The fun of reading and sharing

The library is a repository of knowledge and culture and in an ideal world, should serve as many people everywhere. Reality paints a different picture and treasures like well-stocked, modern libraries are often located in big cities. Unless there is a strong and thriving library culture in the country, smaller towns unfortunately don't get their share of the resource pie. More than one hour from Tianjin City, Dagang Youtian is one such town which happened to have some mothers who felt the need to do something about the situation.

The existing public library is quite old and uninviting with a collection that has not been updated for some time. It's a shocking fact but public schools in China typically and sadly don't have libraries. To fill in the gap, the private sector has stepped in with a viable business model, providing membership children's libraries that require a monthly or yearly fee. In Dagang, there are a couple of these libraries but a brave group of moms and their kids initiated a community library where people don't need to pay. All one has to do is bring at least five books and one can already borrow other people's books.

Song Qing (宋清), mom of eight-year-old Yin Pu (殷浦) has been dreaming of a free library for years. She envisioned one for children, ran and managed by children. The goal is to get them involved, train them to do things in an organized manner, be responsible for the management of the library and in the process, develop confidence and the spirit of teamwork. With this in mind, Song Qing gathered other mothers who had a passion for books and who wanted their kids involved in such a worthwhile endeavor. It started with four mothers and their kids who cooked up the name Four Leaf Clover Sharing Library believing that it would soon expand to much more than four leaves.

Zhang Penghui (张鹏辉), one of those who spearheaded this venture with Song Qing observed how nowadays, we live in an era of resource-sharing where bicycles and cars are readily communal. The library aims to spur a dynamic re-distribution of what normally are idle books -- possibly under-read and under-appreciated in shelves at home. The sharing library ensures that the books flow from family to family and that they don't stay in one bookshelf for long. She hopes for a "ceaseless expansion" where one can keep finding books that one wants to read. Yu Junfeng (余军峰), another of the pioneer parents, believes that this can help families especially those who don't have as much budget for books.

One of the volunteer mothers had access to a venue generously provided rent-free by her sister-in-law in the Yunke Club (云科俱乐部) which hosts facilities for badminton, ping pong, dancing and other activities. Since this library is run totally by volunteers, it opens only for a limited time from 3:00 to 5:00 pm on Sundays and 4:30 – 6:00 on Wednesdays. Through this way, a regular group of readers would eventually grow and get to know one another, making reading fun since it's done with fellow kids. Through time, those who may not like books might learn to fall in love with it by seeing other children immersed in these doorways to other worlds.

The moms were nervous on the opening day. They didn't know whether people would come only using WeChat to disseminate information among people in their personal network. "If you build it, they will come," the quote from the movie Field of Dreams goes and the people came lugging in their bags of books. Never underestimate the power of a few determined mothers who love books and who don’t want their children to lose out on the opportunity of having their own library.

There was a good crowd of people during the first two Sundays it opened but then there were less visitors after. Yu Junfeng's daughter, Li Anqi (李安淇) suggested that more promotion should be done to attract people to participate. One friend recommended that a charity sale could be organized to raise funds to purchase new books. Yin Pu, who is in second grade proposed to improve the physical appearance of the place. With no budget to start with and in the rush to open, the room currently contains a bare minimum of tables and stools. There are no bookshelves because only the available furniture provided by the club was used. It calls for creativity to use what's available to spruce up the place but that should not be a problem because one of the mothers is an art teacher.

Like any start-up project, challenges come one after another proving the adage that initiating something may be easier than maintaining momentum. An all-important buzzword, sustainability, requires constant participation and nurturing by a group of committed volunteers. How can this be achieved? Families are wrapped up with their own work and home lives. Everyone is juggling several things on their plate. People who go out of their way to introduce an innovation to the community may have to take on the mantel of leadership but responsibilities can always be distributed among people who are willing to contribute their time, talent and energy. This entails fostering a strong web of relationships over time – the library as a platform for community development. It would be interesting to see where the people of Dagang Youtian will take the new-born Four Leaf Clover Library to, after operating for a couple of years.

Kids and parents in the community library

Ben White of the British Library said, "As gateways to knowledge and culture, libraries play a fundamental role in society. The resources and services they offer create opportunities for learning, support literacy and education, and help shape the new ideas and perspectives that are central to a creative and innovative society."

In the future, the space can be for anything the users and volunteers imagine it could be. Libraries have evolved through time to accommodate activities and events previously not associated with these institutes. For instance, there are libraries in other countries that have volunteers who help students with their homework. There are also libraries which loan out an amazing array of things – not just books, CDs and videos but musical instruments, carpentry tools, outdoor, sports and scientific equipment. It’s become a way for people to connect with each other through similar interests and through skills they want to acquire and impart. Perhaps in time, the Four Leaf Clover Community Library could also absorb other roles and functions depending on the demands of who they serve.

Imagine all the towns in China similar to Dagang in size and population which don't get allocated as much resources as the major cities and which could definitely use a library or have their public library improved. This community sharing library could be a model adopted by other places or it might just spur the government to pay more attention to the smaller municipalities and take the cue from citizens who are looking for ways to answer social needs themselves.

If you would like to contribute Chinese children's books to this library, please contact Song Qing (宋清) at QQ 490877040.