Cooperative International Library Projects
This site provides an overview of involvement of international libraries and librarians in activities around the world. It will be updated on the regular basis to follow up and present this kind of projects. If you want to share some information about any activities of this type, please contact American Library Association International Relations Office at
intl@ala.org.
Afghanistan
The Central Asia Institute Task Force, which is a division within the Montana Library Association, is promoting the
"Pennies for Peace" campaign, which is designed to collect money to help build a school/ library for children in Afghanistan. For more information visit the Montana Library Association web site
http://www.mtlib.org/pennies/ and view their newsletter Montana Library Focus:
http://www.mtlib.org/focus/focus.html.
The project is coordinated by Norma Glock who may be contacted at
nglock@cablemt.net.
African Countries: Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, and Tanzania
The Mortenson Center for International Library Programs at the University of Illinois Library at Urbana- Champaign has received a three-year,
$499,900 grant from the Carnegie Corporation. Seven African grantee university institutions have been chosen to receive funds and assistance with incorporating fully automated online catalog and computer- based library management system through trainings and set- up of technical support and communication systems.
http://www.library.uiuc.edu/mortenson/activities/projects/
Armenia
Florida Atlantic University Libraries have been involved in developing cooperation with South Florida Armenian community, American University of Armenia and also individuals and institutions from Armenia. There have been exchanges of visits and the Interlibrary Loan Pilot Project was created.
Dr. William Miller, Director of Libraries at Florida Atlantic University has been awarded the
Armenian Library Association’s “Library Friend 2004”. This title was awarded to Mr. Miller for winning the competition in recognition of providing Ariel terminals and software to four Armenian libraries and for founding the American Science Technology Resource Center at Republican Science Technology Center, Republic of Armenia. If you are interested in more details, visit:
http://www.seflin.org/intact/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.dspAct&activityID=11&x=4508
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?sid=9UTD7P35XMVL9MT611RLEKFVRVKQ0F91&ID=32335
or contact Dr. Miller:
miller@fau.edu.
Bulgaria
Colorado Association of Libraries (CAL) has been involved in cooperation with Bulgarian libraries under the
Bulgarian/ Colorado Partner Library Project and the federal American- Bulgarian Library Exchange (ABLE). The partnership was established by Nancy Bolt, Project Chair, and Snezjana Ianeva, representative of American Embassy and Bulgarian Library Association, who signed a resolution in 1996. So far twelve partnerships between Colorado and Bulgarian libraries have been formed, which are involved in many activities. For more information you are welcome to visit the CAL website:
http://cal-webs.org/interestg2.html (opens in a new window)
Bulgarian/ Colorado Partner Library Project Update:
Nancy Bolt’s presentation at the GlobeNet Conference in Sofia (Nov 2004)
Community Information Center (developing trainings of over 200 public librarians thanks to created and translated workbook and workshops around Bulgaria); New partnership between University of Forestry in Sofia and Colorado State University joined the project (Dec 2004); Visit of Iskra Mahailova, ABLE Bulgarian Director and Vanya Grashkina, President of Bulgarian Library Association to Colorado (March 2005); $45,000 UNESCO grant for conducting information literacy training in Bulgaria.
Guatemala
ASIC Rural Libraries Program, a Guatemala program of Rudder Foundation
This is an outreach program that helps to establish rural libraries and train the local people to work as librarians. Teachers and the American Library Association membership and faculty and students from USA library schools provide the volunteers to conduct the field training and to hold workshops at ASIC facilities in Antigua and in Guatemala City. Publishers and book distributors in Guatemala, Mexico and Spain have agreed to discounts of 25% to 40% on their list of books. The Program provides local libraries with selected Spanish language books and encourages reading among children, who usually don’t even have any books, including schoolbooks. However, there is a fear that the Program may be suspended due to financial problems of ASIC. Ms. Pilar Reyes, Director of the Program, appeals for help and support from all librarians in order to continue her projects after the budget cuts by ASIC.
Sister Libraries in Guatemala
Ms. Linda Whinnery, NBCT Library Media Teacher, is currently on sabbatical from San Diego City Schools and is living in Antigua, Guatemala, where she has just finished a training of 20 rural workers in how to catalog, arrange, develop programs and promote library services. She is actively supporting getting any educational supplies through the philanthropic organizations to provide the rural libraries with essential resources. Ms. Whinnery also initiated involving 15 Guatemalan libraries in the Sister Library Program and is looking for partners from the states of California and Arizona, who would have Spanish-speaking staff members.
For the report of Linda Whinnery on the situation in Guatemala, view her article in the International Leads (Volume 19, No 2, June 2005):
http://www.ala.org/ala/irrt/intlleads/leadsarchive/200506.pdf - (PDF File opens in a new window)
Somalia
Somaliland has been getting support from the UK- based
Africa Educational Trust (AET) and
Book Aid International, which offered a variety of trainings, from literacy and computer skills to more specialized areas such as guidance on human rights. With the financial support from the Department for International Development, AET has started a number of reading rooms in primary schools over the last three years. Thanks to the Finnish support this scheme has been extended to the secondary schools as well. Both the AET and the Book Aid have been supporting the members of the Somali Diaspora with books in English and Arabic. Also the Regional Office of WHO in Hargeisa has benefited with a public health library, trained staff, computer equipment, Internet access, and satellite connection.
http://www.togdheer.com/education/university.shtml
