Puertas del Saber Library

Mission: Giving life to words through education, environmental awareness, and intercultural exchange.

The Puertas del Saber (Doors of Knowledge) Library is located in the small, rural town of Limon 2 on the southwest Pacific coast of Nicaragua, about 50 miles north of Costa Rica. World-class surfing is attracting growing tourism and a small expat community. The library was founded in 2011 by a group of local American homeowners, nonprofit workers, and community-minded Nicaraguans who first pointed out the need. A large part of the work of the library is to promote literacy, in this poor country which does not have a habit of reading, and to open “the doors of knowledge” to a wider world of possibilities.

The library’s board and committees are a blend of Nicaraguans and Americans, with the purpose of improving relations between the groups and developing local Nicaraguans to take on significant roles.

The library programming is varied and growing. As many as 50 children a day come to the library on weekday afternoons to read or participate in activities. Tutoring and homework help are provided for up to 80 high school students twice a week. Reading promoters visit the elementary schools in 3 communities weekly, where they read in every classroom and loan books at recess. The library offers computers and free internet service for students doing homework. Every month, a community-wide event is offered on a social or environmental theme. Classes, such as computer use and English, are also offered.

The library attempts to span different family, religious, and political groups in the community, making its resources available to all and building the civic sector.

The Puertas del Saber Library welcomes visitors, donations of money and materials, and volunteers. Longer volunteer opportunities are available as supervised internships. The ability to speak some Spanish would be very helpful for volunteers or interns. Please feel free to contact us at limonlibrary@gmail.com.

Consider donating a book: Amazon Wish List