Edwin, Claudia, Wiston, Katia, Denis, Maria Paula, Norman, and Susana
The Hester J Hodgdon (HJH) Libraries for All Foundation is a Colorado-based, tax exempt, charitable foundation that leverages the power of education and literacy to enhance community vitality. It was formed in 2003 to support the San Juan del Sur Biblioteca Pública y Móvil, the first lending library in Nicaragua and its Mobile Project and over the years has expanded its mission to promote literacy and sustainable lending libraries in Nicaragua and throughout Central America.
We invite you to read our mission statement and meet our team members and the incredible library staff who make this important work possible.
Our newsletter, active since 2019, offers ongoing snapshots of the work we do. We hope you will join our mailing list to keep up with the many activities and projects in which we are involved. Thank you for your interest in our work.
History of the Program:
A desire by one woman to put books into the hands of children in Nicaragua has changed the lives of many Nicaraguans due to her expertise in collaboration.
November 2001, Jane Mirandette found herself in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, semi-retired and owning a bed and breakfast hotel. She realized quite quickly that there were no children with books in their hands. Up until she arrived, Nicaragua had no lending libraries. If someone wanted to read a book, they would have to go to a government-run library in a large city. Books were kept behind the desk, so the person would have to request a particular book, and staff would retrieve it. Then the person would sit in the library and read it. Adult or not, no one was allowed to take books out of the library. It was the rule.
Jane had grown up with a tradition of reading and she felt strongly these children needed books. Her “lending library” started out in the patio of her newly-purchased hotel and adults and children would come and borrow books. Later it expanded to a small building across the street, and it currently resides in a much larger, newly renovated building one block away from the hotel.
When Jane started the lending project, she was met with naysayers: “They won’t bring the books back!” But she persevered. Children needed books, and that was that. They did bring the books back because they wanted to check out more! The return rate of the library has stayed around 97% since the library opened in 2001.
In 2003, Jane realized that she could provide more children with books by visiting local schools in the countryside. The mobile book project (now called Biblioteca Móvil) visits 37 surrounding communities once a month and allows children to check out books of their choice. The mobile project started out small, but soon grew when teachers and community leaders learned of this service. To this day, we do not go to a school unless they request our services. This ensures that we respect their space and have a sustainable project that the community is invested in.