Latest info on Rachel’s Mugs and the new library in Benin

Regular readers of this blog and visitors to the Avon Lake Library may recall Rachel’s Mugs. Rachel Miller is a peace corp worker from Painesville working in Guinagourou, Benin. Rachel is working with the community there to build a library and her mom, Susan, who’s a skilled potter, created and sold some gorgeous mugs to raise money for the project. Our patrons and staff purchased many of those mugs. Rachel is home on leave for her sister’s high school graduation and she and Susan stopped by to say hi and give us an update.

All the money has been raised, the foundation poured, and Rachel worked along side community members of all ages to make 8000 huge bricks! The roof, made of tin, will be raised shortly. The first books are on order and six teen intern librarians have been chosen to work under a village teacher’s supervision to staff what is truly a community library!

Rachel, Susan and the people of Guinagourou are grateful for the support of the people of Avon Lake who contributed half the money needed to make this library happen. And we’re grateful for our beautiful mugs (dishwasher and microwave safe even).

The Library in Poetry and Prose

Children’s Librarian Sally Klepper gets to spend a fair part of her days selecting children’s books, creating clever crafts and sharing both with children. It’s rough, but somebody’s got to do it! Yesterday, she shared with me the poem I’m Going to the LIbrary, from poet Jack Prelutsky’s new book, My Dog May Be a Genius. The Poetry Foundation has named Prelutsky “the nation’s first Children’s Poet Laureate.”

We have numerous books by Prelutsky in our Children’s Department. He’s a sure bet with both children and fun-loving adults which makes any of his books a great way to introduce poetry to any children in your circle of love.

Now this issue of unreturned library books is not limited to children or children’s literature! Comic mystery writer Ian Sansom’s librarian hero Israel Armstrong has strong opinions on unreturned books. The second book in the “Mobile Library Mystery” series, Mr. Dixon Disappears, begins with Israel’s rant, “He was sick of the excuses and the lies. He was tired of the evasions and the untruths, of people refusing to stand up and speak the truth and take responsibility for their own actions. It seemed to him like yet another symptom of the decline of Western civilisation; of chaos; and climate change; and environmental disaster; and war; disease; famine; oppression; the eternal slow slide down and down and down. It was entropy, nemesis, apotheosis, imminent apocalypse and sheer bad manners all rolled into one. People were not returning their library books on time.”

Our staff doesn’t quite get this bent out of shape over late returns, but some of our patrons waiting for their turn at the book (or other item) do!

See you at the book drop!

Update on Rachael’s Mugs

Library staff and patrons raised $1300 for the new library in Guinagourou, Benin in West Africa, and we’re thrilled with the beautiful mugs we bought.

 The News-Herald has a great article about the library, the mugs and the amazing Miller family making it all possible.

Here at the Avon Lake Public Library, we’re feeling really jazzed about our opportunities to promote literacy at home and throughout the world.