Free Public Access to Internet Expands in Moldova Libraries

The Novateca program is giving many Moldovans free access to computers and the Internet. Organizers recently inaugurated six regional training centers throughout Moldova where librarians are learning to help patrons make use of the technology. By the end of 2013 more than 350,000 will benefit from free public access to the Internet.

Novateca is part of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Libraries initiative which focuses on facilitating access to information and communication technologies through public libraries. The two-year learning grant, implemented by IREX in cooperation with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is designed to gain an in-depth understanding of the opportunities for providing wide scale public access to information and communication technologies through the Moldovan public library network.