Embassy Donates half a Million dollars in Books

DECEMBER 15, 2006.- Over 37,000 books were donated to the National Library of El Salvador and the Network of Public Libraries of CONCULTURA. Ambassador H. Douglas Barclay made the official donation to Dr. Manuel Bonilla and Lic. Ricardo Bracamonte from CONCULTURA.

The donation, funded by the Public Affairs Office, consisted of materials from the International Book Bank (IBB). The IBB is a non-governmental organization that collects recent editions from some of the main publishing houses in the U.S., and donates them to countries throughout the world.

The bibliographic materials are mainly in Spanish, but include also a large component of books in English, which will allow users for the learning of a second Language. The materials cover a large number of topics: mathematics, literature, history, geography, natural sciences , and many more.

In the past years, the Embassy has made similar donations thru AID, the Ministry of Education, groups of catholic schools and Peace Corps volunteers working in El Salvador. This time, the donation was made with the assistance of Concultura, particularly with the help of its National Library.

Los nuevos materiales bibliográficos permitirán enriquecer las bibliotecas públicas salvadoreñas, ayudarán a fomentar el hábito de la lectura entre los niños y jóvenes ayudando a ampliar los niveles culturales de las comunidades donde estarán disponibles y promoverán la lectura como opción de esparcimiento en las comunidades.