Gates Foundation Officials Witness Biblionet Achievements in Action in Romania

During a recent visit to Romania, representatives of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and IREX witnessed the growing partnership between the Romanian government and public libraries of the Biblionet program. From April 5 to April 7, Sylvia Matthews Burwell, President of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Development Program, and Deborah Jacobs, Director of Global Libraries, joined IREX President Robert Pearson in meeting with Romanian government officials, librarians, and library users. The trip highlighted how the Romanian government is building on Biblionet’s success in modernizing the public library system.

On April 6, representatives of the Romanian government, Gates Foundation, and IREX participated in a panel discussion on the role of libraries in deploying e-government services. Public libraries are able to bridge the gap between e-government services and citizens who do not have regular access to the internet. Valerian Vreme, Minister of the Communication and Information Society, pointed out the importance of public libraries for connecting rural users to the recently-launched national system of online payment for local taxes. With the help of their local library, users can now pay taxes online and save hours of traveling and waiting in lines.

President of the National Association of Libraries and Librarians Doina Popa, also a member of the panel, considers the government and library partnership to be mutually beneficial. “For Romania, equipping public libraries with technology and training librarians to offer high quality services was essential for renewing an institution meant to be a benchmark of every society. Even more, due to access to technology, public libraries are regaining patrons and actually expanding horizons by connecting millions of Romanians to education, economic and social opportunities. Libraries not only offer access to technology but also strengthen communities, an essential aspect for central authorities to take into account.”

Government and library partnerships resonated at the county level during a press conference at Tirgu Mures City Hall the following day. The Mayor of Tirgu Mures and the County Council President demonstrated their public commitment to the Biblionet program by making the Tirgu Mures public library a free wireless public access point. The City Hall will cover the monthly subscription costs of internet access for the library.

The initiative is the first of its kind and is part of the Tirgu Mures Digital City Strategy that launched at the beginning of this year. “The Biblionet program’s investment in technological and human resources for a modern public library system offering access to internet and information is especially important for Tirgu Mures, a city which aims to become the first digital city in Romania,” Mayor Dorin Florea explained. One objective of “Digital Mures” is to build a modern infrastructure of public-private services and e-communication with citizens based on technology.

“We are delighted that Mures County is participating so actively in the Blblionet program. National and local support for citizen access to technology will be critical in enabling Romania’s libraries to better serve their communities,” stated Sylvia Burwell, President of the Global Development Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Biblionet program has equipped 21 libraries with 99 computers in Mures County and has invested $172,000 in hardware, software, and librarian trainings.

Burwell also joined Global Libraries Director Deborah Jacobs and IREX President W. Robert Pearson in visiting several Romanian rural libraries that are effectively addressing community development challenges. Pearson said, “Modernizing libraries with computers opens the gateway to community and citizen participation throughout the country. Visits to urban and rural libraries let us see first-hand the impact of technology, from active seniors learning the internet ropes and children anxiously arriving after school to learn more to farmers applying for EU support via a national reporting system.”

“We are proud to be in Romania and very proud of this project,” Jacobs said. “What we want is for every person to have equal access to information. This is a great program and we are happy that we can change people’s lives for the better.”

Only 411 computers in all 2,933 public libraries in Romania were connected to the internet as of 2008, the start of the pilot program of Biblionet. Biblionet has equipped 800 local libraries with over 3,300 computers and intends to equip around 2,000 libraries before 2014.

The five year, $26.9 million Biblionet program, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is being implemented by IREX and aims to help develop a modern public library system in Romania.