<![CDATA[FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY ROSARITO - Blog of past stories]]>Tue, 19 May 2026 22:05:08 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[March 19th, 2026]]>Thu, 19 Mar 2026 11:13:26 GMThttps://www.friendsofthelibrary.com.mx/blog-of-past-stories/march-19th-2026Meet Cristina —a proud mom who says her son Ian has become what she calls, with a laugh, “a Book Monster.” Before the Bookmobile, reading was a challenge. Then something clicked — the right book, the right moment, the right encouragement.
Now? Ian devours books, the way "Cookie Monster" devours cookies! He tells his friends about his favorites. And Cristina says, with a mix of pride and disbelief: “I never expected this transformation — but here it is.”
These are the small miracles we see at our bookmobile stops.... that your support makes possible.
]]><![CDATA[Summer program 2025  "Puppets and Shadows"]]>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 22:20:53 GMThttps://www.friendsofthelibrary.com.mx/blog-of-past-stories/summer-of-puppet-and-shadowIn late August, FOL partnered with Abra Palabra, a community reading room in one of the busiest neighborhoods in town, for a workshop held 3 days week for 3 weeks. A total of 17 children enjoyed a fun program that included story telling, writing and shadow puppetry. Friends of the Library's bookmobile was present once a week at Abra Palabra’s location in Colonia Mazatlán.  At the end of the 3 week series the children split into teams and each put together a show for their families and guests. Everyone celebrated the success of the workshop with pizza and snacks.
We asked the children who attended this "Summer of Puppets and Shadows" series what they liked most about participating, and they answered BEING TOGETHER and MAKING NEW FRIENDS.
Yes, we read books, we invented characters, we created stories, we put together puzzles, we made puppets, we jumped rope, we drew, we cut out things, we woke up every day with smiles and stretching, we enjoyed snacks and pizza—-
—all of that, yes, but we did it together, supporting each other, and THAT WAS THE BEST PART.
Once again, we experienced that the best ways of inhabiting our world are when we build a community. Building community and promoting reading…. that is a summer success story.]]><![CDATA[KPBS visits our Bookmobile]]>Sat, 04 Oct 2025 12:57:49 GMThttps://www.friendsofthelibrary.com.mx/blog-of-past-stories/kpbs-visits-our-bookmobileWe loved sharing our bookmobile with the KPBS audience and greatly appreciate the opportunity.
Matt Bowler, KPBS video journalist, visited our bookmobile earlier this year following it as it moved from its secure parking spot at CEART to Colonia Independencia, one of its regular stops.
He filmed the process of loading up, taking off, and riding on the boulevard on the way to the site. He had the opportunity to observe our bookmobile librarian and volunteers, and to watch the arrival of the children and families. His interviews with some of our users showed how much the bookmobile means to the community.

He highlighted the fact that our beloved bookmobile is beginning to experience the challenges of age, and the importance of our current fund drive to build a replacement "nest egg" for the time that might be needed. 
]]><![CDATA[Bookmobile volunteers]]>Fri, 23 May 2025 10:45:04 GMThttps://www.friendsofthelibrary.com.mx/blog-of-past-stories/bookmobile-volunteers
We have built an amazing dedicated volunteer team over the years. These videos introduce you to a few of them. See Michelle walk you through the “routine” as users arrive at one of our Bookmobile’s biweekly stops. As with Barbara, who you see in the next video, she is totally bilingual. She can help our expat supporters understand how things work at the bookmobile. But she can instantly change languages to interact with our users of all ages. Ann, in a third video, has a professional librarian background plus a passion for what we do bringing books to the community of Rosarito. These volunteers are a total blessing for us. We didn't always have such a strong team to support our Program Coordinator and Bookmobile Librarian. But now we have these three and others who make our programs stronger every day.
]]><![CDATA[February 20th, 2025]]>Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:04:32 GMThttps://www.friendsofthelibrary.com.mx/blog-of-past-stories/february-20th-2025FOL IN THE SCHOOLS
One of the programs we have maintained for several years is Somos Lectores (WE ARE READERS), which is in cooperation with the local school system. Our team goes into the schools, bringing our bookmobile and working with classroom reading clubs, lending books, and holding reading comprehension contests.
