Children in the 6 – 11 age group can enjoy a world of great books on all subjects in the Lubuto Model Library’s Reading Room. Print resources for children of all ages are, currently, made available in the Reading Rooms of the Mumuni Nabukuyu, Mthunzi and Mumuni Choma libraries. The Reading Room’s Talking Circle is a special feature that many find reminiscent of how people gathered for stories and fellowship in the past, in Zambian villages. Staff is on hand to assist individual children to find books that will interest them, whether it is their first or 100th visit. And large and small group storytimes are offered every day.

Lubuto’s comprehensive collections have something for everyone. At the Lubuto Model Library the parts of the collection for children ages 5 and under are housed in the Creative Play Center, and those for ages 12 and up are located in the Teen Center. The catalog records for those materials indicate which where they can be found. All of the books in the three other Lubuto/Mumuni libraries are housed in their Reading Rooms.

We work to identify and acquire the best books for Zambia’s young people that are available. Because of this, Lubuto Library Partners recently received a 17th nomination for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA). The Swedish Arts Council created this award in 2002 in recognition of the fact that “good literature gives the child a place in the world and the world a place in the child. That children have the right to great stories. To lose yourself in a story is to find yourself in the grip of an irresistible power. A power that provokes thought, unlocks language and allows the imagination to roam free.” Lubuto was founded more than twenty years ago based on this understanding.

The 6 – 11 age group can also take advantage of the resources in the Tech Hub, in each Lubuto library. There, they can get a good start in reading with Lubuto’s literacy lessons in the seven major Zambian languages. Also in the Tech Hub are other digital resources like Mwabu, Lubuto’s Zambian Heritage Library and online resources that complement the libraries’ book collections.