On June 25th, Novateca held the first meeting of the newly created Novateca Advisory Board. The board was established to guide Novateca’s activities and, in doing so, to bring experience and strategies to support the sustainable development of the library system in Moldova.
The board is composed of eleven distinguished leaders from the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Information Technology and Communications, Ministry of Education, Parliament, National Library of Moldova, e-Government Center, Moldtelecom and academia.
''We are very proud to launch the Novateca Advisory Board today. This Board will encourage an open dialogue between leaders from diverse disciplines and expertise to the benefit of the program and the library system,'' explained the Novateca Program Director, Evan Tracz.
The Board will convene twice a year to provide insight, guidance and feedback on Novateca activities as the program develops. Additionally, the board will help promote the idea of libraries as centers for community and individual development.
Gheorghe Postică, Vice-minister of the Ministry of Culture, stated ''this program is already of a great importance since it aroused the interest of local public administrations in libraries. We can see that the investments made by the mayoralties are commensurate with the investment done by Novateca. This is a huge success, since it denotes a change in the mentality of the mayors and a key element for future sustainability.'' The Board will also serve as a platform for discussion about strengthening the capacity of the library sector and ensuring the sustainability of the Moldovan public library system after the Novateca national program concludes.
Vitalie Tarlev, Vice-minister of the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications, pledged support for library development and welcomed the strong partnership established between the library sector and private partners. ''We welcome the involvement of the telecommunications operator, Moldtelecom, in this program and hope this will compel the interest of end-users and other private and public entities, and be a real step toward the development of a modern information society.''
The partners were encouraged to use the Novateca network of libraries to promote different programs, and deliver content, ideas and products to communities throughout Moldova.
About NOVATECA
Novateca is a pilot project that was launched in May 2012 with the objective to gain an in-depth understanding of the opportunities for providing wide scale public access to information and communication technologies through the existing public library network. The program is focusing its activities on networking with a wide range of library stakeholders, providing training to librarians, and piloting public access to information and communication technologies in selected public libraries throughout Moldova. Over the past year, Novateca selected and equipped 68 public libraries from Soroca, Ungheni, Orhei, Leova, Ceadîr-Lunga, Căușeni, Drochia, Telenești, Călărași, Hîncești, Cahul and Taraclia raions, with computers and peripheral equipment, and offered a diverse array of training courses on IT and Computer Management, as well as New Library Service Development to more than 200 librarians with the aim to maximize the potential of new technological resources for the benefit of their communities.