Community Library Computer Centers Help Prepare Constituents for Romanian Elections

In preparation for Romania’s parliamentary elections, community members at two pilot site libraries in Salaj County came together to learn about Romania’s new national voting system and discuss the upcoming elections. IREX helped coordinate these meetings with librarians at the Cehu Silvaniei and Bobota public libraries, introducing new library services to the communities and demonstrating the role of modern libraries in serving their communities.

Located in Salaj County, the Cehu Silvaniei and Bobota public libraries have been offering public access computing as pilot sites for the Global Libraries program over the last year. To expand on this technology and further help these two libraries become informational resources in their communities, the librarians hosted community meetings that included PowerPoint presentations explaining the new parliamentary direct voting system as well explanations on how citizens can access online resources to learn about different candidates.

At the Cehu Silvaniei library, community members were shown how to access the Internet to learn about local political candidates for Salaj County and find information on those candidates. Librarians also distributed questionnaires during the meeting to learn what types of issues residents would like to discuss in the future. Among the topics listed were youth issues, the environment, Roma issues, and national legislation.

In Bobota, residents were also eager to learn about the new voting system and find online resources about the slate of local candidates. One resident in attendance noted that “information sessions like the one at the library are very useful; people get better informed and are able learn what the local library can do for them.”

Librarians and community members in both libraries also agreed to schedule future meetings that will address new vaccination guidelines and healthcare. After the meetings IREX staff also worked alongside librarians to plan and develop annual calendars that will include future community meetings addressing the topics that were raised during each meeting.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation selected IREX to manage the Global Libraries Planning Grant in Romania, planning a program to provide public access computers with Internet access in Romania’s public libraries.