Dear Librarian Friends!

As you might remember, in the beginning of this year, Evan Tracz, the director of Novateca, and the IREX Moldova/Novateca team received the Ion Madan award from the Minister of Culture for successful implementation of the program. Along with the award, a cash prize was also conferred by the ministry. This award and prize were a great honor for IREX Moldova and all Novateca participants.

Given that the success of Novateca and the transformation of public libraries in Moldova is largely due to the work of dedicated librarians throughout the country, Evan and the Novateca team have decided to share the cash prize with some of the most proactive partners from the Novateca network.

Therefore, today we are pleased to announce a small contest for library transformation success stories. We invite all librarians from the Novateca network who have facilitated the transformation of their libraries into multi-functional, interactive community centers to submit a short narrative that highlights the changes and successes that have taken place, and their effects on users and the wider community.

The success stories should be no longer than one page, have an attractive title, describe clearly the aspects of the library that have changed to become more community-oriented, the results the library has realized, and the effects on the whole community (quotations from one or more of the library users that has been impacted by the library change are recommended). The stories should be accompanied by one relevant photo related to the success story, and the contact information of the librarian.

The 8 most inspiring stories selected by Evan and a panel of Novateca staff will be posted online, and the librarian-writer will receive a 1000 MDL prize to be used however the librarian chooses.

This mini-contest is separate from other Novateca opportunities and contests, and is simply a way for Evan and the IREX Moldova/Novateca team to personally share the successes and achievements celebrated by the Ministry of Culture, and say THANK YOU for your continued dedication to making Moldovan public libraries powerful hubs for community development and exchange!

Please send your success stories by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 15.00 on August 19th to be considered for the prize. Please also include in the email subject line: Contest - Library Transformation Success Story.

We look forward to reading about your achievements!

Sincerely,
The Novateca Team