Public Library Innovation Program– Fact Sheet

 What: 

The Public Library Innovation Program (PLIP) fosters the development of innovative services to improve people’s lives through the use of technology. This three-year grant program will help public libraries in developing and transitioning countries become centers of community life.

In two rounds of Calls for Proposals, successful applicants will implement one year projects. Grants of up to $30,000 USD will be awarded in Round 1 of the Public Library Innovation Program. In Round 2, 10 grants of up to $15,000 USD will be awarded for replication of successful grant projects in Round 1.  In Round 3, 15 Innovation Awards of $1,000 USD will be presented.

Why:

Technology has transformed public libraries throughout the world, providing access to critical education materials and communication services. Yet in many developing and transitioning countries where the need is great, public libraries are under resourced. Funding authorities may see libraries or similar organizations as valued assets but are often unaware of the dynamic role they could be playing in their communities. Libraries will be more likely to attract funding if they can demonstrate that they will implement activities proven to improve the lives of the community in which they are located.

How:

With funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Public Library Innovation Program will encourage public libraries to reach out to their communities, partnering with their local government, business and other organizations to assess local needs and develop new services.  In two rounds of Calls for Proposals, successful applicants will implement one-year projects. The first Call is designed to gather as many great ideas as possible. The second Call will test the replicability of the top 10 ideas from the first Call. Participating project teams will come together for training and to share their experience. In addition, public libraries in any developing and transition country will be invited to take part in a special Innovation Award that recognizes outstanding achievements. All the outcomes will be widely disseminated in key publications and conferences throughout the world.

 Who:

The program is implemented by eIFL.net–Electronic Information for Libraries–an independent, not-for-profit organization established in 2003. eIFL.net brings access to knowledge to library users in developing and transitioning countries by building capacity, supporting advocacy and giving a hand in introducing new services for the user as well as helping acquiring affordable access to e-resources. In the past mostly academic, research and national libraries could improve services to their users by being part of eIFL.net. The Public Library Innovation Program will expand eIFL.net’s work, offering opportunities for public libraries to develop new and innovative services with and for their communities.

 When:

Round 1: 10 grants of up to $30,000 USD

Call for proposals:  November 16, 2009

Deadline: February 28, 2010

Grants awarded: April 2010

Round 2: 10 grants of up to $15,000 USD

Call for proposals: April 2011

Deadline: May 31, 2011

Grants awarded: July 2011 

Round 3: 15 Innovation Awards of $1,000 USD

Call for applications: January 2012

Deadline: February 28, 2012

Awards presented: April 2012

Where:

The first round of grants will be open to applicants from the following countries where either eIFL.net has a presence or the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Libraries initiative supports projects:  Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chile, People’s Republic of China, Colombia, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malawi, Mali, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Palestine (West Bank and Gaza), Poland, Guatemala, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The second call for proposals and the Innovation Awards will be open to all developing and transitioning countries.

For further information contact:

Rima Kupryte, Director

Breda Karun, PLIP Program Manager

eIFL.net

Piazza Mastai 9

00153 Rome, Italy

Telephone: +39 06 5807217

Fax: +39 06 5807246

Email: plip@eifl.net

Program website : http://plip.eifl.net/

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Electronic Information for Libraries (eIFL.net)

PRESS RELEASE

November 16, 2009

 GOOD NEWS FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY PATRONS AROUND THE WORLD!

eIFL.net receives grant to spark innovation in public library services in developing countries

 eIFL.net is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a three-year $1.4 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to spark the development of innovative public library services using technology in transitioning and developing countries.

The Public Library Innovation Program (http://plip.eifl.net/) will encourage public libraries to reach out to their communities, partnering with local government, business and other organizations to assess local needs and develop new services Technology has transformed public libraries throughout the world, providing access to critical education materials and communication services. Yet in many developing countries where the need is great, public libraries are under resourced.

Calls for proposals will be held in two rounds. The first call is designed to gather great ideas that introduce technology to meet user needs and help members of the community improve their lives. Ten of the best proposals will be awarded up to $30,000 USD each for a one-year project.

The second Call will test the replicability of the top ten ideas from the first Call. Participating project teams in both rounds will come together for training and to share their experience. In addition, public libraries in any developing and transitioning country will be invited to take part in a special Innovation Award that recognises outstanding achievements. All the outcomes will be widely disseminated in key publications and conferences throughout the world.

Welcoming the launch of the new program, Deborah Jacobs, director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Libraries initiative said, “We expect the new services that public libraries develop with support from eIFL.net will make a real difference in people’s lives. It’s exciting to imagine the social and economic benefits these new services can trigger – a farmer in a remote rural community linking up to the latest information on crop management, or a woman from a small village promoting her small business through the Internet.”

