La Asuncion Library

Driving into Diriamba you will run into the clock tower; that’s how you know where you are, in the “city of the big clock”. It was imported from Germany in the late 1920s and has been running since 1935. Before you reach the clock tower you drive past a neighborhood called La Palmera without even realizing it. La Palmera is characterized by the destructive attitude of apathy. The police know this neighborhood well, visiting it frequently. Apathy has grown many barriers for the people living here. Many children do not attend school and many adults do not work and yet expect to receive their necessities for free; both of which cause the cycle of apathy to continue. It is a challenging goal, changing the mentality of people, but the local catholic school is striving for just that.

The library at La Asuncion School is working with the community, trying to free them from their apathetic attitudes and ignorance. It is difficult to educate an apathetic person and the library focuses on children with the goal of changing their perspective on life and giving them a positive vision for the future; a vision that includes goals and desires they long to achieve and work for. The library opened in 1998 and provides a learning environment not only for the school children but also for children from the community that do not attend school. Their collection of just over 1700 books provides research resources for upper elementary and high school students while the children’s room provides educational games and activities which develop skills of observation and concentration that will later help them in life. They also develop social skills; how to share and interact with others, what it means to be upright and honest, and the importance of an education. The primary goal of La Asuncion School Library is to develop the habit of reading, creativity and concentration in its neighborhood, which will in turn evolve the attitude of apathy to one of awareness and significance.

The Library educates primarily through games and activities that emphasize honor and integrity while also challenging their thought processes. Contests and events are planned throughout the year to encourage community development and healthy interaction with others. The library does not possess a computer, and believes it would not be wise to purchase one with the crime rate in the neighborhood, however, hopefully in the future the community will have developed an appreciation for education and together value the resources made available to them. The School Library is not financially supported by the city government which makes it difficult to replenish and acquire new resources. You can partner with La Asuncion School by providing the following resources which will enable the continued development of their neighborhood.

Books (Physics, Chemistry, Psychology, English)

Educational games

Librarian salary

High school students from La Asuncion responded in the following way when asked to describe the impact the library has on their lives.

“The library provides research books, whiteboards for study and practice, encyclopedias as well as providing a place of recreation. It is a great blessing for us to have a library in our neighborhood and that everything is there for our use.”