18 July 2005

We throw books at the Solomons

| Kerces
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Not content with just fixing domestic violence in East Timor, the ACT Government is helping send book sfrom our public libraries to the Solomon Islands. Apparently the Honiara Library was destroyed in all the fighting and the resident’s have been bookless for the past few years.

The full media release is below, but I was intrigued by this bit: “ACT Public Library staff were able to select suitable books during their routine collection maintenance.”

So they’re getting our old books? Or new ones? And what if those books happen to be the special favourites of ACT Library frequenters? Will the Honiarians have to take out ACT Library membership?

ACT GIVES BOOKS TO SOLOMONS

Honiarans will soon be delving into books in their local library thanks to the donation of hundreds of books to the Solomon Islands.

The donation, organised by Canberra Legal Aid solicitor Brian Liddy and ACT Public Library staff, will help restock the shelves of the Honiara Library.

The library was largely destroyed during civil unrest in the lead-up to Australian intervention in 2003.

Mr Liddy, who spent 10 months doing legal aid work in the Solomons, said a lot of work had gone into refurbishing the library.

“Honiarans are avid readers,” he said. “A group of locals and expats fixed up the library, but they still needed books.

“I started thinking about the ACT Library, and I thought, why don’t we try there?”

Mr Liddy worked with Legal Aid chief executive Chris Staniforth and the Chief Minister’s Office in planning the donation. Canberran Robyn Henderson co-ordinated things in Honiara.

ACT Public Library staff were able to select suitable books during their routine collection maintenance, and Mr Liddy arranged for the Defence Force to transport them to Honiara.

Mr Stanhope said he was happy that the ACT had been able to help.

“We have an excellent library service in the ACT,” he said. “I’d like to thank Legal Aid and the ACT Public Library staff for making sure these books will go to a good home.”

A defence contractor is due to collect the books from the Griffith Library on Monday 18 July. The books will be transported to Brisbane before being lifted to Honiara.

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Absent Diane5:03 pm 19 Jul 05

I am pretty keen when I have some time to learn an asian language properly… I would seriously love to live somewhere in SE Asia

dan enaknya!

Absent Diane4:56 pm 19 Jul 05

This chicken is cheap!!! I love it!!!

maybe that explains the chicken reference…. I might be rustier than thou, but I didn’t follow that.

Absent Diane4:38 pm 19 Jul 05

saya tidak baik bahasa sekali…. (i think)

I get a vague gist of what you have said – something like you studied at language school in melbourne… but the bit before that I am lost 🙂

I haven’t studied bahasa for 10 years and didn’t really pay attention anyway… so I should know more than I do…

I didn’t get to go to no fancy pants school but I lived in KL for three years. Thus my comments will be in (bad) english, unless I have a brain fart and remember all I’ve forgotten. You’re starting to refresh me…

Still got a really bad Batik shirt featuring cobras and rendang stains. Pretty sure it would top most others in a ‘worst shirt’ comp.

nama saya Fauzi dalam bahasa sebelum ‘numpeng tanya’ di sekolah bahasa di Melbourne

Absent Diane4:10 pm 19 Jul 05

Nama saya gemuk kepala
Ayam ini murah
Dan apa nama anda
Baik baik sekali

No comment on showing up to a party on Saturday night dressed in Batik.

The kind of T Shirt that I brought in Indonesia were along the lines of Nike, Just do it’s (sic)

I won the ‘wear the worst shirt avaliable back to Australia’ competition though.

As long as you don’t own an “I Love Bam Bam” tee-shirt. Those things are soooo un-cool.

sorry, just read that, akan should be bisa

Saya Kira kami akan berbicara. (Please don’t shoot me for knowing indon – I have very un-ducklike tendencies)

You are a font of knowledge Maelinar. Perhaps you are taking the punt that no one will be any the wiser and writing WTF you want.

That being said, I speak bit of Bahasa Malayu, and am conviced you can do it Indo style…

Hmm, need to brush up on my SI.

Address your book to:

Wanfela man o mari husat i no got buku fo ritim mo raitim
Wanfela ailan we i impotan fo buku to go
Soloman Ailan
Saut Pasifik

That’ll get your book there.

One other point to note, don’t send over porn or anything with religious overtones.

I didn’t mean to imply this was a bad thing to do, I just thought it raised a whole bunch of questions about how they were going about it.

K

I’d just like to know if we’re sending over books that were allready knackered.

If so I guess it’s a nice thing to do.

Books are going to people in a very poor country who don’t have them. Why is this a bad thing?

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