Of the over 2,700 libraries working in the Republic of Moldova, 62% were outfitted with computers, while 53% ensure the readers’ access to the Internet. These provide over 35,000 electronic documents and almost 5,000 electronic services for users, Elena Pintilei, director general of the National Library, stated in a press beefing on the occasion of World Book and Copyright Day and the Librarian’s Day, IPN reports.
Elena Pintilei noted that the impact of libraries on the development of communities has increased during the last few years. Last year the National Library staged over 200 cultural-scientific activities. There were established partnerships with libraries of other states in order to learn practices to improve the activity of libraries in the Republic of Moldova. In 2017, there were printed 31 editorial publications and signed five cooperation agreements.
“The National Library is regarded as an area where a young person can come to do the homework, where this has access to the Internet and can work on the computer. In 2017, the digital library “Moldavica” was more often accessed. This shows that the digital library should be further developed,” stated Elena Pintilei.
Andrei Chistol, secretary of state at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, said the librarians are those who daily guide the readers on the correct path through the agency of books. In 2017, a number of activities were carried out in the field at policy level. There was approved a new law on libraries. The Bibliotechonomic Council was constituted last year and this worked out a series of regulations for implementing the new law on libraries. “The National Library’s position of driving force and a center that assists public libraries in the process of modernizing their activity was strengthened. The National Library has potential that should be realized in order to increase the prestige of libraries,” stated Andrei Chistol.
Ludmila Corghenci, head of the Center of Continuous Professional Formation in Bibliotechonomy and Information Sciences, said one of the priorities last year was the professional formation of librarians for these to transform the public libraries into institutions needed by communities. In this regard, there were created three modern national and seven regional centers for librarians to develop their professional skills. The professional formation is an important aspect given the low number of trained young specialists who come to work in libraries.
