
Lubuto's fourth library collection launched to Zambia!
The Mthunzi collection—far and away our most comprehensive yet, consisting of almost 4,200 books covering all subjects—was recently packed up in Washington DC. This was the first contribution to Lubuto's core collection completely purchased with funding from USAID's American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA), so we could select and acquire the best books to meet the full range of our users' needs. We look forward to measuring the use and impact of these rich resources, showing the importance of professional collection development and supporting advocacy for acquisitions budgets for public libraries. We work with Mrs. Nelson's Library Services in California to acquire the ASHA-funded international titles. When they arrive in Zambia, the hundreds of books we have purchased from publishers in Zambia and other African countries will complete the collection. Lubuto is committed to supporting and strengthening local and regional publishers as well as giving Zambia's young people book collections that provide both a mirror and a window to the world. The titles will resonate with a broader audience than ever. A large number of "big books" and board books in the collection will delight young children and a wide array of fiction and non-fiction graphic novels will particularly appeal to teens. The Mthunzi collection features many books dealing with disability—both for blind, deaf, autistic and otherwise disabled children and for all children and youth, who need to understand those members of their community. A great selection of women's biographies, joined by resources for young people on HIV/AIDS mostly acquired from South African publishers, will well support our DREAMS mentoring and programming. The hundreds of volunteer hours that went into cataloging and processing these books over the past two years culminated in one well-orchestrated morning of volunteers getting their hands dirty and boxing up and loading them into a trailer, to embark on the first part of the collection's journey to Zambia. Five volunteers from Georgetown Visitation High School joined Lubuto staff, board members and their families and friends for the pack-up. The trailer then transported 93 boxes to World Vision's shipping facility near Pittsburgh, and World Vision is generously transporting the books to Lusaka, Zambia. They should arrive about three months after setting sail and we will then hold the opening celebration for the great new Mthunzi Library!

The Lubuto Library Project is exempt from U.S. Federal income tax as a public charity under Section 501(C) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.