Location

- Tirana, Albania

Population
- 40,000

Implementer
- Tirana Public Library No. 5

Co-Partners
- Co-Plan
- Albanian Association of Libraries

Primary local funder
- Municipality of Tirana

Co-funders
- Open Society Institute-Europe, Information Program
- Canadian International Development Agency
- Open Society Foundation-Albania
- Municipality of Tirana
- United Nations Development Programme

Operational
- Since 2003

Target Groups
- Children
- Young adults
- Women
- Elderly
- Groups with special needs

Communities served
- Bathore, Schools in Tirana administrative districts 6 and 8, Kombinat Q.R., Bregu I Lumit

Languages
- Albanian (Tosk)

Content
-Books: 2,800 Volumes

Activities
- Loan of books and other media
- Information and printing services
- Reference services and materials
- Preparing leaflets to distribute information on hygiene, nutrition, health, agriculture and animal husbandry, among other topics
- Providing Internet access with a fully automated catalogue, with special emphasis on enabling job seekers to get information about jobs and training applicants on job skills
- Creating a special program to combat illiteracy
- Providing materials to support development of basic life skills
- Children’s services such as storytelling and reading hours organized to develop and sustain in children the lifelong habit and enjoyment of reading and learning
- Young adult services to include books and multimedia materials to target the special needs of this age group
- Materials for family education, health information, introduction to the Internet; human rights education, among other topics
- Materials for individuals with physical and sensory disabilities

APPROACH

InfoBus is attached to Public Library No. 5, one of eight public libraries in the administrative districts of Tirana.

 

In the last 20 years libraries have been facing difficulties from lack of funds and total amortization of their collections. This has led to a reduction in services. With the implementation of this project, the library turns into a local centre of information. The access to hardware, software, and networking will be a good possibility for the citizens to connect with contemporary technology.
Reita Tato, former Director, Tirana Public Library No. 5

The InfoBus crew cooperates with local government, non-governmental organizations and schools to identify services to meet the information needs of the surrounding communities. One of the most problematic areas is Bathore. A majority of its 40,000 inhabitants came to the Tirana suburb from impoverished villages in northeastern Albania. Their mass migration towards urban centers began in the 1990s during a period of profound political changes following the fall of communism. Education levels among these migrant populations are low. About 20 percent has the equivalent of a high school diploma. Only five percent has a university degree. Unemployment is high. There is no cultural centre in communities such as Bathore. That means no concerts, theatres, festivals or other outlets for the inhabitants.

The InfoBus crew is working closely with Co-Plan (Centre for Habitat Development), a professional NGO actively involved in urban and rural development since 1997, to fulfil its objective of delivering information access. Together with local government and schools, the InfoBus has initiated efforts to identify target groups (children, young adults, individuals and groups with special needs) and surveying information needs among those groups. The data allows the crew to adjust the collection to fulfil the needs of communities served. Cooperating and sharing resources with local partners and NGOs is ongoing. Fundraising continues as a vital need to secure sustainability of the service. Efforts are underway to adapt InfoBus as a media centre for all ages.


BACKGROUND

Since 1990, governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, a dilapidated infrastructure, widespread gangster-style crime, and political setbacks.

There is a vast difference in development of rural and urban areas. Younger, employable men and women have left villages in search of work in Tirana and other urban centers, leaving elderly people behind. Males work in neighboring countries such as Greece, Italy and other West Europe countries to support women and children who remain behind. For young adults, opportunities are limited daily by a shortage of jobs and economic prospects. An uncontrolled and disorganized mass migration from provincial areas to urban centers has widened the divide between children and youth who have access to education and wide-ranging information, and those who do not. The strain on urban areas has put a strain on services managed by local governments unable to cope with the increasing demands for information on basic education, civic awareness, public health, human rights, people with special needs, and minority relations.

Due to lack of funds many cultural centers, which were in the past active in villages, are now closed. There are no public libraries in some of the small towns and in most of the villages. In those towns and villages where libraries exist there is a lack of space, buildings are in a state of disrepair and titles are old. Newspapers are often not available at all. In this context, new information technologies such as e-mail or Internet are ideas ahead of their time in Albania. Television and radio are the only source of information for provinces; telephone lines are limited. The only place for the youth to meet is in cafes and restaurants; many young people are suffering from alcohol or drug abuse.
 

Last update: October 2005

Map: Source: Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection, University of Texas at Austin