Learn about how we took full advantage of a very challenging year to reflect on Lubuto's origin and roots, rediscover our purpose, and refine our offerings for 2021 and beyond. It feels funny sending out our annual report so late in 2021, but we haven't stopped running!
Training new Lubuto library staff
As we bring on board three full library staffs (for two new Lubuto libraries - Choma and Comboni - and for the Nabukuyu Library), and are upgrading the library in Nabukuyu as our new Model Rural Library for young people, we are spending much of our time training and strengthening the capacity of staff in all of our libraries to come back stronger and better than ever as and when coronavirus restrictions recede.
Funding from a US Embassy in Zambia Public Diplomacy Small Grant is supporting the training and initial salaries of new staff at the rural Mumuni Nabukuyu Library. Before they start working in Nabukuyu, two of the three new staff members are working with us in Lusaka to learn how books are cataloged in our library system. With other longtime Lubuto staff they have been participating in fun, interactive Zoom sessions with Jane to learn both the cataloging processes and become familiar with the rich offerings of Lubuto collections. We are seeing that cataloging the collections for the Comboni Library and the revamped Model Library is the very best preparation for working with young people in the libraries.
We are also planning, in October, to hold our regular training sessions at the Mthunzi Library (while the Model Library rebuilds post-fire), not only for the new Choma, Comboni and Nabukuyu librarians, but as a refresher for Mthunzi and Model Library staff.
In the early years of Lubuto, we provided a shelf-ready collection to the libraries and had dozens of volunteers involved in cataloging in the U.S. This was necessary in the beginning. Now that we have people and systems in place in Zambia, we realize that the detailed learning about the excellent books in Lubuto collections inherent in the cataloging process is key to both understanding what the libraries have to offer and helping children find materials of interest. This greatly enhances librarians' abilities to provide the best library services possible.
Zambia's youth are changing the world
Since our last newsletter, the biggest news in Zambia – some might say in all of Africa - is August's presidential and parliamentary election. The 72% voter turnout was widely attributed to Zambia's engaged population of young people who demanded change and who pulled together on election day to overcome a social media blackout and other impediments.
To keep up with Zambian youth and their needs, we have been laying out plans at Lubuto libraries for new programs in information and digital literacy and caring for the environment. We were approached by new volunteers, Ashley Lanfer and her family, with interests in both of these initiatives—and we hope we will have exciting news to share about these programs soon.
Volunteer of the Month
Our Volunteer of the Month is the enthusiastic and talented Ashley Lanfer-Lubuto's newest volunteer in Zambia, whose husband is teaching communications at the University of Zambia as a Fulbright Scholar, and whose three children love libraries as much as she does. So, they found Lubuto, and are happy for the opportunities our libraries offer for them all to engage directly with Zambian youth. Ashley is a Partner at Wellspring Consulting and is an expert in strategic planning, impact assessment, communications and systems thinking. Ashley is a Partner at Wellspring Consulting and is an expert in strategic planning, impact assessment, communications and systems thinking. She is currently on sabbatical while in Zambia. Ashley holds an MESc from Yale University's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a BA in English and Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College.
