English Language Library in Antigua
ByFor months I’ve been meaning to get over to the American Legion library to check it out. I finally did the other day and was pleased to find more than just trashy romance novels (although there are a lot of those, too). In fact, on my inaugural book check-out I found “Churchill, Hitler & The Unnecessary War” by Buchanan, “The Silmarillion” by Tolkien, “Gods and Generals” by Shaara and “Over My Dead Body” by Rex Stout, whose stories were the inspiration for the A&E series ‘Nero Wolfe’. (That’s a great series, if you’re not familiar with it).
I saw a lot of books in there on Guatemalan history as well, but I want some recommendations from readers so I can avoid the pinko-commie leftist revisionary tomes and stick with the trustworthy versions.
The library houses more than 30,000 books and is tucked into a little home on 4th Ave Sur Final, on the east side of the street (that’s your left if you’re looking at Agua), near the parking lot for Hotel Antigua. They’re open 9-3 Mon-Fri, and membership allows you to check out 4 books at a time, per family member, for two weeks. I understand that if you’re late returning your books, you will be flogged with a wet tortilla.
Membership is only 130Q annually for a family, or about the same price as parking for a few hours would be at most downtown libraries in the US. However, I have strongly encouraged the administration to raise prices since they’re not even covering their rent, so you might want to join quickly. My proposed fee schedule would be: 150Q individually or 250Q per family. This new rate structure would allow the Legion to actually pay the rent and not run a deficit. Besides, this strategy is perfectly in line with GuateLogic; when you’re not selling enough of something, raise the prices!
The American Legion does charity work here in Guatemala, including providing water filters to schools, arranging pensions for widows of veterans who didn’t know that being married to a service member entitled them to benefits, and high-nutrition breakfasts for at-risk children, so in addition to getting a great deal on a library, you’re doing some good. Stop by and checkout the library sometime!
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23 Comments
November 28th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Somehow, I wouldn’t expect to find “pinko-commie leftist revisionary tomes” on Guatemalan history at an American Legion library. If such books are there, perhaps you should reconsider your evaluation of them. More to your question, see if they have anything by Ralph Lee Woodward, who’s no lefty. But he was far more interested in colonial history when I had him at Tulane.
November 28th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Why not practice the great American tradition of philanthropy and have some expats pay the rent? Raising prices will only exclude the poor. You should read histories from all angles so that you can reach a balanced view. Reading only to justify one’s view is probably not healthy.
November 28th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Sounds like a very worthwhile place that could use some more funds. I understand one of the books I brought down to Guatemala now resides there. Donated by the friends I gave it too. Not lefty but expose of Lonely Planet tour books. It was a great read.
November 28th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
The library is open from 11a.m to 3p.m not 9a.m. Membership for a single person is Q100 for family Q130. A single membership can check out up to 4 books for two weeks. A family membership can check up to 8 books for two weeks. It is open every day most of the time.
November 28th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
The American Legion library is a wonderful addition to life for many in the Antigua community. It is not only an English library, but has many volumes in Spanish, and at one time had some in German and French. There is far from enough room to shelve all of the books that have been donated to the library, so many good books are not available at this time.
I strongly agree with elgordo. There are many gringos in the area who are living on extremely little money. What we need,rather than an increase in membership fees, is a philanthropist (or more than one) who will pay the rent for the library. Or better yet, a donor who is well off enough to donate a building to house the library.
November 28th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
Poor people can’t read. Even those who can wouldn’t pay the 130 anyway. I would thin that juan and gordo would support a tax hike on the rich. Rich people don’t need the extra money anyway, so why not charge every one of them who dares to have an elite membership that will only spread the gap even further between the classes? Maybe there should be 1,000/month membership fees for white gringos curly haired chapines could keep their low 130/year fee and anybody in indigenous dress could just take whatever they want.
November 28th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Why are you so angry Sweaty Peten? I am not sure whether or not you’re being sarcastic. I will tell you this, if your post is a reflection of what you feel, it doesn’t matter what you do in the name of Christ. El mono aunque se vista de seda, mono se queda.
November 28th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Sweaty Peten,
Your comments are usually insightful and helpful. Is this an attempt at humor, jealously over not having a library in your area, or what?
