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December 22, 2011
 For more than 60 residents of Carpinis, Romania, a recent visit to the library was far from typical. Instead of checking out books or looking for information on the Internet, a doctor and a spirometer were waiting for them. This was a rare opportunity to receive medical care and advice without having to travel to urban areas and an innovative use of the library to improve community health. |
December 9, 2011
Every year, 98,000 Romanians are diagnosed with cancer, but there is little awareness of the needs of cancer patients in many communities. Approximately 3100 residents of Tulcea and Constanta counties are coping with cancer, where the public health system has only one onocology department with six doctors, and most nurses have little experience or training in supporting the unique needs of these patients. Now, nurses are receiving that training as part of a two year project called “Learn, Share, Live Better,” using libraries and librarians to create resource centers with reliable information, cultivate community with support groups, and improve oncology education. |
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December 6, 2011
 Building a library from scratch requires an enormous amount of creativity and hard work. In Vulcana Pandele, a village in Romania, the library was crammed into a tiny space with little room for the resources that community members needed. Biblionet offers computers and trainings to libraries across Romania, but there has to be a place to put the new technology. Luiza Barbu was eager to bring modern services to her patrons, and inspired by a fellow librarian to take action. |
November 14, 2011
 Our work today reaches and helps more people than ever before in our history. These stories highlight just a handful of the 300,000 people IREX has helped this year. |
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November 11, 2011
 This year, 400 public libraries in Romania helped 17,000 farmers successfully receive farm subsidies of over $54,000 per library. |
July 20, 2011
 A week prior to the Romania Digital Agenda conference, the Biblionet training manager feverishly called to tell me that the Vice President of the European Commission, Ms. Neelie Kroes, was going to visit Bucharest and that I should be ready to attend the conference. That Monday, I met with Sanda Foamete, Manager for Microsoft and Gabi Barna from EOS (Educating for an Open Socienty) Foundation to discuss how to best approach a 25-minute private meeting they had organized with Ms. Kroes. I knew my unexpected meeting with such an openhearted EU official would grant IREX the platform to detail the imperative work of libraries in reaching large numbers of people in providing access to key e-government services. |
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July 8, 2011
 Where there were once ales and liver sausages, there are now books, computers and a well-trained librarian waiting to give patrons a taste of the World Wide Web. Romanians benefit in many ways thanks to Biblionet's work with the local government to convert an old pub into a modern library. |
July 7, 2011
 IREX has been working with public access to information / telecenters for more than 15 years. In that time we’ve encountered many of the difficulties. How do the telecenters continue operation after outside funding dries up? How do you embed the telecenter into the community? As our thinking on this topic has evolved over the years, we’ve begun focusing our efforts on the one existing public institution that is owned by the local community and can provide a variety of information services: the public library. |
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June 24, 2011
 Seeking work abroad is a necessity for many families in Romania, and labor migrants often leave children behind. These children need support, so public libraries are getting involved in a new project called, “Te Iubeste Mama,” or “Mommy Loves You.” This project will connect parents working in Italy with their children at home in Romania through audio-visual communication like Skype, a new service that libraries in the Biblionet program offer to patrons. |
May 1, 2011
 Officials took part in recent conferences highlighting how the Romanian government is building on Biblionet's success in modernizing the public library system. |