For as many schools as possible we help them establish or reactivate their own  school libraries. FOL runs workshops for teachers and “parent chats” to share with mothers and fathers the importance of books and reading for their children's lives. We have worked for about 15 years with elementary schools, for 3 years with kindergartens and more recently with high schools as well. Every year, teachers and school directors look to us to team up and provide these services. All of this is possible thanks to the people who support our programs through memberships, donations and our fundraiser events. 
]]><![CDATA[The "routine" at the Bookmobile]]>Thu, 19 Sep 2024 18:26:13 GMThttps://www.friendsofthelibrary.com.mx/blog-of-past-stories/the-routine-at-the-bookmobileSee the “routine” as users arrive at one of our Bookmobile’s biweekly stops. Michele, one of our volunteers, walks you through the process.  As with Barbara,  also seen in the video at the checkout desk, she is totally bilingual. She can help our expat supporters understand how things work at the bookmobile. Then she can instantly change languages to interact with our users of all ages. These volunteers are a total blessing for us.
]]><![CDATA[Rush hour at the bookmobile]]>Tue, 26 Mar 2024 23:07:49 GMThttps://www.friendsofthelibrary.com.mx/blog-of-past-stories/rush-hour-at-the-bookmobilePicture
The love for reading is manifested in the participation of many girls, boys and their families at each of our stops.
Here in the Machado neighborhood, next to the Pedro Moreno Primary School,  a constant stream of girls and boys return books and take out new ones. They come accompanied by their mothers, little brothers and sisters, and sometimes fathers. Activity peaks at the beginning and end of the school day.
Librarian Jael, with the support of 5 volunteers, has everything organized so that the operation flows smoothly.
Getting on to the BookMobile, looking for the next book to read, is something our users look forward to with excitement. And that's what it's all about: having fun reading today, will make us want to be in the company of a good book in all of our future days. 
Next time it will be  in the Independencia neighborhood (Behind El Florido), where we have more and more avid participants who happily come every 15 days to the Bookmobile stop.
]]><![CDATA[Meet our bookmobile librarian...]]>Mon, 26 Feb 2024 22:33:39 GMThttps://www.friendsofthelibrary.com.mx/blog-of-past-stories/meet-our-bookmobile-librarianShe keeps the wheels rolling to promote the love of reading
  • She "does it all": drives the vehicle, keeps it maintained, catalogs the books, works with individual readers
  • She trains and manages a great team of volunteers, but her experience and expertise are the "magic" in our bookmobile programs. 
  • Her native Spanish language, her Mexican commercial driver's license, her background as a teacher and special training in reading promotion... all of this are what make her the "heart and soul" of the bookmobile week in and week out
]]><![CDATA[Jingle Books All the Way....]]>Thu, 25 Jan 2024 19:59:04 GMThttps://www.friendsofthelibrary.com.mx/blog-of-past-stories/jingle-books-all-the-wayKids stocked up with extra books from our bookmobile for a reading-fueled holiday break.
December brings school vacations, family gatherings, lots of holiday activities. But for an avid reader, reading never stops. And we know we are having success in our mission to create a community of readers when we see kids “stocking up” for the holidays Picture
Avid Reader:  Andrea is one of our BookMobile’s most enthusiastic readers. She wants to be a filmmaker, that’s why she wanted to read as many stories as possible over the holidays.
In Colonia Reforma, the Bookmobile makes a "pre-holiday" visit, so that users can return the books they have already read, and stock up on books they will read during the Christmas holidays. Without a doubt, books make great company all year round. See you soon! We'll return to this neighborhood on January 9 to begin a whole new year of reading!
]]><![CDATA[SOWING THE SEEDS....]]>Wed, 13 Dec 2023 17:32:23 GMThttps://www.friendsofthelibrary.com.mx/blog-of-past-stories/sowing-the-seeds... of the love for reading in Rosarito
Our BookMobile visits in schools create so much enthusiasm.
This past month we have reached over 1000 students in 4 elementary schools.
We sowed the seed for the love of books with help from teachers, parents and our great team of volunteers.
Our goal is to reach more people, especially kids, that will enjoy the pleasure of reading.
Thanks to the support of our donors and volunteers, we keep reaching more and more fun loving readers.
​Often our bookmobile visits have a theme. It's just another way to nurture excitement about reading.
Halloween and Day of the Dead was the theme in late October and early November at 2 of our bookmobile stops.
Marce read stories about both celebrations to kids, and some of our volunteers came in costume.
]]>