Connecticut Connecting Libraries Without Borders
With looming budget cuts, libraries depend on organizations like Libraries Without Borders to expand their reach to those living in book deserts.
Collaborations are crucial for ensuring accessibility to library resources for all. Recently, the Connecticut State Library partnered with Libraries Without Borders (LWB)! This is a massive win for Connecticut libraries — here’s everything you need to know about the partnership:
What Is Libraries Without Borders?
Before getting into the details of the Connecticut State Library and LWB partnership, let’s take a look at the Libraries Without Borders organization. Libraries Without Borders is a nonprofit, international group whose mission is to bring educational materials and resources to disadvantaged populations. Like the Doctors Without Borders organization, LWB has no political affiliation and aims to help anyone needing library resources. Their most recent international exploits have been serving communities in Ukraine and Lebanon, creating safe spaces for the public at local libraries.
What Is an LWB Partnership?
Communities can partner with Libraries Without Borders to help bolster their local library’s resources and work to create a more robust library system in the area. That’s what the Connecticut State Library has done! Volunteers can also work alongside LWB to provide the organization with books, archival expertise, and language skills.
About the CT State Library Partnership
So, what does the partnership between the Connecticut (CT) State Library and Libraries Without Borders entail? According to a recent press release from the Connecticut State Library, this partnership aims to “build trust and grow habits that ultimately help connect new users to permanent resources available through their local public library.” The goal is to donate books, establish community partnerships, and create temporary miniature libraries to encourage reading.
Defining a Book Desert
The six libraries these organizations plan to work with are libraries existing in book deserts: areas where library resources (especially books) are scarce. Areas considered book deserts tend to have higher poverty rates and are usually harder to get to. Book deserts put students at a disadvantage compared to their peers too; without money to buy books or library resources to check out books, these children do not have access to the same resources other advantaged students have.
The partnership between Libraries Without Borders and the Connecticut State Library is meant to directly target book deserts in the state and potentially eliminate them.
How You Can Help
Want to know how you can help Libraries Without Borders fight book deserts everywhere? Check out their Get Involved page for more information. To help libraries near you access more reading materials and educational resources, consider donating books or money to your local library!
