The Hanging Library Project was created by Biblionef South Africa to meet the needs of our beneficiaries in the Early Childhood Development sector.
Our objectives for the Hanging Library Project are to:
Design a durable display and storage solution for ECD Centres: This was especially important because many ECD Centres we support do not have the facilities to display and store their resources properly.
Ensure that the design of the Hanging Library is dual-purposed: The hanging libraries can be hung at the ECD Centre as a display for their learners, or they can be folded and carried around by the Family Community Motivators who visit children and their caregivers at home.
Include the community and support our local economy: We intentionally partnered with women and local NGOs who could create the hanging library.
Ensure that the ECD Practitioners are included in the book selection process: At the beginning of the project, each Training Centre is sent a sample pack of 10 books they can share with their Centres. The Centres can then select the books they prefer in their book donation, and Biblionef will select the remaining books. The Training Centres will keep and use these packs of books when training their Centres.
Biblionef has been supporting ECD Centres for 21 years, and our storage solution has always been our roller boxes and book trunks, allowing ECD Practitioners to store their donated books and toys easily. Understanding the lived experience of our beneficiaries and what they need to best display and store their resources sparked the creation of the hanging library.
The hanging library is a versatile display option that allows Practitioners with limited space and facilities to hang it anywhere, for example, behind a door, on a hook on the wall, and one of our beneficiaries even hung it outside on a tree.
Read more about our Hanging Library Project here: https://www.biblionefsa.org.za/hanging-library-project/
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