The Deschapelles library is thriving. On a recent Saturday morning, we arrived to see one of the librarians, Pleurette, reading to a group of children asking them questions and showing them the pictures as she went along. The group then watched a children’s film in French. Around the same time, a group of students ranging in ages 10-16 gathered to discuss Robotics. We had brought down a new Lego kit and Google Chromebook to enable the Robotics Club to prepare for a robotics competition in Cap Haitian. (We always have overloaded suitcases when we travel to Deschapelles!) Under the direction of Besly Belizaire, the kids actively engaged in a discussion of what their team should be called (Club Robotique de Deschapelles), the color of their team (green for nature), a slogan (We make a difference) and a logo. They need a device that will enable to perform a task within a two-minute timeframe helping with a need for their community and they chose water. We also learned that another one of the other librarians Euliciane frequently hosts an arts and crafts workshop for children on a Saturday.

Activity at the library ebbed and flowed with some afternoons busier than others. Jenifer Grant gave a lecture on Albert Schweitzer and his philosophy which is integral to the spirit of the nearby Hospital  Albert Schweitzer. The students who attended asked some good questions. Another group had toured the library earlier in the day. Other students could be seen using the computers for research.

The library has almost 4,700 books already catalogued and will be adding to the collection with the books we brought from EducaVision (a publisher based in Florida which is a primary source of books in Kreyol). One concern is the longevity of the books given handling of paperbacks by many children but the staff takes care to clean the book shelves and the books. We are proud of the collection.

I had the opportunity to visit a local school with Pleurette and Euliciane. It was the first time they had visited the school and was part of an effort to encourage students to come to the library. Both librarians read to separate groups of children and encouraged feedback. In fact, the younger children danced with enthusiasm and the older groups engaged in educational singing/dancing activities. One group of children was allowed to choose a book to read and after reading it reported to Euliciane who noted down their names and the book they had read.

A group met at the library to discussion implementing a nutrition program. Attendees included Ferna Victor, the Head Nurse at HAS, Melissa Sannon from HAS Outreach Programs specifically trees, the library staff as well as the two of us. Everyone was excited about the idea of a program oriented towards teaching the community more about good nutrition as there has been increasing evidence of diet-related diseases in the community (malnutrition remains and sometimes is the result of poor eating habits as opposed to lack of food). The group will start  developing a program and reaching out into the community.  There was some discussion of creating raised-bed gardens, one with compost and one without.

As increasing patronage at the library is one of the goals and reaching out into the community is of mutual benefit, the librarians will continue to visit schools and encourage schools to visit the library but will also start visiting two of the health centers to read to the children. We also discussed ways to encourage people to get membership cards which are at most 100 Gourdes (US $1.55) for an adult and half that for children. It was suggested that membership on the library should be a requirement to use the internet.

We also met with the Conseil consisting of a group of ODES members, which was established much like Library’s Boards in the States, to provide oversight and guidance. We discussed needed maintenance at the library, on-going programs and capital improvement projects including implementing solar as our current electrical system needs to be upgraded.

FOKAL, the organization which provides oversight and some funding for the library has chosen the Bibliothèqu Communautaire Deschapelles as one of four libraries to install an upgraded computerized collection system. It will involve week-long training during which the library will be closed. It is exciting and a commendation for the library.

Word of the library has spread and we are now being visited by others who want to emulate what we have done. In the words of Albert Schweitzer

“Do something wonderful, people may imitate it.”

We are proud of the library and what many heads and hands working together have accomplished. We will continue to provide oversight, funding and encouragement but the foundation has been built and our future goal will be to strengthen and enhance the library as well as assisting the staff and the Conseil in administering and managing the library.

—Terry Parkinson
   Co-Chair, SCEH Library Committee
   January 23, 2018

The following is an excerpt from the Annual Report for the Deschapelles Library prepared for the SCEH Board by Terry Smith and Bob Lamothe, Co-Chairs of the SCEH Library Committee. October 2017.

Library Activities/Programs and Administration

We receive monthly financial reports from the Bibliothèque Communautaire Deschapelles (BCD). Although financial reporting is still a work in progress, the team is making every effort to comply with SCEH requests.

We also receive a monthly report of the activities that are taking place at the library including presentations that are taking place. The report includes the number of visitors to the library each month and is separated into various categories. The team also sends a monthly and six-month report to FOKAL as part of the requirement for receiving funds from FOKAL.

Besly recently provided us with the following information:

1. The library has approximately 4800 books of which about 3900 have been entered into the PMB computer system. (PMB is a system for categorizing books) The Library also provides access to Khan Academy in French as well as Wikipedia in French to students who are interested in supplementing and expanding the information they receive in school. In addition, we have a digital library of over 200 books and a great many interactive educational materials in French and Kreyol through Educa Vision, which is a publishing house based in Florida geared towards the Haitian (Kreyol)market.
2. The BCD has registered 250 members and is working actively to increase that number.
3. The library is host to about four (4) presentations every month. They have had lectures on the importance of the Kreyol Language and Culture which the Library fully supports with a large collection of books in Kreyol. Attendance at the presentations varies depending on the subject. The presentations have included visiting authors, astronomy, environment, current events, citizenship and health and sexuality issues. Recently, the Library has hosted a conference on the theme “Theater and Reading tools for Social Transformation and Cultural Emancipation” with André Miraklin”. The conference was covered in the major Haitian newspaper Le Nouvelliste which is undoubtedly positive for the library especially as Miraklin’s was quoted praising the library for its access to not only regular books but a digital library as well. (Lenouvelliste.com 10/5). Miraklin was responsible for the two-week theater camp run this summer at the BCD.