Rima Kupryte, Managing Director of eIFL.net is enthusiastic. “Using technology to provide new services, or to provide them in new ways, will connect libraries to the communities they serve, will spark the creativity of librarians and users alike to harness what technology can do for them. The citizens of poor countries, remote communities, or societies in transition will reap the benefits in all areas of their everyday lives – to learn, to enjoy, to communicate, and to improve their living conditions. On behalf of public library patrons all over the world eIFL.net is grateful to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for this great opportunity to speed the modernization of one of the great places in the community, the public library.”

The first round of grants will be open to applicants from the following countries where either eIFL.net has a presence or the foundation’s Global Libraries initiative supports projects: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chile, People’s Republic of China, Colombia, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malawi, Mali, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Palestine (West Bank and Gaza), Poland, Guatemala, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The call for proposals begins on November 16, 2009.

The second call for proposals and the Innovation Awards will be open to all developing and transitioning countries in spring of 2011.

This grant to eIFL.net is part of the foundation’s Global Libraries initiative, which is working to open the world of knowledge, information and opportunity to many more people. Part of the Global Development Program, Global Libraries works with select countries that demonstrate a need and a readiness to help public libraries provide free access to computers and the Internet, and training on how to make full use of these tools.

Further information:

Rima Kupryte, Director eIFL.net

Piazza Mastai 9

00153 Rome, Italy

Telephone: +39 06 5807217

Fax: +39 06 5807246

Email: info@eifl.net

Program website: http://plip.eifl.net/

Notes for Editors

eIFL.net (Electronic Information for Libraries – http://www.eifl.net/), an independent non-profit organization with a global network spanning 46 countries and thousands of libraries. eIFL.net brings access to knowledge to library users in developing and transition countries by building capacity, supporting advocacy and helping to introduce new services for the user, as well as affordable access to e-resources. Until now, it has been mostly academic, research and national library services that have benefited from being part of eIFL.net. The Public Library Innovation Program will enable eIFL.net to offer opportunities to public libraries to develop new and innovative services with and for their communities.

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A HOLIDAY SEASON GIFT FOR AMERICAN CORNER COLLEAGUES

Many of us make resolutions for the new year. We’d like to help fulfill the goal of reading more books in 2010.  Here is a service sends you free books to your email (or other device) in installments that you can read in 5 minutes or less.  Visit the site at http://www.dailylit.com/ and see how easy it is to get free books. Share  free books with your visitors to the American Corners and with your family and friends. 

With best wishes of the season from your colleagues in the American Corner Office in Washington DC!

DailyLit sends books in installments via e-mail or RSS feed. We currently offer over 1000 classic and contemporary books available entirely for free. You can read your installments wherever you receive e-mail/RSS feeds. Installments arrive in your Inbox according to the schedule you set (e.g. 7:00am every weekday). You can read each installment in under 5 minutes (most folks finish in 2-3 minutes), and, if you have more time to read, you can receive additional installments immediately on demand. Our titles include bestselling and award winning titles, from literary fiction and romance to language learning and science fiction. DailyLit features forums where you can discuss your favorite books and authors. We also have a gift service, where you can send books via DailyLit to friends, with installments starting on any date you choose (even that very day – perfect for last minute gifts), and each installment comes with a personalized message written by you.

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Smithsonian Collections Search Center

The Smithsonian Collections Search Center ( http://collections.si.edu ), is developing into a one-stop-searching center for the public for collections held in the Institution’s Libraries, Archives and Museum collections. This fast growing Collections Search Center is hosted by the Institution’s Office of the Chief Information Officer, and currently contains 2.3 million records with 280,000 online media such as images, sound files, videos, and online collections.

Through the Smithsonian Collections Search Center the Libraries’ provides access to its print and electronic holdings of books, serials, rare books and manuscripts. SIL collections are particularly strong in natural history, tropical biology, and Chesapeake Bay area ecology; anthropology; American and African American history and culture; postal, horticulture and garden history; the history of science and technology; aerospace history, astronomy, and planetary sciences; African, American Asian, contemporary, and design and decorative art; conservation science, and museum studies.

The Libraries has recently added access, through the Collections Search Center, to its Art and Artists Files as well as its Trade Literature collection at the National Museum of American History Library.

Art and Artists Files: Over 100,000 files that contain exhibition announcements, newspaper and magazine clippings, press releases, brochures, reviews, invitations, illustrations, resumes, artists’ statements, and exhibition catalogs.

Trade Literature Collection: Over 400,000 historical trade catalogs, representing over 30,000 companies featuring predominantly American-manufactured products for industry, agriculture, business, and decorative arts. Primarily from 1880-1945, the collection includes product catalogs, technical manuals, advertising brochures, price lists, and company histories.

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