MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

This Newsletter provides summarized information on the activities of the Glob@l Libraries - Bulgaria Program in June 2011

Working Group Meeting

A Glob@l Libraries – Bulgaria Program Working Group meeting was held on 10 June 2011. In compliance with the Working Group decision of 13 May 2011, in the period 16 May – 7 June 2011 the field coordinators visited 198 libraries which applied under Stage 2011. The objective of the on-site visits was to verify the information in the forms submitted by the applicants and to gather an impression of the libraries’ status and of their potential to accomplish the program’s objectives. After the visits and discussion of results with the district coordinators, the PMU elaborated a new draft list which was presented to the Working Group. The Working Group decisions shall be presented for approval at the Program Board meeting in July.

ICT Component

The delivery and installation of ICT equipment under Stage 2010 in the target libraries under the program ended on 10 June 2011. 350 libraries received 2,654 items, consisting of 20 laptops, 1,330 desktop configurations, 6 color printers, 6 multifunctional devices of type A, 344 multifunctional devices of type B, 350 routers and 350 switches. The delivery of the equipment to two libraries (in Hristo Botev-1925 Chitalishte in the village of Samuil and in Ana Maymunkova-1894 Chitalishte in the village of Voden) was postponed because the libraries were not ready to receive it.

Training Component

The pilot training of librarians in Thematic Area 1: “Information and Communication Technology (ICT)” ended on 25 June. In the period March to end-June 2011, 88 ICT trainings were held in the 33 training bases approved by the Program Board. The total number of librarians trained in ICT reached 880. The feedback forms show that the ICT trainings are highly evaluated by librarians and they respond to their expectations and needs. The supervision of trainers in Thematic Area 1: ICT also ended in June. 30 of a total of 32 trainers were observed for two days each by supervisors. The supervision reports contain analysis and recommendations for the trainers but the general conclusion is that they can continue training into the actual phase of the training program which is envisaged to start in September.

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The pilot trainings in Thematic Area 2: “Public Library Management”, Thematic Area 3: “Modern Library Services” and Thematic Area 4: „Soft Skills (Interaction with Users and Communities)” started on 15 June. In the period 15-30 June 2011 the district libraries in Veliko Tarnovo, Lovech, Ruse and Targovishte held pilot trainings for librarians in Advocacy and Project Cycle Management; the Razgrad District Library – in “Modern Library Services”; the district libraries in Vidin, Dobrich and Yambol – in Soft Skills. The trainers’ reports from the trainings held are currently being processed. The feedback is mostly positive. Many recommendations are given related to the training schedules and materials, as well as to the trainers. The recommendations and proposals shall be reflected in the analysis of the training program pilot phase. The last before last training of trainers in Thematic Area 2, modules 1 and 2: „Modern Public Library Vision” and „Public Library Management” was held in Velingrad from 20 to 23 June 2011. 15 trainers attended the training lead by Aneta Doncheva and Alexander Pozharliev. The average evaluation given to the training by the attendees is 4.89 (out of 5).

Communication and Advocacy

In June the PMU organized two thematic meetings – in Borovets and Sofia – and held a work meeting with librarians from the entire country for identifying new services and initiatives in the contemporary library.

Thematic work meeting “Good Library Practices under the Glob@l Libraries – Bulgaria Program”, Borovets, 14-15 June 2011

On 14 and 15 June librarians from the target libraries in the Sofia district discussed in Borovets good practices of the target libraries under the program. The meeting was a mutual initiative of the Glob@l Libraries – Bulgaria Program and the Metropolitan Library in Sofia. The meeting in Borovets is the third one in the row of thematic meetings which the PMU has held in partnership with the district libraries. Detailed information on the meeting is published on the program portal: http://glbulgaria.bg/en/page.php?c=82&d=507.

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Galina Tomova, district coordinator for Sofia district, Krasimira Kaneva, field coordinator, Trendafil Meretev, program manager Borovets, 14-15 June 2011

Work meeting “Services and Initiatives in the Contemporary Library”, 16-17 June 2011

