Schools for Children of Cambodia (SCC) sponsored seven librarians, teachers, and administrators from its supported schools to attend week-long Library Management Workshops held February 25-29 and March 3-7. The workshops, organized by Shanti Volunteer Association (SVA) and JICA in partnership with Cambodia's Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, aimed to improve the quality of library activities as a means of improving overall quality of primary education.

Cambodia's Teacher Training Colleges do not have formal librarian training programs, so this was the first opportunity for education providers at SCC-supported schools to be exposed to discussions on library management, storytelling, and the impact of reading on child development. When we visited her library at Khnar Primary School after the training, Pheap, the librarian, was busy adding book codes to the 50 children's storybooks that she received at the end of the workshop. She was enthusiastic to share her new knowledge with us and was excited that her book labels will help make her book loan program run more efficiently.

Pheap, Khnar Primary School's librarian, proudly displays her newly cataloged books: