Foundation's many projects in Nicaragua for several years before traveling there in 2017. During that trip, I attended the college graduation of a young man from Rivas whose education was sponsored by Foundation members and saw first-hand the Nicaraguans' profound appreciation for education and learning. That young man is now an instructor in a local school. The San Juan del Sur Biblioteca Pública is the first public lending library in Nicaragua, and, since 2001, it has provided books, computers, internet access, physical spaces, activities for children and adults, and community outreach to San Juan del Sur and surrounding areas. The Foundation collaborates closely with the San Juan del Sur community in the southern region of Nicaragua, engaging successfully with local citizens, educators, business owners, and community leaders to build sustainable, community-based programs. I am a Foundation board member, and I continually marvel at the other board members', friends', and donors' dedication to all the projects that Foundation undertakes in Nicaragua. Foundation President Jane Mirandette brings remarkable vision and determination to every project. At the beginning of the 2019 pandemic, the library staff and volunteers delivered food, sanitation essentials, and safety precautions to communities in rural Nicaragua. Library staff learned quickly to create safety shields in the library's 3D printing center, and they distributed the shields to community health care workers. In June 2021, the library began to resume operations gradually and carefully. Truly, the San Juan del Sur Biblioteca Pública is at the heart of its community, and I hope you will join me in supporting it.
I volunteered with the San Juan del Sur library for a month during the summer of 2022. Each week I traveled to rural communities to help bring books to students who otherwise would not have access to them. The time spent delivering books with the mobile book library was some of the most memorable time spent in Nicaragua. Working with Jane and her team was extremely fun and I knew that I was doing important work. I made lifelong friends with the SJDS library and I look forward to returning!
Libraryjane 09/21/2022
Andrea, you and your family were a wonderful addition and inspiration to our team. It was also fun to see the other volunteeringyou all did with beach cleanup and the Saturday Kids English classes! We look forward to your return as well.
I participated in a study abroad in 2012 and worked with this organization to visit and bring books to a rural school in the area and work with entrepreneurs in the community. It was one of the most impactful experiences of my life seeing the joy the books brought to students who did not have access to a library at their school and were so appreciative. HJH is essential to the community and is helping children and adults alike to improve literacy and provide access to educational materials (including access to computers and internet connectivity).
I became involved with Hester J Hodgdon Libraries for All, around June of 2021 as their summer intern. This experience was absolutely wonderful and I wouldn't have changed a moment of it. The board members at HJH are some of the most altruistic individuals that I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with. They were more than happy to provide assistance wherever they could and they were a huge part of the successes that I had in my internship. The Nicaraguan's that I was able to meet during my time there showed nothing but admiration for the work and community that were fostered around this organization. I highly recommend getting involved with HJH in any way you can because my time with them truly changed my life in so many ways.
I will always remember with fondness my first encounter with the Hester J Hodgdon Libraries For All Program in San Juan del Sur. For our first visit to that town, friends of ours in our hometown of Newton, MA, had recommended we stay at the Hotel Villa Isabel. Of course soon after arriving to the hotel we met Jane Mirandette, whose vivacious manner and enthusiasm for action hinted at what we soon came to learn was a "joie de vivre" shared by numerous others in this blessed coastal town. Details escape me but I am almost certain Jane told us about the library in the very first hours of our stay, and soon afterwards we made a visit to the building. During that same trip, several of us volunteered to help with the impressive Biblioteca Mobile program.
Since those days, over 10 years ago now, I have made annual treks to San Juan del Sur, often twice a year, with friends, family, and students of mine from Brandeis University. Every visit has included a stop-in at the HJH library, where the staff always give a kind welcome. My partner and I now co-own a small house in town, with our own WiFi connection, but before deciding on a place to live, I often relied on the free WiFi of the library. Most recently, I have decided to retire from teaching and live most of the year in San Juan del Sur. When friends back in the US wonder at my choice of location for my retirement years, so distant from the comfortable Boston suburbs where I have been living, or the Michigan and Wisconsin towns where I grew up, the HJH library is always part of my explanation. “One of the only lending libraries in the whole country is right there, 15 minute walk from the house!” I exclaim, as if that should suffice as proof that I’m making a wise choice. It very nearly does, to my mind. When the COVID situation settles down, and I reside more full-time in Nicaragua, I look forward to years of visiting the library, borrowing books and donating and volunteering as my resources and time allow. May this unique library continue to receive the support it deserves, and continue to enrich the lives of San Juan del Sur's people, both resident and expat.
