The national phase of the Novateca program, aimed at equipping libraries with modern information technology, has been launched. The public libraries are invited to take part in the program until April 30. Applications can be submitted online, on the program’s website www.aplicare.novateca.md, IPN reports.
Over the next months, the program will select the libraries from the Novateca network that will be outfitted with peripheral equipment and computers. There will be implemented training and support programs intended for librarians and developed a durable IT system for them.
In the launch, program director Evan Tracz said Novateca is a five-year program designed to facilitate the transformation of Moldovan libraries into vibrant community institutions where citizens can enjoy free access to technology and services addressing local needs.
Deborah Jacobs, director of the Global Libraries Initiative of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which financially supports the program, said that though all the countries are different, they have something in common – the libraries. In the case of Moldova, the program is designed to restore the image of libraries and homes of culture during a five-year period.
Director of the municipal library “Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu” Lidia Kulikovski, specialist in library innovations, said that when the Internet appeared, they anticipated that the libraries will die, but these fears didn’t come true. Now the modern library is a laboratory of knowledge, revived with the assistance of Novateca.
The public libraries in Moldova will now have the power to connect, educate, support and engage citizens through a culture of cooperation and innovation.
While the pilot-program was implemented during two years, Novateca outfitted 68 public libraries from 12 districts with about 300 computers and peripheral equipment and trained 243 librarians in using computers and creating new library services. There were tested programs to develop librarians’ advocacy skills and partnerships and facilitated different opportunities for exchanging experience and knowledge between librarians with innovative ideas.
