A Street Librarian's Quest to Bring Books to Everyone | Storybook Maze | TED

翻译人员: Tianyun Liu 校对人员: suya f.

It all started on a stoop,

一切都始于门廊上，

one of those summer days in Baltimore

那是巴尔的摩的一个夏日，

where it was too hot to be inside with no AC,

没有空调的室内过于炎热，

and it seemed like the heat had pushed the entire neighborhood out

而且酷热似乎把整个社区

onto their front stoops.

都逼到了户外。

I grabbed a book and started reading to my nieces.

我拿起一本书， 开始给侄女们读故事。

After a few pages,

几页之后，

other little heads started popping up on the other side of the book.

书的另一边突然冒出了几个小脑袋。

So of course, I invited the neighborhood kids to join us.

当然，我邀请了街坊 的其他孩子们一起加入我们。

When I was finished reading, the kids didn't want story time to stop.

当我读完书时， 孩子们不想让故事时间停止。

They asked me to read another book and then another one.

他们让我再读一本， 然后再读一本。

After a few rounds, I had had enough.

几轮之后，我受够了。

So I said, "You guys can read a book at home."

所以我说： “你们可以在家里读书。”

"We don't have any books at home,"

“我们家里没有书，”

was their overwhelming response.

他们一致回答道。

It was a harsh reminder

这残酷地提醒我们，

that there are children who don't have a single book at home.

有些孩子家里连一本书都没有。

So what did I do about it?

那么，我该做些什么？

I started reading to the neighborhood kids every weekend.

我开始每个周末给街坊的孩子们读书。

I called it Stoop Storytime,

我称之为门廊故事时间，

and the process inspired me to begin working in the public library.

这个过程激发了 我开始在公共图书馆工作的灵感。

However, as a public librarian,

然而，作为一名公共图书馆管理员，

I quickly realized that the kids that I saw coming into the library

我很快意识到， 进入图书馆的孩子们

weren't the same ones I was reading to out on my front stoop.

并不是我在门廊上给他们读书的那群人。

I began researching and learned about library barriers

我开始进行研究， 并了解到

有关图书馆鸿沟 以及所谓的书荒现象。

and something called book deserts.

A book desert is an area or a community with limited access to books

书荒是指一个地区或社区缺乏获取书籍

and reading materials.

和阅读材料的机会。

I slowly realized that I wasn't going to meet my neighbors

我慢慢意识到 我不会在图书馆内

who need it most inside library's walls.

见到最需要书籍的邻居。

So I quit my job and took to the streets,

所以我辞掉了工作， 走上街头，

becoming a radical street librarian.

成为了一名非同凡响的街头图书管理员。

When I was putting this talk together,

当我整理这个演讲时，

TED asked me, what exactly is a radical street librarian?

TED 问我，非同凡响的 街头图书管理员到底是什么？

I was like, well, I sort of made it up a few years ago,

我当时想，好吧， 那是我几年前随意编造的，

but it's a term I use to refer to anyone doing work to increase literary access

但我用它来指那些在非传统环境中努力

outside of traditional settings.

增加阅读资源的人。

As a radical street librarian,

作为一名非同凡响的街头图书管理员，

I'm making books appear in everyday places in extraordinary ways.

我正在让书籍以非同寻常的方式 出现在日常生活中。

I install free, public book vending machines,

我安装免费的公共图书自动售货机，

host street-corner story times,

举办街角故事会，

and pop up on the block with free bookstores,

并在街区开设免费书店，

so kids who don’t have McDonald’s money

这样买不起麦当劳的孩子，

don't have to worry about having book-fair money.

也不会担心买不起书。

I deeply believe in books by any means necessary.

不管怎样，我都深信书籍的重要性。

So whether at a community basketball game,

因此，无论是在社区篮球比赛、

corner store, beauty supply, or front stoop,

街角商店、美容用品店 还是前台，

I utilize my expertise as a librarian

我都会利用自己作为 图书管理员的专业知识

to curate collections that reflect the kids reading them.

来策划反映孩子们阅读内容的馆藏。

This means books with characters that look like them, talk like them,

这意味着书里的人物长得像他们、 像他们一样说话、

go to the same places, speak the same languages.

去同样的地方、 说同样的语言。

Book deserts are often found in economically disadvantaged

图书鸿沟通常位于 经济弱势地区

or rural areas,

或农村地区，

where bookstores and libraries are scarce.

那里的书店和图书馆很少。

In higher-income communities,

在高收入社区，

there are more books per child than in low-income communities.

