Muscat Daily
September 03, 2013

As part of its Let’s Read Campaign, Dar al Atta’a held a sale of used books at Al Qurum Complex on Saturday.

All the proceeds went towards funding the charitable organisation’s mobile library called Maktabati (my library), which is expected to start touring the country in November.

The Let’s Read Campaign began in 2007 and is committed to promoting the culture of reading among children in Oman. Jane Jaffer, the campaign’s founder, said, “A group of people, all volunteers, are working in a variety of ways to make books more accessible to children. The Let’s Read campaign has organised play rooms and libraries in hospitals, schools, and nurseries.

“We collect used books and hold monthly sales, conduct story-telling sessions in schools, buy books, organise annual children’s writing competitions and publish the winning stories. We also hold an annual Big Book Day with lots of literary activities and story-telling sessions.”

Jane said that the organisation is grateful to Women’s Guild in Oman for donating a 50-seater bus. “We’re in the process of turning the bus into a mobile library. We are thankful to Al Qurum Complex management who has given us a place to sell our books in order to fund the Maktabati project.

“We have hundreds of books donated by individuals, libraries, and even bookshops. We sell as many as 900 of them for as little 500bz per book during our monthly book sales.”

She said that the bus is expected to start going around the capital area and its outskirts in November. “We want to reach all the governorates of Oman because we feel children can’t develop their reading skills if they don’t have access to a variety of books. When children choose the books they’re reading, they’re more motivated to read them. Reading for pleasure is important as it hones their reading skills and their vocabulary.

“Reading is also the key to learning about the world and it ultimately improves employability. In addition to the book sales, we have created merchandise such as T-shirts, bookmarks and calendars to help fund the Maktabati bus project as we’ll need a driver, a librarian, insurance and the costs associated with running the vehicle.

“We’re currently looking for sponsorship to cover those costs. We’re looking for volunteers – especially Arabic speaking volunteers – to help children with reading practice, and we’re also looking for a permanent location to set up a bookshop.”