PUBLIC LIBRARIES CONTRIBUTING TO EDUCATION
People using computers in Public Library 'Victoria Dorantes' No. 382, which serves the Atotonilco community in Tlaxo municipality in south-central Mexico.
Public Library 'Victoria Dorantes' No. 382, which serves the Atotonilco community in Tlaxo municipality in south-central Mexico, offers a pioneering distance education programme for a rural livestock farming community.

The work of the EIFL Public Library Innovation Programme demonstrates how public libraries in developing and transition economy countries are using digital technology in innovative ways to make a vital contribution to education of children and adults.

For example, four mobile regional libraries in Ghana travel to under-resourced schools every week bringing solar powered laptops to give thousands of children hands-on experience of computers and help them to pass exams. Biblioteca Oasis del Saber (Oasis of Knowledge Library) in rural Colombia uses digital technology to teach teenagers and adults how to read and write and to enable them to become active and engaged citizens. In Kenya, Nakuru Public Library’s e-learning programme is helping children conquer their fear of maths. Also in Kenya, 15 public libraries in the Kenya National Library Service Network are facilitating ‘Learning Circles’, which are offline study groups to to help adult learners complete online courses.