British Council, Cultural Affairs Ministry sign MoU for project Libraries Unlimited

The project is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the British Council and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs (MoCA) yesterday at 3pm in the conference room of the Cultural Affairs Ministry. On behalf of British Council, Barbara Wickham, director Bangladesh, and Ashish Kumar Sarkar, director general (additional secretary) of Department of Public Libraries, Ministry of Cultural Affairs signed the MoU to implement a five-year project, including a pilot phase of 18 months. The project will be implemented in full partnership with the Department of Public Libraries focusing three core areas of action: policy and advocacy, establishment of model libraries, and professional development of librarians. Libraries Unlimited aims to greatly improve the lives of the citizens of Bangladesh through creating new and innovative models of libraries that will provide free access to information, resources and internet with a particular focus on reaching women, young people “not in education, regular employment or training” (NEETs) aged between 15-24 and micro-entrepreneurs. The Libraries Unlimited project has been designed based on the findings of a nationwide research called Library Landscape Assessment of Bangladesh (LLAB). This new joint initiative will support the development of public libraries in Bangladesh by modernising the library network, raising awareness and capacity of government officers, training library staff and building public awareness of and access to library and information services.