I first met Jane at an American Library Association conference in New Orleans in June 2006, the first conference of any kind held in post-Katrina New Orleans. She enthusiastically presented on the HJH Foundation during the International Sustainable Library Development Interest Group, a group founded by Returned Peace Corps Volunteers.
But I didn’t actually go to Nicaragua until 2013 when an opportunity arose to work with noted storyteller, Anne Pellowski, who volunteered to give cloth book workshops and demonstrate storytelling techniques to members of the Nicaraguan library association. She returned a year later and so did I, so captivated was I by her energy, knowledge, and passion. For one trip, she prepared about 30 kits for the participants to craft and DOUBLE the number of attendees arrived hours before the session, some traveling great distances, so eager were they to participate in the event. No one was turned away even though it meant that there were fewer opportunities for hands on experience but more possibilities for attendees to share the experience.
In 2015, the International Library Cultural Exchange, an interest group of the Colorado Association of Libraries sponsored a group trip to Nicaragua. Eight librarians participated in the group experience, the first time that CAL had sponsored such a trip. We visited cultural sites, the schools, barcoded IDs, checked out books and celebrated the anniversary of the library. HJH had recently signed a sister library agreement (March 11, 2014) with the Poudre River Public Library District in Fort Collins, CO and which had offered to install and operate the KOHA library system on their servers. This allowed the San Juan del Sur Biblioteca to check out books to children remotely at the satellite schools.
In 2019, the HJH Libraries for all Foundation was a recipient of a CAL/ILCE-IG grant to hold an all-day workshop for Nicaraguan librarians utilizing the Read for the Record title, Gracias, Omu. We traveled to nearby Granada, presenting at the all-day workshop. The workshop was preceded by training sessions delivered by members of the University of Maryland of 3-D printer technology that was donated to the biblioteca. This technology was heavily utilized during the COVID pandemic making shield guards as personal protective equipment. The 3D printers were officially introduced during the library’s anniversary celebration, the theme being gratitude and thanksgiving.
Based on these successes, who knows what the future will hold! One thing is for certain, it will be the merging of traditional print resources and modern technology.
I have been volunteering with the HJH foundation for over 10 years now. I was 14 the first time I went on the mobile project and felt the excitement the children had while digging through bins of books. I have been fortunate enough to continue volunteering with the foundation in many different capacities over the years and San Juan del Sur has become my second home and library staff have become my second family. I cannot wait to see the progress we make over the next 10 years or where the adventure will take us next.
My family and I went on a mission trip with Jane. It was a wonderful experience, and she ushered us into a beautiful way to serve the Amaya community in Nicaragua. We also loved her work she is still doing in San Juan del Sur. She is an amazing lady with a powerful vision for the Nicaraguans!
Members of our family have spent a few weeks volunteering with Libraries for All in Nicaragua two times (2010 and 2013). Both were exceptional experiences. Working with Jane and her team were seamless. Our daughters spent time at Libraries for All teaching and working during the summer of 2013. The experience was meaningful and significant in their older teen years. The work of Libraries for All is high impact and empowering for local communities. Participating in the Biblioteca Movil in rural communities shed much light on the conditions of rural Nicaragua. The Biblioteca Movil brings joy and literacy to these communities. Libraries for All is a program we continue to donate to and support. As soon as we can return to Nica, we will be back at Libraries for All!
The Hester J. Hodgdon (HJH) Libraries for All is a Colorado based 501©3 nonprofit Foundation whose mission supports library and educational opportunities in Nicaraguan communities. Via the main library in the town of San Juan del Sur, and the extensive bookmobile service and satellite libraries established by the Foundation in the surrounding rural communities, HJH Libraries for All offers critical educational materials and literacy programs that would otherwise not be available to the people of this region.
I have been involved with the Foundation since 2007 when I co-developed and subsequently accompanied a University of Maryland (UMD) study abroad course to Nicaragua to work with the Foundation’s library in the town of San Juan del Sur and surrounding rural communities. This was the first of seven short-term UMD study abroad classes facilitated by Jane Mirandette, the Foundation President. I am currently a Foundation board member and active in fundraising and financial issues. I also bring my expertise as a retired academic librarian and deep knowledge of Nicaragua and Latin America to the work of the Foundation.
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Libraryjane 09/21/2022 Thank you David! We appreciate all you and Union Church have done over the years in San Juan del Sur and love our collbrations and your support. We turn 21 in November!