November 28th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Purely sarcastic. I thought that would be easily understood. I do believe it is a sign of an unhealthy dependency when, instead of looking for a way that you can help out individually (like paying an extra $2/ year) the reaction is to sit back and hope that some richer person than you will “bail you out.” If it were the states and the local library was going under, maybe there would be applications for grants, or petitions to Obama for a library stimulus plan from people raised on governmental dependency, but the people in my hometown would have a bake sale, or a car wash, or something that through hard work could raise the money.
I think those comments are a reflection of the cultural dependency on the rich uncle Sam that everybody hates, but still has their hand out to. It is a disease plaguing most of Guatemalan people in the gringo-heavy areas.
November 29th, 2009 at 7:13 am
130 quetzalez is nothing to most people reading this blog. It’s probably nothing to most people using the library. I am sure, however, that there are people for whom $130 represent a sacrifice. I was thinking about them. You have a very good point, but it could have been better made. Your sarcasm needs work. As you might have noticed in those brief moments when you’re not judging Guatemalans, we have completely different realities. How many people have ovens in el Peten? I have seen fundraisers in Guatemala City, where people are not necessarily considered lucky if they have one good meal a day. Honestly Sweaty Peten, with your deplorable mind set, you might want to practice your christian charity in Switzerland and not in Guatemala. Guatemala has to stop being hungry before it can think about libraries.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Since the AMerican Legion Library in Antigua has mostly books in English, the local GUatemalan poor do not frequent it.
There are several gringos living in the Antigua area who are on extremely tight budgets, some with excellent educations who once were professionals in the USA, but whose finances for one reason or another, have fallen on hard times. They are not stingy but rather they must watch their pennies.ALso they are avid readers. They are nice people too, some are veterans. Those people in particular cannot afford high fees, others can.
When the library began, the Ladies Auxiliary of the local American Legion Post did a great deal of the work gathering donations, organizing and volunteering.I know several of the women who were involved and they, along with Bill Schetz,deserve a great deal of credit. Before this library existed, readers of books in English either bought new (and not much fiction was kept in stock), imported books if they were well off, or went to the Rainbow Cafe or other spots in town that carried swapped backpacker books at a low price. That is certainly what we had to do. THe library has been a real boon to those who live in the ANtigua area.
Re philanthropy and this particular library. THe #1 issue it has is space to house the much larger collection of books. THose who frequented it before it changed locations, remember when there were many more books and room to see what was on the shelves. With the rising price of rents in Antigua, the library has not been able to
raise its membership to a level that can keep up with the rising rental market. Too much commercial real estate has been gobbling up too little available space.
It WOULD be nice if some ex-pat w/o heirs would donate their Antigua home upon returning to the USA etc to serve as the library. In decades past previous ex-pats have left substantial homes to AMerican universities, other non-profit orgs. etc. so it is certainly not unprecedented. Often these properties have been sold by the orgs back into the real estate market.It would be impossible for the local Amercan Legion post to raise enough money to BUY a property to house the collection. It will have to go on paying rent unless some kind philanthropist comes along…..
So if you are a long term visitor to Antigua or live there, support the place. It would be a shame to see it close due to lack of funding.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:09 am
Oooops, and I forgot to give credit to all those ex-pats and long term travelers who have, over the years, donated their time to the library…Bill would know, but likely there are dozens of people who have contributed time “on the desk” and shelving. I know several who have and thank them for keeping the place open so we members who cannot volunteer, can continue to read a decent variety of books. Actually it is a good way to meet lots of the local ex-pat community quickly.
November 29th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Gordo, are you starving (your name would suggest otherwise? Is Juan starving? I wasn’t suggesting that the poor ambiguous starving people out there that don’t have ovens do the fundraising. It is most likely that they I was suggesting that YOU do it. I was suggesting that YOU have an unhealthy mindset that thinks the only way to save the library is for somebody else with “too much money and nowhere to spend it” to do it. Maybe with your keen sense of underprivileged Guatemalans you could think of a more appropriate fund raising effort than my cultural specific car wash or bake sale suggestions. I could come up with a few, but my sarcasm would be taken seriously and you would judge my religion again instead of my arguments. You are hardly an authority on what is or is not Christian.
