GREY REPRESENTS: Insufficient data on the number of public libraries
Improving Education
Librarians at A. and M. Miskiniai Public Library in Utena noticed many children coming to the library to play computer games durin g school hours. Concerned that children were missing their lessons, the librar ians teamed up with teachers and comp uter specialists to develop an innovati ve computer learning game linked to the school curriculum. The game , now played by over 1,000 students, bu ilds in collaboration between the children and their teachers. The Mi nistry of Education Science is no w exploring expanding the game to more districts.
Civic Participation
Health Information
The Romanian governm ent recently developed an online sy stem for rural farmers to apply for ag ricultural support funding. But how would farmers know how to ac cess and navigate the online ap plication? In 2011, over 400 publi c libraries stepped up an d helped approximately 17,000 farmers apply for and receive mo re than €15m in farm subsidies .
The Laxmi Narayan Co mmunity Library and Resource Center is creating partnerships wi th local NGOs to ensure the commun ity of Lamjung has access to critical res ources. When it became clear a few years ago that the incidence of HIV/A IDS was on the rise in this community , the library partnered with a local NGO to host and provide HIV counselin g to more than 1,200 community memb ers.
Economic Opportunity
Civic Participation
Managing a library helpe d leaders and community memb ers of San Juan Planes develop skills in working together to address co mmon needs. Through the library, the community identified local issues, including a lack of clean water, an d learned how to set up and maintain a reverse osmosis water filtration system that now provides reliable potab le water to the community for the firs t time.
The Northern Regional Library’s Internet Access and Tra ining Program links ICT with leadersh ip training for young men and wome n from Tamale and surrounding villag es where unemployment and sc hool drop-out rates are high. During the program’s first year, the library tra ined 190 young people in computer us e, life skills, time management, and effective communication.
Economic Opportunity
In Nghe An province, Vie tnam, a middle-aged mother of three kids and small business entrepre neur, travels to the village Cultural Po st Office and communal library seve ral times per week to use the intern et to search for and identify new recipe s for her restaurant. Through pu blic access at her library, she is able to find the information she needs to improve her family’s life.
Civic Participation
In the early 2000s, go vernment officials, community lea ders, and residents of Medellin came together to build a new future for their city. Leaders recognized tha t new technology provided a way to increase government transparen cy of government, develop a competitive business environment, and improve education. Five public library parks centered in previously neglected neighborhoods now pro vide new, dignified public spaces for the poor to learn, communicate, so cialize, and recreate.
Improving Agriculture
The Panguipulli Public Library is enabling the exchange of information among southern Chile an farmers, agricultural workers, an d experts through a mobile ICT lab oratory. The library facilitates traini ngs for farmers on how to access, rec ord, and share agricultural information across a variety of channels, im proving farming methods, decision ma king and produce marketing. To date, the library has trained 200 farme rs not reached by other information se rvices.
Health Information
Improving Education
Out-of-school children have few places to turn in Zamb ia for help or development. The Lubu to Library Project is bringing new educational opportunities, including computer skills, literacy, persona l mentoring, and self expression thr ough the creative-arts to margina lized youth. The libraries have conn ected 50,000 youth per year who ca nnot afford or are excluded from tradit ional educational opportunit ies. In partnership with the Za mbia Library Service, Lubuto is plann ing 8 more libraries to extend their services to each of Zambia’s provin ces.
The Kisumu and Eldora t branch libraries became recog nized as vital for health information provision after e-health corners with internet access were established. Librar ians have trained over 1,600 healt h workers, students and members of the public to use the e-health corne rs for accessing medical resources. Th e libraries serve as a gathering place for public discussions with the Mi nistry of Public Health and Sanitation on topics including HIV/AIDS, pe rsonal hygiene, malaria and TB.
NOTE: Public library count data was sourced from the 2010 and 2007 IFLA World Reports, the 2009 TASCHA Public Access Landscape Study Summary, media reports, and publicly accessible statistics from national ministries.