4. The following clubs currently take place at the BCD:

• A Children’s Reading Club which meets twice a week
• An English Language Club which meets once a week on Saturday
• A Needlework Club
• A Robotics Club
• A Literature Club

The Library also plays host to a monthly meeting of supervisors of schools. This should encourage greater use of the library by teachers and their students.

Books

We intend to purchase a Kreyol Encyclopedia from Educa Vision. Many of the books we are currently receiving are donated. Books are being loaned selectively using the Book Bags sewn in Essex. 

Technology

The Google Chromebooks appear to have been a success and it has been suggested that at least one additional Chromebook be purchased as well as another laptop capable of handling Robotics software. We will assess the additional technology needs of the library including how best to secure any devices not only to the tables (they break if dropped on the cement floor) but also from being removed from the library.

FOKAL

Our relationship with FOKAL continues to be strong with periodic oversight and visits. (FOKAL is the organization funded by the SOROs Foundation to promote a free and open society which includes the promotion of libraries).

Summary of Impact Study Regarding the Deschapelles Library 

Bibliotheque Communaitaire de Deschapelles opened in January 2016 as a collaborative effort between two volunteer organizations, one in Essex, Connecticut, Sister Cities Essex Haiti, (SCEH), and the other in Deschapelles, Haiti, Organization Developpement Economique et Social (ODES). In order to gather information about the potential impact of the library on the community, a simple baseline study was conducted by ODES members and Toby Simon, of Bryant University in the summer of 2014 before the library opened and again in March and summer of 2017 more than one year after the library opened.

2014 Baseline Study

In the summer of 2014, ODES interviewed nine students who they found studying under the street lamps of Hospital Albert Schweitzer and ten students in schools. Each group of students reported that they studied under the street lamps 20-25 days per month for 3-4 hours per night. Half of the students said they did so because there was no electricity in their homes or they could concentrate better under the lights. Approximately half had visited a library before and all of them were excited about the prospect of the library in Deschapelles and thought they would use it for studying, borrowing books, research, and conferences.

Additionally, Toby met with eight focus groups each consisting of between four and 14 participants. The focus groups consisted of male and female students ages 14-22, school directors, ODES members, Hospital Albert Schweitzer employees and members of the community. Toby observed that:

• Everyone was extremely excited about the proposed library and expressed a desire for the library to succeed.
• Most of the participants knew that a library was a good resource for the community and a place to read and borrow books, do research attend educational seminars, and have access to computers.
• Few had ever visited a library with the exclusion of the HAS focus group many of whom have been able to travel to Port au Prince.
• All of the groups envisioned the library helping families, schools and the community; that the library would be a huge benefit for the community and would change peoples’ lives in Deschapelles.
• Many of the participants were quite interested in how the library would function in terms of hours, use of books, obtaining a library card, educational sessions, and safety and security. 

2017 Follow-up

In March 2017, Toby visited Deschapelles again and met with four focus groups of mixed gender: 10 high school teachers and three librarians; 10 ODES members; Directors of area schools; and 13 high school students ages 22-30. Toby observed that:

• All members of the focus groups were extremely grateful and positive about the library speaking of it as a “sous riches” (a source for enrichment).
• Many of the students and teachers viewed the library as a place to do research of different topics that they are teaching or studying particularly as the library has many books that are not available in their classrooms.

There were many suggestions:

• Seminars on career opportunities, civic responsibility; sexuality and sexually transmitted diseases;
• Better lighting outside the library and on the road to the library;
• Literacy classes for the community; and
• Suggestion box.

Since many of the members of the focus groups did not have a library card or had not visited the library, it was recommended that SCEH and ODES embark upon a “marketing” campaign to make more people in the community aware of the library and what it means for the members of the community. Ideas include:

• Collaborating with Hospital Albert Schweitzer for librarians to attend some of the mobile health clinics and /or dispensaries to talk about the library and encourage mothers and children to visit the library;
• Outreach to pastors and/or bokors & mambos (Voudou leaders) in the community;
• Work with ODES to be more proactive in encouraging members of the community to visit the library;
• Offer literacy classes to encourage more adults to visit the library.

Quantitative Data

As of September 2017, the library has reported the following:

• Number of visits per month from January-September 2017: 526-885.
• Average visits per month in 2017: 668
• Number of books: 4,800
• Digital library: 200 books, Wikipeida in French; interactive educational materials
• Number of library members: 250
• Number of presentations per month: Four (theater, astronomy, environment, citizenship, health and sexuality)
• Number of clubs: Five (children’s reading, English language, robotics, literature, needlework)
• Meeting of supervisors of schools: Monthly

Waiting in line for the computers

Full use of the library today!

Using manipulatives

Study group

A place for lectures

A community center

Learning about the zika virus

Summer camp at the library

In rural Haiti, in the town of Deschapelles, there’s a new library. There are only 34 libraries in the entire country so this addition to the village has far reaching effects. Librarian Besly Belizaire has been doing a great job bringing programs to the library and helping the community see what an invaluable resource they have and one they can now call their own. Here are some pix from kids watching the eclipse which never could have happened prior to the library being built. Kompliman Besly! Se vreman bon bagay!!
—Toby Simon