I would never suggest an English library for Petén and I think you are getting off track. We could talk in length about what the poor people with no ovens need in Petén, but this discussion was not about that. It started as a discussion about who should support the library. The socialism which you love so much should support the mentality of everybody paying more and sharing the burden, but the marxism in you thinks that those who can afford more should pay more and those who can’t pay more should still receive the benefits, even if those benefits don’t help them at all.
November 29th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Elgordo, I don't hang out in hospitals where patients have TB and Ebola for a similar reason. I get enough exposure to radical worldviews from the MSM and the circles I run in here in Antigua.
November 29th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Juan, I can't donate a building, but I'll sponsor any needy family. They can apply with Bill or Duane at the library and I'll cover a portion of their annual fee.
November 29th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Elgordo, I think we learn as much about you as we do Sweaty in these exchanges. Juan offered a viewpoint intended to 'balance' the sentiment you and Juan have expressed. Earlier you were encouraging me to seek diverse opinions, but every time I see you comment on something different from your own opinion, you're hostile. Why the double standard?
November 29th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
What is big deal about an oven? They are built out of clay and used outside and you cook with a woodfire. You usually need to construct a roof of somekind over your outside kitchen for when the rains come. Lots of poor people have these ovens, It is a traditional part of the Maya kitchen.
November 30th, 2009 at 2:10 am
I think that Sweaty made a good point and I said so. If you onsider my comments sarcasm, will that make them not hostile? Sarcasm is insulting generally and I respond in kind. I actually agree with many things that Sweaty says, but I play devil's advocate if he goes too far. For intance, he could have mentioned fundraisers without implying that Chapines are lazy.
November 30th, 2009 at 2:41 am
I don't consider myself a socialist or a marxist. I believe that people should contribute to society according to their means. In Guatemala, there is no sense of civic duty and obligation. In that respect I guess we're very neo-republicanish. Had you been clear and suggested that Juan and/or I pay the rent, I could not have responded as I did. But that's not what you said.
November 30th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
I don't think Guatemalans are lazy. In fact, most of my friends are some of the hardest working people I have ever met. I think their lives could be better if they could be taught to work just as hard, but smarter or with better tools, but their work ethic is not in question for most of the people I know.
I DO think that Guatemalans in Gringo heavy areas have an unhealthy dependency on the rich white man. Instead of thinking how they personally could divert their energy towards helping the community, they expect things to be given to them. This has been caused by too many white people giving things away and creating that expectation, but many caught in that train of thought are more than happy to stay there (especially the "middle class.) Your comments reflected that dependency, rather than an independent spirit. More would get done and the country would be better if those chapines would take some initiative and personal responsibility to do things for themselves by themselves.
December 1st, 2009 at 12:57 am
I just want to make it clear that the library is in no danger of closing. To my knowledge the library has only broken even 2 months over the last 3 years. This is not a panic situation. What we need are new members. If you, or a family member, are a reader, you will love the library's variety of books.
There are quite a few of us, in the Antigua community, who will go to a long way to keep the library open. Please come join us.
December 1st, 2009 at 2:08 am
I think you're absolutely right. The dependency, however, is not just with gringos. I can't count the times my mother has been asked for things by someone she previously helped. It would be funny if it weren't so sad. I think it's an indigena thing. Not that they're more dependent than anyone else, but that culturally there's no shame in asking. I mentioned philanthropy because it's an actual option with gringos. I am often amazed at the generosity and selflessness that some gringos demonstrate. I have never heard of a wealthy Guatemalan leaving his fortune to charity.
December 5th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
There is no intention on the part of the American Legion to ever close the library. If a low income individual or family cares to take our books we would certainly give them access at a minimum cost or no cost at all. We originally intended the library to earn funds to pay tuitions for low income children. That has not happened however the American legion has 13 children in school using funds from other sources. Hopefully we will find a location where we can shelve our whole collection ( I have about 50 cases of books in my garage). Also when we have more volunteers we will extend the hours. All of the books have been donated and we do not censor. Whatever comes in goes on the shelf.