IREX is pleased to announce that Romania has been selected for the Mortenson Center Leaders and Innovators Training Program, together with Latvia. This training program will offer Biblionet the opportunity to collaborate with Mortenson Center to develop customized training that will focus on developing library leaders in Romania who will be able to expand innovative and relevant library services in these times of rapid changes.
Through the Leaders and Innovators Training Program, 13 to15 Romanian librarians will be exposed to best practices of excellent public libraries in other countries. Participants will have the opportunity to study the policies, services, and funding sources needed to fully support a library system that is responsive to the needs of the community and proactive in addressing the information needs of its users.  This customized training will focus on providing relevant library services in times of great changes, such as the rapid expansion of information and communications technology.  This program is supported by funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The training will consist of a three-week program in the United States, followed by a week-long visit to another country with innovative libraries. In addition to the training, visits, and discussions offered during these visits, the participants will be asked to develop a project that will have a positive impact on the public libraries. These projects will be implemented within one year of the return of the participants to Romania. Biblionet team, in coordination with the Mortenson Center team, will assist with the implementation of the projects.  Participants will be eligible to apply for small grants to support the implementation of the projects.

More information about the will be provided soon on biblionet.ro website.

About the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs

Begun in 1991 The Mortenson Center for International Library Programs is a unique professional, non-degree program, designed to meet the needs of librarians around the world. Over 800 librarians from 89 countries have already taken advantage of programming through the Mortenson Center programs in the United States.  The Mortenson Center staff have also been active in regional and country projects in Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti,  Nicaragua, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.  The Mortenson Center staff work to develop partnerships with local library organizations in order to deliver programs that meet the needs of the librarians of each country.
The Mortenson Center is located at the University of Illinois, considered one of the finest universities in the world. With a wealth of resources and highly ranked departments, Illinois is on the cutting edge in many academic fields and has long been recognized for its accomplishments in research and graduate education. There are over 40,000 students at the University of Illinois from 50 states and 100 nations. The University of Illinois is located in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana (combined population: 100,000), situated about 140 miles south of Chicago in a rural, agricultural location.
The Mortenson Center offices are located in the University of Illinois Library. The University Library is the largest academic library at a public university in the United States. Today, with holdings of more than 11 million volumes, the library has strengths in many areas ranging from hard sciences to the humanities.
Please visit the Mortenson Center website for more information: www.library.illinois.edu/mortenson.