The latest phase of funding for the EIFL-FOSS programme ran from 2010 to 2013

As the EIFL Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) programme draws to a close, we look back on a four-year programme of innovative activities using and promoting free software in libraries.

In doing so, we celebrate the funding from Open Society Foundations Information Program that allowed the programme to take place.

EIFL‘s Public Library Innovation Programme (EIFL-PLIP) is proud to present the results of the innovative public library services we have supported over the last three years.

The innovative services are all new to the public libraries and to the communities served. They were strengthened by working in partnership with a variety of government and non-governmental organizations – schools and universities, clinics and hospitals, employment bureaus, technology innovators, support agencies for farmers, youth and women, and many more.

The third day of December 2013 marked International Day of Persons with Disabilities – designated by the United Nations (UN) to promote understanding of disability issues, and to mobilize support for the rights of persons with disabilities.

Around the world, people with disabilities face physical, social and economic barriers that exclude them from participating fully and effectively as equal members of society.

An EIFL Public Library Innovation Programme (PLIP) project that connects expecting mothers with needed health information through mobile phones has been featured in the Impatient Optimist development blog. 

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On November 11 – 13, 2013, 82 participants from 47 countries met to debate the latest developments in electronic content delivery, to discover emerging topics that have a significance for libraries, and to share achievements from library consortia over the last year.

Open Access Week 2013 is a global event, now in its 7th year that promotes open access as a new norm in scholarship and research. The theme this year was "Open Access: Redefining Impact".

"We are delighted to see EIFL partner countries actively engaged in holding a diverse number of events, educating the researchers, students and general public and spreading awareness," said Iryna Kuchma, EIFL Open Access Programme Manager.

In celebration of Open Access Week 2013, we reached out to librarians and partners within our global EIFL network to answer a very simple question:

EIFL works with library consortia in more than 46 countries to help build their organisational skills and capacity to cooperate in sharing online resources, skills and services. This, in turn, enhances their members’ ability to deliver effective information services and programmes.

“Over the last 14 years, EIFL has been a strong supporter of library consortia,” explained Rima Kupryte, Director of EIFL.

As part of the Beyond Access delegation to Myanmar, EIFL team members Rima Kupryte and Monika Elbert met with Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Myanmar MP Aung San Suu Kyi.

The delegation met with Aung San Suu Kyi in Naypyidaw to discuss her vision of public libraries in Myanmar and the roles these libraries can play in the communities they serve.

Read more about this remarkable meeting here.