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R.1, R.2, W.2, W.4, W.7

Books by Burro

How a generous man and his hardworking donkeys are helping kids in Colombia read

April 2019

By Tod Olson

For many people it has never been easier to read. You can pick up a Harry Potter book at the local library. You can order the latest best-seller from Amazon. You can even download an ebook and start reading right away.

But if you live near La Gloria—in the South American country of Colombia—you might get your books a different way. They might arrive by donkey. And you would have a teacher named Luis Soriano to thank.

For many people, getting books is easy. You can pick up a Harry Potter book at the local library. You can order the latest best-seller from Amazon. You can even download an ebook and start reading right away.

But if you live near La Gloria—in the South American country of Colombia—you might get books a different way. They might come by donkey.

For many people it’s never been easier to read. You can pick up a Harry Potter book at the local library, order the latest best-seller from Amazon, or even download an ebook and start reading immediately.

But if you live near La Gloria—in the South American country of Colombia—you might get your books a different way. They might arrive by donkey—and you would have a teacher named Luis Soriano to thank.

A Traveling Library

Jim McMahon/Mapman ®

The library travels around Colombia, a country in South America.

In the 1990s, Luis was a teacher in La Gloria. But most of his students didn’t own books. And they had no way to get them. The area around La Gloria was very rural. The nearest library was miles away. Few roads were paved, and many people didn’t have cars.

Luis decided to share his own collection of 70 books. And he knew exactly how to transport them. He renamed his two donkeys Alfa and Beto. Together, their names spelled the Spanish word for alphabet, alfabeto. He then made special saddlebags for the donkeys and stuffed them with books.

The traveling library was hard work. Luis rode through forests and waded across rivers. When he arrived at a town, he put up a sign that advertised his project. The sign read “Biblioburro”: biblio for library and burro for donkey.

When people first saw him, they laughed. But Biblioburro was a big hit. At every town, Luis gathered kids and read to them. He let them borrow books until the next time he came.

In the 1990s, Luis Soriano was a teacher in La Gloria. Most of his students didn’t own books. And they had no way to get them. The area around La Gloria was very rural. The nearest library was miles away. Few roads were paved, and many people didn’t have cars.

Luis decided to share his own collection of 70 books. He renamed his two donkeys Alfa and Beto. Together, their names spelled alfabeto. That’s the Spanish word for alphabet. Luis made special saddlebags for the two donkeys. He filled the bags with books.

The traveling library was hard work. Luis rode through forests. He waded across rivers. In each town, he put up a sign. It read “Biblioburro”: biblio for library and burro for donkey.

When people first saw him, they laughed. But Biblioburro was a hit. At every town, Luis read to kids. He let them borrow books until the next time he came.

In the 1990s, Luis was a teacher in La Gloria. Most of his students didn’t own books, and they had no way to get them. The area around La Gloria was very rural. The nearest library was miles away. Few roads were paved, and many people didn’t have cars.

Luis decided to share his own collection of 70 books, and he knew exactly how to transport them. He renamed his two donkeys Alfa and Beto. Together, their names spelled the Spanish word for alphabet, alfabeto. He then made special saddlebags for the donkeys and stuffed them with books.

The traveling library was hard work. Luis rode through forests and waded across rivers. When he arrived at a town, he put up a sign that read “Biblioburro”: biblio for library and burro for donkey.

People initially laughed at the surprising sight, but Biblioburro quickly gained popularity. At every town, Luis gathered kids and read to them. He let them borrow books until his next visit.

Books and Beyond

At one point, Biblioburro got some help. A Colombian author told Luis’s story on the radio. He asked his listeners to donate books to the project. Before long, gifts piled up at Luis’s home. Eventually, he had almost 5,000 books.

Since then, Biblioburro has continued to grow. The project now has more donkeys and workers. It even has an actual library building in La Gloria filled with books.

Luis still rides his four-legged library around the country. But he doesn’t just carry books. He also brings laptop computers to help kids connect to the internet.

These kids still don’t travel much outside of their towns. But now, the whole world comes to them.

At one point, Biblioburro got some help. An author told Luis’s story on the radio. He asked listeners to donate books to the project. They did! After a while, Luis had almost 5,000 books.

Biblioburro has kept growing. The project now has more donkeys and workers. It even has an actual library building in La Gloria.

Luis still rides his donkeys around the country. But now he carries more than books. He brings laptop computers too. He helps kids connect to the internet.

These kids still don’t travel much outside of their towns. But now, the whole world comes to them.

Biblioburro got a boost when a Colombian author told Luis’s story on the radio. He urged his listeners to donate books to the project, and gifts soon piled up at Luis’s home. Eventually, he had almost 5,000 books.

Since then, Biblioburro has continued to expand. The project now has more donkeys and workers, as well as an actual library building in La Gloria filled with books.

Luis still rides his four-legged library around the country, but these days he carries more than books. He also brings laptop computers to help kids connect to the internet.

These kids still don’t travel much outside of their towns—but now, the whole world comes to them.