2008 PRT News
As Violence Abates Tikrit Library Sparks to Life
November 3, 2008
By Peggy Swircek
Special Correspondent
Tikrit, Salah ad Din Province -- The reading room in the Tikrit Library was usually empty but for a handful of university students studying or researching. Now with violence dropping the library is becoming a thriving learning center in the community for students of all ages.
The Tikrit Central Library is situated on a heavily trafficked street that was once littered with debris left behind by insurgent attacks in the vital downtown area. For the past few years the library sat nearly vacant with only its staff guarding dusty book stacks.
Now, with the improved security situation in Tikrit, library officials have seen an increase in attendance at the library of a whole new crop of learners; not the usual scholarly patrons; but students from elementary, secondary and intermediate schools in the Tikrit area eager to learn about a bright new world and the opportunities now open to them in Iraq.
For the first time in decades, the library is welcoming six headmasters and a select group of their students to participate in the Library Visit program aimed at educating the students about resources available within the library and the fundamentals of research.
The initiative is a direct result of the combined efforts of the Director General (DG) of Libraries, the DG of Education and the Salah ad Din Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Public Diplomacy Section.
For younger students, the Library Visit program will promote reading as a recreational hobby. The pilot program will last throughout the school year with approximately two schools visiting the library each week. “We will expand the program to the libraries in the other qadas [districts] if [the School Visit program is] successful,” explained Mr. Khalil Asham Abdulla, the director of the Tikrit Central Library.
To help the library prepare for the program, on Sunday, October 26, the PRT donated approximately 300 Scholastic My Arabic Library books to the Library. The Scholastic books will form the foundation for a library collection of children’s literature, both fiction and non-fiction. Representatives from Directorate of Education and the Tikrit Central Library were on hand to receive the gift from the PRT.
The Iraqi education officials said they were impressed with the Scholastic books commenting on the quality of the illustrations and diverse topics that catered to children’s interest.
Sergeant Peggy Swircek of the PRTs Public Diplomacy Section said, “By having some of the same books available in the classroom that are available in the library we are creating a bridge between two education-based establishments. We hope the books will remind the students of their visit to the library and inspire them to return with their families. We also hope that the youth of Salah ad Din will use the library as a positive outlet for recreation and cultural exchange.”
New libraries have been approved in the 2008 budget for four qadas and construction should be complete mid 2009. The new Tikrit Central Library includes space to be used as a youth and child-friendly area. In addition, the library has begun to plan several other youth specific activities inspired by programs in the United States such as Book-It, book clubs and a designated weekly story time.
The library and the PRT will continue to work together on the School Visit program and other initiatives like expanding and modernizing the libraries collection of modern history, science and literature books.