Good news for public library users around the world ! New initiative to spark the development of innovative services in public libraries in transition and developing countries

Why Public Libraries? »This Manifesto proclaims UNESCO's belief in the public library as a living force for education, culture and information, and as an essential agent for the fostering of peace and spiritual welfare through the minds of men and women.« (IFLA/UNESCO Public Library Manifesto) centres of community life Public libraries are centres of community life, 'third places' where people feel safe and welcome, neutral places which stimulate social interaction. civic spaces Public libraries are one of the last great civic spaces in society.

Public Libraries… Help people to cope with and improve their everyday life Help community members who are seeking information Provide access to technology and communication Encourage and support lifelong learning

Reality In most developing countries libraries are underresourced Technology infrastructure is poor Digital information and services are insufficient to meet user needs Governments are unaware of the dynamic role libraries could play in communities Very few international donors focus on innovation of public libraries.

PLIP - Vision To place public libraries at the centre of community life Helping them to understand community needs Integrate technology into library services Improve their outreach to sections of the community

PLIP - About Three year grant program – 2010: ten grants up to USD – 2011: ten grants up to USD – 2012: fifteen Innovation Awards of USD Objectives – To encourage public libraries to develop new innovative services that are important to the community – To test the replicability of new services – To encourage take up of successful innovation by other public libraries through wide dissemination of the results of the projects

Partnership Potential partners could be other organizations that provide knowledge resources that libraries currently do not have or local delivery partners who reach different groups that libraries currently do not reach and would like to. Nonprofit organizations Schools and colleges Libraries of all types Businesses Government agencies etc.

Innovative Innovation can mean that the service the project develops Is completely new or Has never been done in this place before or Never focused on this target group before or Was never done in this partnership before or Was never done properly before Or never used technology (or a particular kind of technology) before.

Technology Program is open to ideas that deploy computers, access to the Internet, mobile phones and other mobile devices web 2.0 tools and any software applications that enable the development of these new services and outreach to the community.

EXAMPLES Community groups which need special care Emigrants Ethnic minorities Physically challenged Illiterate Homeless ….

Living and working together

Acess to information anytime, anywhere

Information literacy From books……to Internet

Children and youth Railway station hanging around before and after school

Ageing population Inclusion into the community Communication with friends and family E-government E-banking E-health E-shopping

Uneployed On the streetNew hope

Agriculture New methodsNew markets

PLIP-Round 1, 2009/2010 Call for proposals: 16th November Application deadline: 28th February 2010 Grants awarded: April 2010 Duration of projects: 12 months Applications in English User needs assessment (Tipsheet) Helpdesk:

User needs assessment The evidence of user needs should be about the target group(s) that the project aims to reach and serve. Evidence of "user needs" can be pre-existing or it can be gathered specifically for the project application. – Interpreting evidence such as statistics – Interviews with users, non users or stakeholders – Focus groups with users, non users or stakeholders (see Guidelines on running focus groups) – Surveys of users, non users or stakeholders – Anecdotal evidence/ hearsay/impressions – Pointing to success of similar services elsewhere ("benchmarking)

Eligible countries Middle East and North Africa Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Palestine (West Bank and Gaza) Sudan, Syria Asia Bangladesh, Cambodia, Republic of China, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, Vietnam Sub-saharan Africa Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Swaziland Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe Former Soviet Union Armenia, Azerbeijan, Belarus, Georgia Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tadjikistan Ukraine, Uzbekistan Balkan Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia EU Bulgaria, Estonia,Latvia,Lithuania,Poland, Romania, Slovenia Latin America Argentina, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico

We expect these new services that public libraries will be able to develop with the support from EIFL.net will make a real difference to peoples lives. Imagine a farmer in a remote rural community who will be linked up to the latest crop management, imagine a woman with health needs who can consult her distant doctor by . There is no end to the social and economic benefits such new services can trigger.We expect these new services that public libraries will be able to develop with the support from EIFL.net will make a real difference to peoples lives. Imagine a farmer in a remote rural community who will be linked up to the latest crop management, imagine a woman with health needs who can consult her distant doctor by . There is no end to the social and economic benefits such new services can trigger. (Debrorah Jacobs, Director of the Global Libraries Program of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation)

eIFL network - HELP How can we together promote the 1st Call for proposals? How can we identify, encourage and help those public libraries that have the potential?