On 16 and 17 June 2011 the Glob@l Libraries – Bulgaria Program Management Unit (PMU) held the second one of a planned series of meetings on the subject of “Services and Initiatives in the Contemporary Library”. The meeting focused on several main subjects: presentation and discussion of the content and structure of a Kaleidoscope of Services and Initiatives in the Contemporary Public Library; identification of specific services which can be implemented on a national level through the network of Glob@l Libraries – Bulgaria target libraries; training of students and citizens in information literacy. Innovative practices of chitalishte libraries as well as partnerships in the implementation of new services and initiatives of libraries were presented at the meeting. Among the main accents of the meeting was the subject of information literacy and the opportunity for librarians to provide various trainings in compliance with the needs of local communities. The PMU is planning the elaboration of a model of training in information literacy to be used by every library. Rumyana Koycheva, Library Services Consultant at the PMU, presented the idea of developing a Web 2.0-based portal to serve as a resource for provision and exchange of good practices between librarians in implementing innovative services and initiatives. The idea of this Guide is its connection with the Kaleidoscope of Services and Initiatives in the Contemporary Public Library, to guide and encourage librarians in implementing new services and initiatives.

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Photographs from the work meeting, 16-17 June 2011

Detailed information on the meeting is published on the program portal: http://glbulgaria.bg/en/page.php?c=109&d=542.

Thematic work meeting “The Library and Its Partners” Plovdiv, 30 June 2011

“The Library and Its Partners” was the subject of the mutual initiative of the Glob@l Libraries – Bulgaria Program and the Ivan Vazov National Library in Plovdiv. The meeting which was held on 30 June 2011 is the fourth thematic meeting organized by the PMU. 65 participants – representatives of the target libraries in the Plovdiv district under Stages 2009 and 2010, of the state and local governments, of the non-government sector, of schools and social organizations – participated in a discussion on the opportunities of partnerships between libraries and other organizations in providing new services to users. The presented partnerships between libraries and different institutions got the audience very interested and provoked a conversation about partnerships’ potential, the need for a pro- active approach on behalf of libraries in developing innovative initiatives in cooperation with other organizations. The meeting included presentations of partnership projects by the Ivan Vazov National Library in Plovdiv; the Paisiy Hilendarski City Library in Asenovgrad; the libraries with the St. St. Cyril and Methodius – 1894 Chitalishte in the town of Parvomay; Svetlina – 1929 Chitalishte in the village of Trud; St. St. Cyril and Methodius Chitalishte in the town of Banya and Vaska Tonova of the Children’s Department of the Ivan Vazov National Library in Plovdiv.

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Moments from the work meeting, Plovdiv, 30 June 2011

The subjects of the four thematic meetings held in the period March-June (“Volunteer Work in Public Libraries” in Lovech; „The Library and Its Partners” in Vratsa and Plovdiv; „Good Library Practices under the Glob@l Libraries – Bulgaria Program” in Borovets), the active participation of librarians, the interest shown by local authorities, partner organizations and institutions indicate that libraries, in smaller settlements as well as big ones, have the potential to turn into centers for information and communication for local communities. The analysis shows that the need for public debate on the future of public libraries involving all stakeholders is felt. The PMU envisages continuing to initiate such meetings in order to focus the public attention on these subjects. In June many libraries opened information centers equipped by the Glob@l Libraries – Bulgaria Program: in the Lyuben Karavelov – 1897 Chitalishte in the village of Kurtovo Konare, Stamboliyski municipality; in the village of Topolovo, Asenovgrad municipality; in the Prosveta-1896 Chitalishte in the town of Merichleri, Dimitrovgrad municipality; in Saznanie 1925 Chitalishte in the village of Belopoptsi, Gorna Malina municipality; in Zahari Stoyanov Chitalishte in the city of Ruse; in the Ivan Vazov – 1896 Chitalishte in the village of Iskra, Parvomay municipality; in the Hristo Botev 1934 Chitalishte in Zagrazhden village, Banite municipality, Smolyan district; in Svetlina-1908 Chitalishte in the village of Elenovo and Svetlina-1862 Chitalishte in the village of Lyubenova Mahala, municipality; in the G. S. Rakovski District Library in Yambol; in the chitalishte libraries in the villages of Zhivkovo and Verinsko, Ihtiman municipality; in the village of Staro Selo and the town of , municipality; in the Hristo Botev 1930 Chitalishte in the village of Stryama, Rakovski municipality; in the chitalishte library of the village of Markovo, Rodopi municipality; in P. R. Slaveykov – 1908 Chitalishte in Plovdiv; in the chitalishte library in the village of Studenitsa, Kaspichan municipality; in the Divdyadovo and Harsovo neighborhoods, Shumen municipality; in Vasil Levski – 1922 Chitalishte in the village of Yavorets, Gabrovo municipality; in the Arif Dzhenin-1961 Chitalishte in the village of Glogovo, Teteven municipality; in the Sokolov – 1919 Chitalishte in the village of Panicheri, Hisarya municipality; in the chitalishte in Brestnitsa village, Yablanitsa municipality; in the Hr. Botev Chitalishte in the village of Byala, Sliven municipality; in the chitalishte libraries in the village of Dolni Vadin, Oryahovo municipality.

