Abstract: Describes one of the several programs for extension of children’s library service to remote parts of Thailand, the Travelling Exhibition of Books for Young Readers. This project, executed by Srinakharinwirot University, began in 1990. During the first half of the year, 338 teachers and librarians took part, in 16 rural locations. Exhibits of children’s books were set up for a full day in each village, using imaginative display techniques. At least 200 children had the opportunity to look at and read books which they would not otherwise have seen. The author cites problems encountered, and how they might be solved. "Momentum is strong for continuation of the work."
Literacy and Education in Thailand
In 1937 68.9 percent of the Thai population was illiterate, but as a result of concerted efforts illiteracy was reduced to 8.8 percent by 1985. Success in this basic area has permitted educational authorities to turn to another problem, the difficulty faced by many of the population in gaining education beyond primary school. Of all primary school graduates, only 28.58 percent continue to secondary school, and only 7.27 percent go on to university level. Furthermore, only eleven out of a hundred students in one university were found to come from farming families, although the majority of Thais live in rural areas. Another concern is for children who drop out of school and may lose their reading skills; it has been observed that this may happen when there is a lack of suitable reading materials.
A few decades ago, Thai books for children were rare; they were mainly traditional folktales and translations of western classics. Only 787 titles were published in Thailand from 1963–1980. As a result of advances in printing technology, and promotion efforts by librarians and educators, the rate of national production increased greatly in the 1980’s: 1,578 titles were published between 1982–86 and 582 in 1987–89. Much credit for these gains belongs to heightened national awareness of the need for quality books, brought about by International Book Year 1972, International Children’s Year 1978, and the work of the National Book Development Committee, established in 1972 under the National Commission for UNESCO. Quality of children’s books (design and content) has improved as well as quantity of output. Several government agencies (Ministry of Education, Office of the National Culture Commission, National Identity Board, and National Youth Bureau) have supported commercial book production through counseling, sales promotion, and recognition of outstanding publications. These agencies have also produced quality books themselves.
Unfortunately, this encouraging trend has not been beneficial to children in remote and disadvantaged areas of the country. One librarian reports that "children in rural areas, especially the poor, do not have books to read. Some houses do not have even one copy of a book...." Governmental and private bodies have been working enthusiastically to reach out to young readers, finding ways to bring books to them. Hopefully, each candle of knowledge and information we can light will help to dispel the darkness and drabness from the lives of our rural population and will brighten the whole nation.
Existing Outreach Efforts to Rural Children
To improve library services to Thailand’s 18,787,998 children between the ages of three and seventeen, a number of projects are being supported by the Ministry of Education. Public library outreach service is centered on provincial and district libraries; boats, motorcycles, book vans, and book boxes are used to send books to remote areas. The National Library has established eight branches in strategic locations; each serves as the coordinator of libraries in its area.
University libraries have undertaken a number of projects, such as:
These projects may differ in strategies, activities, types of service offered, etc., but they all share the same goals: to make books available for all and to instill the habit of reading. The remainder of this paper gives details on the last–named project, The Travelling Exhibition.
The Travelling Exhibition of Books for Young Readers
As a companion activity to the Portable Libraries Project (winner of the 1989 IBBY ASAHI Reading Promotion Award), CREDA and Srinakharinwirot University initiated the Travelling Exhibition in 1989; UNESCO provided financial assistance for the period October 1989–May 1990. The Exhibition aims not only to give young readers access to quality books, but to introduce them to international concerns and to foster a dialogue among cultures. It also aims to enhance the awareness of teachers and librarians in areas of international understanding.
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| Miss Cheunwattana with children at the Travelling Exhibition. |
Project staff have already begun to acquire books on themes of world concern — by purchase, gifts, and exchanges. They have compiled a bibliography of some 200 titles. The staff has experimented with the design of transport and display facilities that are suitable for remote and disadvantaged areas, and has developed training packages. Promotion of the Exhibition has been carried out through seminars, workshops, and various publicity publications. A permanent informational exhibit on the Project is set up in the University Library, and similar informational exhibits have been taken to thirteen other locations. During the first half of 1990, workshops have brought in 338 teachers and librarians from around the country. Participants in these workshops learned methods and techniques to attract young readers, how to set up the Travelling Exhibition, and how to get feedback from the children. They received packets of training materials, and they had a chance to practice with groups of children, utilizing what they had learned as well as ideas of their own.
Sets of the Exhibition books, along with bibliography, racks, bookpockets, and other materials, were deposited with each regional library. Interested schools or other organizations borrowed these materials and took them to 16 rural locations. Usually the Exhibition remained for a period of one day (nine hours) in each location. The impact of the Exhibition on the children has been dramatic; "their eyes pop" on seeing such an array of books suddenly before them. Their book hunger was demonstrated as they rushed to the books, and again when the Exhibition departed and the children begged for an early return visit. Creative talents among the children were revealed as they dramatized, retold, wrote, or drew pictures of what they had read. It was also possible to see this creativeness among handicapped children who had the opportunity to partake of the Exhibition.
Some innovations developed for the Exhibition may be of interest. The book pocket rack that is used is flexible enough to hang on a wall, between trees, or around one tree. It is one by three meters in size, but can be folded up into a carrying bag of only 40 by 50 centimeters. Rattan baskets strung together also made attractive, inexpensive display racks.
Three major difficulties have been encountered by the Exhibition staff. First it has not been possible to acquire enough books on all the themes of worldwide concern. For example, there are a good number of titles on environment, but very few on human rights. Second, provincial authorities were not always convinced of the value of book activities, and they did not always cooperate. Third, the scope of the Project was limited to only six of Thailand’s 73 provinces.
Various follow–up activities are under way. The bibliography is to be printed for wider distribution; a handbook on teaching reading and how to relate reading to the curriculum is being prepared; research on children’s reading interests is being conducted; enhanced promotional work is in progress. The Exhibition itself will continue to travel to rural areas, even to more remote locations such as the homes of hill tribes. More attention will be given to education of parents, and efforts will be made to develop the book collection with acquisition of more materials on global themes.
Results of the experimental stage have been encouraging. About 200 children had the opportunity to live with quality books they would not otherwise have seen. As many as 338 teachers and librarians expanded their horizons. Momentum is strong for continuation of the work. Problems met — limited availability of certain materials, lack of cooperation by certain authorities, and the impossibility of reaching a large portion of the provinces — are being dealt with. Assistance in the form of financial contributions, gift and exchange books, and opportunities for the librarians in the Project to make study visits elsewhere, will be welcomed. In addition, cooperation with other library outreach projects and with groups interested in children's welfare would be important steps toward the reality of "Books for All."
Finally, let me invite librarians and teachers of other countries to write to me for details about the Travelling Exhibition, or to offer ideas of their own on the enhancement of children’s reading.
This article is a modified version of a paper presented at the 1990 IFLA Conference in Stockholm.
Aree Cheunwattana is Head of the Acquisition Division, Srinakharinwirot University Library, Bangkok. Her M.A.L.S. is from Chulalongkorn University. She has presented papers recently at the IFLA Conference in Stockholm, 1990, and the IFLA Asian Seminar in Tokyo, 1991. Her professional interests include children’s books and services, and information literacy.
© 1990 Aree Cheunwattana