The Bibliomist project, officially launched on Wednesday, September 30, will dramatically increase free public access to the internet and aims to foster the development of a modern library system in Ukraine.
Over the next four years, Bibliomist will equip over 1,000 libraries with computers, will train 3,000 librarians in technology and library management skills, and will partner with the Ukrainian Library Association (ULA) to strengthen their capacity to advocate for the health of the country’s public libraries. Supported by a $25 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of the Global Libraries [8] initiative, Bibliomist [9] is being implemented by IREX in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine.
The launch coincided with Ukraine’s National Library Day to draw national attention to the importance of libraries in a modern society. The series of events began with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the National Training Center for librarians--newly equipped by Bibliomist and hosted by the State Academy for Managers in Culture and the Arts (DAKKKiM). Global Libraries Director Deborah Jacobs and the Academy’s Vice Rector, Halyna Vlasova, cut the ribbon.
Following a press conference featuring singer Viktor Bronyuk of the Ukrainian band TiK, Bibliomist Director Colin Guard emphasized the importance of well-equipped public libraries for the economic and social development of communities, and premiered a video short produced for Bibliomist’s launch illustrating how one Ukrainian village took advantage of internet access to dramatically improve their local trade.
Library visitors later gathered at the Moloda Gvardiya City Specialized Youth Library and the Desnyansky Raion Library for training focusing on how internet access at public libraries can provide Ukraine’s citizens with modern employment and communication tools.
The Moloda Gvardiya Library conducted a training session to help youth choose a career; the library’s deputy director Vira Omelyanenko also shared information about the library’s PR campaign aimed at bringing people back to their library. The Desnyansky Library offered a training for senior citizens on how to use the Internet to communicate with friends and relatives abroad; the training was so popular among local residents that the library had to organize three separate sessions on the day.
The day culminated with a launch ceremony hosted by the National Parliamentary Library of Ukraine. Bibliomist’s partners, namely the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, Microsoft, the Ukrainian Library Association, and the National Parliamentary Library, were represented at the event.
IREX President Bob Pearson thanked the program’s stakeholders and underscored the way in which investments in public libraries are an important part of IREX’s approach to community development. “[Libraries] build communities of thought because you can share knowledge with people around the world [and they] build communities of action because you bring people together around an idea that can make an enormous difference.”
