Mobile Library Chicken Bus
Chicken buses is the derogatory term used in many guides to refer to the rural public transportation buses in Guatemala and in many parts of Latin America. Chicken buses are the improved version and second wind for the retired school buses.
Here is an interesting twist for the infamous chicken bus. Turn it into a bibliobús or mobile library bus so you can take the books to the communities that lack a library. For now, they have two bibliobuses, but I believe they will need a whole fleet to cover all the communities that do not have a library in Guatemala.
Now I know where I will be donating my next batch of books. The two mobile library buses belong to the Non-Government Organization (NGO) Probigua, which stands for Proyecto Bibliotecas Guatemala (Libraries Project of Guatemala). Come back in the next few days to learn more about the project and to see the inside of a “chicken bus”.
Countdown side note: 5 more days to May 1st. I want to thank all the comments and feedback along the 361 days. They are a real encouragement to do a better job. So far these are the numbers. 371 posts, 2,260 comments, 42 catergories, 1,284 incoming links and 208,214 visits. Not too bad for a first year, don’t you think?
Daily Content
April 27th, 2007
It’s a great project and the photo is interesting as usual also because I think that in Guatemala everything deserves a photo.
April 27th, 2007
I don’t suppose you could update your post on this one to let others of us know where or how we could send books, too? I’d be very interested in doing that. I have a lot of children’s books that my kids are outgrowing.
April 27th, 2007
Muchísimas gracias Rudy por todo el empeño que se ve que le ponés al sitio y las fotos cada vez están mejores.
April 27th, 2007
I don’t have any spanish books to donate but if you could let us know where we could send a donation for buying books, that would be great! I just want to let you know how much I enjoy your photographs. I was in Guatemala this winter and spent almost 2 weeks in Antiqua. It’s a beautiful town and these photographs help to keep it alive for me. Thanks Rudy!
April 27th, 2007
I’m going back to Antigua for my annual visit in August and plan to pack my luggage full of books to donate for anyone who is interested.
April 27th, 2007
Thank you for visiting my blog and for commenting about Patty my wife and her breast cancer treatments. I like your photographs very much and the doors on your old blog were marvelous. I like today’s picture too and your explanation for the book bus.
We used to have this kind of bus when I was a little boy during World War II. It came to our village once a month and picked up books and left us check out new ones.
April 27th, 2007
[...] of you have asked to update yesterday’s entry about the Mobile Library Chicken Bus with information on how to help and how to send donations. Come on people, you did not think I was [...]
April 28th, 2007
Your city is going to have to come up with a nicer nick name for these buses, then, yeah?
April 30th, 2007
[...] don’t mean to. It’s been only four days since a church popped into the background of my mobile library chicken bus shot and only a week since the San Francisco El Grande Church got in the way of my photo of a monk. [...]
May 3rd, 2007
It was great to see this photo. I took a week of Spanish lessons with Probigua in March. I´m hoping to do another week during May.
I{ve enjoyed your photos very much.
December 4th, 2007
[...] But first the disclosure: I love libraries; even chicken bus libraries! [...]
February 7th, 2008
[...] transit buses known in derogatory terms as chicken buses. Some of these recycled buses have become mobile libraries or marimba orchestra buses. In other words, retired school buses from up north get to live a second [...]
April 2nd, 2008
[...] Often I highlight library projects like the Bibliobús of Probigua, which I nicknamed the Mobile Library Chicken Bus. Back in the first week of December 2007, we did a little tour through Compañía de Jesús Library [...]
June 22nd, 2008
[...] Mobile Library Chicken Bus [...]