[A2k] eIFL Success Story wins UNESCO Information for All Programme award

[Teresa Hackett (eIFL)]

http://www.eifl.net/cps/sections/news/press-area/2008-06-09
http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=3D27024&URL_DO=3DDO_TOPIC&URL_=
SECTION=3D201.html

PRESS RELEASE
June 9, 2008

eIFL award winning story =93Open Source Software brings a new lease of
life to libraries in Palestine=94

The UNESCO Information for All Programme (IFAP) recently invited UNESCO
Member States, NGOs and professional groups to share their stories and
good practices in using information for development in all parts of the
world. The stories collected provide practical examples to inspire
others and raise the visibility of the critically important role that
information plays in development. eIFL.net submitted stories from its
=93Spotlight=94 series, which highlights achievements of eIFL members, and
the users of their library services, in developing and transition countries=
.

=93We are delighted that an eIFL story was one of the five stories
selected by the Bureau of the Information for All Programme=94, said Rima
Kupryte, Director of eIFL.net. =93We are keenly aware of the value of
information for development, and the pivotal role of modern library
services. This story is a prime example of how eIFL=92s vibrant knowledge
sharing network empowers member library consortia in developing and
transition countries to improve access to electronic resources for
faculty and students=94.

The eIFL award winning story illustrates how a few old computers, some
freely available open source software and a little knowledge was all
that it took to create a high-speed network that pleased staff and
astonished students in the Main Library at Birzeit University in
Palestine=92s West Bank. =93These stories describe the innovative ways in
which people and communities are using information to address issues
that affect them directly=94, said Miriam Nisbet, the Secretary of the
Information for All Programme. =93They provide good examples from which
others can learn and either replicate or adapt them to their own local
situations=94. As an incentive, each of the five stories will receive
$5,000 project funding support from UNESCO IFAP, upon submission of a
project proposal linked to the story.

=93We are honoured that UNESCO chose to highlight our achievement, which
we are proud to share with the rest of the world=94, said Diana
Sayej-Nasser, eIFL coordinator for Palestine West Bank. =93The library has
really benefited from the new high-speed network and the students have
ten more computers with access to the Internet, online databases, the
library catalogue and Ritaj, the university=92s academic web portal=94.

"Free and open source software solutions like the one used in this
project are great multipliers=94, added Randy Metcalfe, eIFL-FOSS
Programme Manager. =93They combine cost savings on software licence fees
with extended useful-life of near-obsolete IT hardware, but most
important of all is how they help build local skills and expertise that
can be used again and again."

Read the eIFL story: www.eifl.net
UNESCO IFAP Success Stories: www.unesco-ci.org

Further information:
Rima Kupryte, Director
Electronic Information for Libraries (eIFL)
c/o ADN Kronos, Piazza Mastai 9
00153 Rome, Italy
Tel: +(39)(06)5807216/17
E-mail: info[at]eifl.net
www.eifl.net

Misako Ito
Information Society Division
Communication and Information Sector
UNESCO
1, rue Miollis
75732 Paris Cedex 15, France
E-mail: m.ito@unesco.org
www.unesco.org

Notes for Editors

eIFL.net
eIFL.net is an international foundation, which supports national library
consortia in more than forty-five transition and developing countries to
negotiate and advocate for the wide availability of electronic resources
to education, research and professional communities as well as
governmental organisations and civil society. This global network
embraces millions of users in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, the former
Soviet Union and the Middle East.

UNESCO Information for All Programme (IFAP)
The Information for All Programme is the only intergovernmental
programme exclusively dedicated to promoting universal access to
information and knowledge for development. This is a key plank in
building Knowledge Societies.

UNESCO=92s Information for All Programme (IFAP) encourages communities
using information for development to share their success stories. IFAP
therefore invited organizations to submit their stories to its website
where others can learn from them and either replicate or adapt them to
their own local situations. Five stories around the world, out of a
total of 34 submissions, were selected for project funding support.