一个孩子的书比整个 低收入社区的书还要多。

For example,

例如，

in Philadelphia's Chestnut Hill,

在费城的栗山，

a study found that there were about 13 books for every child

一项研究发现，每个孩子 大约有 13 本书，

while in high-poverty communities of the same city,

而在同一个城市的高贫困社区，

it found up to 300 children could share one book.

它发现多达 300 个孩子 可以分享一本书。

We know communities with high illiteracy rates are often plagued with poverty,

我们知道，文盲率高的社区 往往饱受贫困、健康堪忧、

poor health and unemployment,

还有失业的困扰，

while their literate counterparts are healthier,

而有文化的社区则更健康，

with greater numbers of employment and higher household incomes.

就业人数更多，家庭收入更高。

So I know what you're thinking.

所以我知道你在想什么。

"There are plenty of bookstores and libraries where I live."

“我住的地方有很多书店和图书馆。”

But here's the kicker:

但关键在于：

the presence of bookstores and libraries in a neighborhood

社区中存在书店和图书馆

doesn't necessarily disqualify it as a book desert.

并不一定会抹去它成为 图书鸿沟的可能。

Lower-income neighbors may lack the resources to purchase books

低收入邻居可能缺乏从书店购买书籍

from the bookstore or pay library fines.

或支付图书馆罚款的资源。

Residents may be working multiple jobs or facing hardships

居民可能从事多份工作 或面临困难，

that make a trip to the library an additional stressor.

这使得去图书馆的交通 变成额外的压力。

Barriers like requirement of identification,

身份要求、居住证明、

proof of address, fines and fees,

罚款和费用等障碍

all while seemingly routine,

虽然看似司空见惯，

can become substantial obstacles for families facing hardships.

但对面临困境的家庭来说， 也可能成为重大的障碍。

There's also historical barriers,

还有一些历史遗留的障碍，

such as anti-literacy laws

例如反扫盲法

and library segregation policies

和图书馆隔离政策，

that have excluded Black communities for decades.

几十年来一直将黑人 社区排除在外。

Librarians understand

图书馆员明白，

that the habit of visiting libraries is often generational tradition.

参观图书馆的习惯通常 是世代相传的传统。

Many of the parents we see currently bringing their kids into the library

我们目前看到的许多 带孩子进入图书馆的家长

were once brought in by their parents when they were children,

都是在他们还是孩子的 时候被父母带进来的

and so on and so forth.

依此类推。

But for Black communities that faced arrest for reading,

但是对于因阅读 而面临逮捕的黑人社区来说，

the impact of library segregation

图书馆的隔离

and anti-literacy laws lingers,

和反扫盲法的影响依然存在，

and a hesitancy to visit libraries still exists to this day.

访问图书馆的犹豫情绪 至今仍然存在。

So what can be done about book deserts and book access?

那么，在图书鸿沟和图书访问 权限方面我们可以做些什么呢？

Research tells us that increasing access to appropriate print materials

研究告诉我们， 增加获得适当印刷材料的机会

is an incredibly effective means of enhancing the reading achievement

是提高经济弱势儿童阅读成绩的

of economically disadvantaged children.

一种非常有效的手段。

To put it plainly, the more books a child has early access to,

说白了，孩子抢先阅读的书越多，

the more likely they are to succeed as readers.

他们成功成为读者的 可能性就越大。

Though I recently created the term, being a street librarian is nothing new.

尽管我最近创建了这个词， 但成为街头图书馆员并不是什么新鲜事。

I'm inspired by the many mobile librarians who came before me.

我的灵感来自于我的先辈们， 其他的移动图书馆员。

I'm just a little more hood with it.

我只是更有方法罢了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

One of my favorite stories was born out of the Great Depression.

我最喜欢的一个故事 诞生于大萧条。

The Pack Horse Library was created to deliver books to residents

Pack Horse 图书馆的创建是

living in geographically isolated areas.

为了向居住在地理 偏远地区的居民提供书籍。

The librarians packed books into feed sacks, saddle bags

图书馆员把书装进饲料袋、鞍袋

and even old pillow cases,

甚至是旧的枕套里，

and they traveled on horse, mule or foot

然后他们骑马、骡子或徒步

into the mountains of rural Kentucky.

前往肯塔基州农村的山区。

These book women traveled in rain, snow and heat,

这些书中的女性在雨、 雪和炎热的天气中旅行，

and because there weren't roads,

由于没有道路，

they navigated through creek beds and along fence lines,

她们穿过河床和围栏线，

often traveling up to 20 miles per day.

