Last week we kicked off the first of our nine librarian trainings for 2013. Over 40 librarians from 32 libraries throughout central Guatemala participated.

During the training, the librarians were very eager to brainstorm ideas with each other on learning activities and ways to make their libraries even better. The librarians showed a lot of enthusiasm for make reading in the libraries easier and more engaging for the kids.

A goal of our trainings is to share teaching techniques that can help motivate students to learn (and love) to read. Jeremías Morales Coroxón is one of our Reading Promoters who leads the library training curriculum. One method of reading promotion that Jeremías teaches is called Rincones Especiales (literally ‘Special Corners’ in English). This involves librarians creating separate spaces for interactive reading, writing, and educational games in their libraries, giving children the opportunity to participate in a wide array of dynamic group activities.

“Rincones Especiales is great because it allows librarians to work with different kids – even several groups at once,” said Jeremías. “Tools such as these help librarians more effectively teach children of various ages and abilities. For example, using Rincones Especiales, a librarian can read a story aloud, using the techniques learned from training workshops, and engage the students in activities centered around the story.”

As our librarians progress through the workshop series, they will have the opportunity to build their skills in order to engage and motivate more children from their villages to take part in library reading programs.