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Many libraries are utilizing the opportunities provided by the new equipment and have started offering new services to local communities. The first training in basic computer skills for people above 65 years of age started in the St. St. Cyril and Methodius - 1914 Chitalishte in the town of Banya, Karlovo municipality and it was received with great interest. The Nikola Furnadzhiev District Library organized ICT training for adults. The first free training in basic computer skills for retired citizens ended in June in the training center of the Stiliyan Chilingirov District Library in Shumen equipped by the Glob@l Libraries – Bulgaria Program. The library with the Prosveta Chitalishte in the town of Zlatograd is also organizing “60+” training in computer skills. On 9 June 2011 Luba Devetakova from the PMU participated in the XXI Conference of BLIA in Blagoevgrad on the subject of “The Contemporary Library through the Users’ Eyes”. She presented the results of the impact assessment baseline study. Volunteers working with the libraries in Lovech and Teteven got actively involved in the opening of the library information center in the library with the Saglasie-1869 Chitalishte in Teteven. Krasimira Kaneva from the PMU presented the upcoming activities through which the Glob@l Libraries – Bulgaria Program shall support volunteer work. Thus the subject of volunteer work which was the focus of the district thematic meeting in Lovech got its natural follow-up. A work meeting organized by the Varna Institute for Stimulating the Economy was held on 28 June 2011 in the Zahari Knyazheski District Library in Stara Zagora. A video connection was made with the Jury Gagarin Central Library in Moscow. Nikolay Markov from the PMU presented the participation of Bulgarian libraries in the Glob@l Libraries – Bulgaria Program and together with the district library director Snezhana Marinova he answered questions.

Video conference call between the library in Stara Zagora and the Jury Gagarin Central Library, Moscow Stara Zagora, 30 June 2011

The growth trend in visitor numbers of the www.glbulgaria.bg program portal continued into June. Their total number in comparison with May has grown by 41%. Thus makes the visits 220 thousand, over 120 of which are unique. The Facebook friends of the Glob@l Libraries – Bulgaria Program reached 1,200 and the Twitter followers became 240. The number of librarians using social networks for connecting to their colleagues and the program team also continues growing – the average number of interactions in the program’s Facebook page went above 1,000 in June 2011.

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The work on upgrading the program portal continues. The updated content management system is installed on a test server and work is being done on migrating the content of the current portal into the new one, as well as on adding new functionalities to the portal.

Projects / Fundraising

In June five district libraries – Vratsa, Shumen, Veliko Tarnovo, Ruse and Burgas – were assisted by the fundraising consultant in the PMU in elaborating project proposals to apply for the International Program for Public Libraries Innovation – EIFL-PLIP.

Monitoring and Evaluation

An online questionnaire to gather information from target libraries under Stage 2009 on the program impact in the period from ICT equipment delivery to the end of June 2011 was developed in June. The deadline for submitting the information is 14 July 2011. A quarterly report form for the target libraries under Stages 2009 and 2010 was developed and sent to libraries.

Participation in an International Conference in Aarhus, Denmark, 19-21 June 2011

A conference entitled “Next Library” was held from 19 to 21 June 2011 in Aarhus, Denmark. The conference was attended by Krasimira Kaneva from the PMU and Anelia Ivanova, head librarian of the Geo Milev District Library in Montana. Information on the conference, shared ideas and good practices shall be provided during the next thematic meetings with Bulgarian librarians.

In July 2011, we expect to accomplish the following:

 Meeting of the Program Board  Selection of libraries under Stage 2011  Last training of trainers under the program – Thematic Area 2, modules 1 and 2  Pilot trainings for librarians in Thematic Areas 2, 3 and 4  Analysis of the training program pilot phase  Elaboration of parameters of the training program’s actual phase  Selection of an independent consultant to analyze the opportunity for creating a centralized IT infrastructure for 900+ libraries under the program  Creativity training of the Glob@l Libraries – Bulgaria PMU  Analysis of the results of testing the upgraded content management system of the portal and finalizing the new vision of the portal  Processing of the data from the questionnaire on the program impact on the Stage 2009 target libraries  Elaboration of a quarterly program progress report

Prepared by: Natalia Georgieva

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