通常每天行驶长达 20 英里。

Sometimes conditions were so harsh

有时候，条件非常恶劣，

that a mule would succumb to -- the weather.

以至于一只骡子会屈服—— 天气。

One book woman continued to walk 18 miles without her mule

一位喜爱读书的女子继续在 没有骡子的情况下走了 18 英里，

to deliver a book to a child living in the mountain tops.

只为给生活在山顶的孩子送了一本书。

One of the most popular items in their library

他们图书馆中 最受欢迎的物品之一

wasn't really a book at all,

根本不是书，

but something that the librarians pieced together,

而是图书馆员拼凑而成的东西，

a scrapbook from the most popular titles.

一本来自最受欢迎的书籍的剪贴簿。

It contained quilt patterns,

它包含被子图案、

the latest fashion clippings,

最新的时尚剪报、

a recipe for opossum soup and children’s stories.

负鼠汤的食谱和儿童故事。

The Pack Horse librarians embodied the street

Pack Horse 图书馆员通过创作

hood librarian spirit by creating custom books

满足社区需求的定制书籍

that met their community's needs.

体现了非同凡响图书馆员的精神。

Librarians haven't just relied on horseback either.

图书馆员也不只是依靠马背。

We've employed elephants in the Elephant Mobile Library,

我们在大象移动图书馆雇用了大象，

ridden camels in Kenya to deliver books to nomadic tribes,

在肯尼亚雇用了骆驼向 游牧部落运送书籍，

and led dogs through the mountains of northern California.

并带领狗穿越加利福尼亚北部的山区。

From bibliobikes in Augusta, Georgia,

从佐治亚州 奥古斯塔的 bibilobikes

to Biblioburro in Colombia,

到哥伦比亚的 Biblioburro，

libraries have taken diverse forms

图书馆采取了多种形式，

and adjusted to different cultures and landscapes.

并适应了不同的文化和景观。

In China, there's a floating library

在中国，有一个由改装后的

made from converted fishing boats

渔船建造的浮动图书馆，

that serves as an island's first public library.

那是岛上的第一个公共图书馆。

And in Baltimore, you'll find me,

在巴尔的摩，你会发现我，

the radical street librarian,

非同凡响的街头图书馆员，

striving to deliver books to your front stoop.

正在努力把书送到你最前面。

Since its inception,

自启动以来，

my initiative has delivered 5,000 books

我的计划已向生活在书荒中的

to children living in book deserts.

儿童提供了 5,000 本书。

(Applause)

（掌声）

In case you're wondering how to be a street librarian,

如果你想知道 如何成为一名街头图书馆员，

here's what you can do.

你可以做以下事情。

First, be radical.

首先，要非同凡响。

Share books in extraordinary ways and think outside the box.

以非凡的方式分享书籍， 跳出框框思考。

Perhaps host a block party book swap

也许可以在当地的自助洗衣店

or a story time at a local laundromat.

举办集书籍交换会或讲故事。

Second, be street.

第二，走上街头。

Connect with your neighbors.

与邻居保持联系。

Talk to people in your community.

与社区中的人交谈。

And third, embody the spirit of a librarian.

第三，体现图书馆员的精神。

Get your library card,

获取借书证，

match books to readers by considering their interests

考虑读者的兴趣和经历，

将书籍与读者配对。

and experiences.

I believe everyone is a reader.

我相信每个人都是读者。

They just haven't found the right book yet.

他们只是还没有找到属于他们的书。

（掌声）

(Applause)

And that's where librarians step in.

这就是图书馆员介入的地方。

Many want to read but don't know where to get started.

许多人想读书， 但不知道从哪里开始。

And visiting the most magical place on Earth, the library,

对于不喜欢图书馆的读者来说， 参观地球上最神奇的地方

can be intimidating for non-library goers.

—图书馆 可能会让人望而却步。

We must meet them where they are and guide them along that journey.

无论他们身在何处， 我们都必须与他们见面，

并引导他们走上这段旅程。

There is an ancient African proverb

有句古老的非洲谚语说，

that when an old man dies, a library burns.

当一个老人死了， 图书馆就会被烧毁。

For neighborhoods where stories are passed down on front stoops,

对于那些在门廊上传递故事的社区，

we must meet our neighbors where they are.

我们必须在他们所在 的地方与邻居们见面。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）