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• Index of this issue

No. 55, March 2006

1. Project name: “Training resource center for Mongolian librarians”

• Project sponsor: Soros Foundation ($37000)
• Project implementing institution: National Library of Mongolia
• Project coverage: All libraries throughout the country
• Duration: 2001 – 2003
• Project result: It was revealed by the joint research survey conducted by UNESCO, Soros Foundation, Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in the book and press field that in total over 1800 librarians are working in Mongolian libraries, but 48% of them were not professional librarians, in addition around 90 % of all Mongolian librarians were not involved in any kind of the librarianship advanced trainings for last 15 years by that time. It was especially true for librarians working in rural areas, namely soum librarians. Within this project, in total 23 training sessions had been organized in city, and regional levels, covering all Mongolian libraries and 876 librarians in total were involved in those training sessions. In addition, a new training resource center with equipments, costing 13 million tugriks had been established at the National Library of Mongolia.

2. Project name: “Pushkin’s library”

• Project sponsor: Soros Foundation ($100000)
• Project implementing organization: National Library of Mongolia
• Project coverage: All libraries throughout the country
• Duration: 1999 – 2003
• Project result: Due to the financial shortage and too high transportation and post expenses, Mongolian libraries were not able to enrich their book stacks with newly published books and publications published on the Russian language since 1990. Thanks to this project, Mongolian libraries had been supplied with newly released publications, books, text-books, dictionaries, children’s literature etc. with special discounted prices (discounts fluctuated between 97,5 – 25 %). Actually, this project was being implemented by the Russian Soros Foundation and the Mongolian Foundation for Open Society enormously contributed so that Mongolian libraries were involved in the mentioned project. Over 124 urban and rural libraries of our country had been involved in 7 time contests and enriched their stacks with over 32000 books costing over 110 million tugriks.

3. Project name: “Book donation”

• Project sponsor: Soros Foundation
• Project implementing organization: National Library of Mongolia
• Project coverage: All libraries throughout the country
• Duration: 1999 – 2003
• After considering the “Pushin’s library” project significance, it was decided to supply the Mongolian libraries with newly published Mongolian books. So the Mongolian Foundation for Open Society (Soros Foundation) had supported the project “Book donation” and in total 261 libraries from 21 aimags had been involved in the mentioned project  and enriched their stacks with books, costing over 130 million tugriks.  When there was a contest of best reports on implementation and significance of projects supported by Soros Foundation in Mongolia which was dedicated to the 5th anniversary of establishment of the Mongolian Foundation for Open Society in Mongolia, the report of activities on  projects “Pushkin’s library” and “Book donation” had been selected as the best one. This fact clearly says about the importance of those projects in Mongolia. Those projects not only enriched library stacks with new books, publications, but greatly contributed in cooperation between book publishing fields and distribution of books and publications during the transition period.

4. Project name: “Book Palace for Children”

• Project sponsor: Soros Foundation
• Project implementing organization: Book Palace for Children
• Project coverage: Book Palace for Children, the hall “Great Knowledge”
• Duration: 2003 – 2004
• Project significance: the reading room targeted the children between 0 – 10 years old had been established in Mongolia for the first time.

5. Project name: “Education development, Internet reading room”

• Project sponsor: Education Field Program, Asian Development Bank ($36000)
• Project implementing organization: Book Palace for Children
• Project coverage: Book Palace for Children
• Duration: 2003
• Project significance: In accordance with Implemention Program of Mongolian Government between 2000 - 2004, when the Book Palace for Children had been re-established in 2004, Mongolian Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Education Field Program, Asian Development Bank paid special attention and invested over 40 million tugriks. Thanks to this investment, the reading room “Education development” with 120 seats targeted to high school students fully equipped with modern technique and equipments and the reading room “Internet” targeted to young generation’s information need had been established at the Book Palace for Children. Today in average 200 students and pupils are being served by mentioned two reading rooms per day. In addition, thanks to the support of the mentioned program to equip the library’s local computer network and Internet reading room with modern equipments, the Book Palace for Children had been starting the electronic cataloguing.

6.Project name: ‘Culture and Information Center of Switzerland”

• Project sponsor: Swiss Development and Cooperation Society ($28000)
• Project implementing organization: Book Palace for Children
• Project coverage: Book Palace for Children
• Duration: 2004
• Project significance: creating a complex database on Switzerland, its development, achiements, the fields that more cooperative (especially agriculture, tourism, education) and conducting trainings and advertising; establishing contacts with Mongolian citizens living in Switherland; giving information on how to study at Swiss universities and colleges; displaying the peculiarities of Swiss folk customs and ethnic culture;

7. Project name: “Mobile library”

• Project sponsor: Soros Foundation ($110000)
• Project implementing organization: Municipal Central Library
• Project coverage: Community population living in suburb areas of Ulaanbaatar
• Duration: 2000
• Project significance: Delivering the library services to inhabitants living in suburb areas.

8. Project name: “Speaking library”

• Project sponsor: Asian Development Bank($10000)
• Project implementing organization: Municipal Central Library
• Project coverage: Blind citizens
• Duration: 2004
• Project significance: Asian Development Bank and Blind Citizens Society’s joint project on delivering the library services to blind citizens.

9. Project name: “American Information Library”

• Project sponsor: American Embassy in Ulaanbaatar
• Project implementing organization: Municipal Central Library
• Project coverage: citizens of Mongolia
• Duration: 2004
• Project significance: delivering open access information through the American culture and information center.

10. Project name: “Establishing the scientific research library”

• Project sponsor: Mongolian Ministry of Education, Culture and Science ($58000)
• Project implementing organization: Mongolian Academy of Sciences
• Project coverage: all researchers, scholars working at the Mongolian Academy of Sciences
• Duration: 2004
• Project significance: Establishing a new library equipped with modern equipments and facilities for researchers, scholars belonging to the Mongolian Academy of Sciences.

11. Project name: “Electronic library”

• Project sponsor: Education Field Program, Asian Development Bank ($55000)
• Project implementing organization: Mongolian Education University
• Project coverage: professors and students of the Mongolian Education University
• Duration: 2004
• Project significance: Establishing a new library equipped with modern facilities and equipments.