Tiny Costa Rica town investing in libraries, Trenton should learn from

As one might expect, a website luring potential residents to Costa Rica portrayed Santiago de Puriscal as a paradiselike destination.

“Santiago de Puriscal, nestled in the beauty of the mountains just one hour southwest of Costa Rica’s capital city of San Jose, features spectacular views of the Central Valley, Lush Green Valleys, even the Pacific Ocean!” (All true). “Noted for its quiet, laid back lifestyle, great schools, very low crime rate and close proximity to all major attractions, Puriscal is ideal for those looking for a great place to call home.” (Exactly). “Excellent, very low cost transportation system, pure water, clean, fresh air, kind, friendly, happy people…a small town atmosphere, likened to the U.S. in the 1950’s.” (Indisputable). All factual information although Puriscal propagandists omitted one endearing fact.

In March, city officials completed construction of a new three-story library, an investment for youth and community, a sort of declaration that the city’s future connects to education.

Officials spent 470 million colones or about $870,000 U.S. dollars to build the Biblioteca Publica de Puriscal which includes a computer lab area, cultural amphitheater, several community rooms and other meeting spaces.

A personal vacation visit found young students engaged in an after school social setting while women completed an art class project before men arrived for a group discussion about depression.

Mind you, Puriscal registers as economically challenged as many workers earn approximately $20 or less per day.

Puriscal’s population hovers near 30,000 with a per capita income of $6,810 compared to Trenton’s 86,000 residents and $17,021 per capita index.

Costa Rica government officials have wagered that a library offers incredible value.

“We’ve been waiting for a beautiful building like this for so many years. For the past 35 or 40 years our library has been in several different places. But we’ve never had our own building,” library Director Rosa Quiros Herrera said via interpreter Laura Mora.

Mora, a Trenton resident on vacation in her hometown Puriscal, expressed excitement.

“It’s going to have such an impact on Puriscal, especially education for the children,” Mora said.

More than 20 percent of all Ticos are ten years old or younger.

Quiros Herrera said several events have generated a groundswell of interest.

“So many people several times that we didn’t have enough chairs. People sat on the floor,” Quiros Herrera said.

This library, especially with Internet access, will yield unlimited opportunity and open doors to the world.

The investment seems as bold as the bright yellow and blue colors chosen for a building less than a block away from the Comtrasuli bus terminal, a hub for residents headed to work or shop in San Jose.

Trenton should follow Puriscal’s lead and reopen any one or all of the closed satellite libraries.

Trenton will experience real revitalization when leaders invest in education.

Libraries, learning and education remain crucial to Trenton’s future.

L.A. PARKER - THE TRENTONIAN Colors chosen for Biblioteca Pública de Puriscal were just as bold as the library initiative.