"Integrate Into the World!" The English Books Collection. Below, "Creative Ukraine" Exhibit.
The Library is on the move! Its English book collection, under the great slogan “Integrate Into the World,” is mostly up and being used. The Library is refreshing not only its collections but also its exhibits. It put up a new “Creative Ukraine” exhibit of books, arts, crafts, and photographs. Beautiful and inspiring. The library reading room is full of things made by English club members, like colorful posters, photographs, masks and origami pumpkins. The Library is looking more festive and welcoming than ever!
Best breaking news of all: The Library is now applying for the final stage of the Bibliomist project: getting 15 computers, support for internet connectivity, and training on how to use the new technology.
Bibliomist is the multi-million dollar project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to bring computers and internet access to 1,000 libraries throughout Ukraine. It is managed by IREX, an international management NGO. We have worked for over a year to make sure Starobilsk is one of those libraries. That dream is closer to becoming a reality.
“E-powering the Library will e-power the people,” I wrote in my letter of support for the Library’s application.
It’s been a step-by-step process leading up to this proposal. First the Library started an English Club, which has been a great success. Then it established an English language books collection, thanks to donations of books from Toledo, Ohio, and gifts of $900 from American friends to a Peace Corps “Partnership Grant.” It is considering a work-study program with the University, a new collaboration, to insure ongoing assistance with the English Club. Next it applied for and received a Bibliomist grant for community outreach to English teachers and increased promotion efforts. During this process it acquired a “sister” or partner library with the Boyd County Public Library in Kentucky, with the help of Amanda Stein. New computers and internet access will increase opportunities for information exchange between our small library and the award-winning Boyd County library. These things take time, but the foundation has been laid. They are all FIRSTS for the library.
Continuing to build on these evolving projects, the library has just applied to the US Peace Corps to get its very own Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV). That’s why Marat Kurachevsky’s visit a few weeks ago was so important. I’ve done a lot with the Library (a secondary project) but my primary assignment has been with Victoria NGO, and for that we developed the “Know Your Rights!” project and got a SPA grant to implement it and have done some work in organizational development for future growth. Another "democracy" grant is underway.
A new PCV specifically assigned to the Library would be another first and ensure the sustainability of the English Club and English books collection. Most of all a new PCV will be able to provide ongoing support for computerizing the Library, cataloguing and uploading its collections, getting online, and training the librarians in using the computers to better serve their visitors. And maybe if (or should I say "when"?) the Library gets those 15 computers with internet access (and hopefully WIFI connectivity) the new PCV can help create a real Internet Café for the Starobilsk community, too.
It's been a dream since my first visit that the Starobilsk Library evolve into an exemplary Bibliomist site, getting computers and using them to modernize, reach out, and provide free public internet access. The Library is on its way to becoming a more entrepreneurial, more modern multi-purpose community resource for Starobilsk and the entire rayon. This is a wonderful achievement for the Library and its director Iryna Andreenova. The Library is on a roll!
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