Gates Award Goes To Library System in Medellin, Colombia
"Library parks" used to regenerate city
-- Library Journal, 09/14/2009
- $1 million Access to Learning Award
- Recognition for service to the underserved
- Computers, library visits took huge jump
More than two years, ago, the press (and then LJ) took note of innovative efforts in Medellin, Colombia, to use the public library as an anchor for community regeneration.
Recently, the Fundación Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM Foundation), which is responsible for managing the Network of Public Libraries (NPL) that serves Medellín and environs, won $1 million as the recipient of the 2009 Access to Learning Award given by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.The foundation cited five library parks among the NPL’s 34 libraries, These library parks, aimed to rebuild poverty-stricken neighborhoods, have become cultural centers, providing broad, community access to information and educational resources.
The foundation noted that the libraries make a special effort to reach out to traditionally underserved groups, including low-income people, housewives, and the elderly. The individual-to-computer ratio has been shrunk dramatically, from 140 to 1 in 2005, to 47 to 1 in 2008. The number of library visitors has also grown, from 90,000 to more than 500,000 per month.
Revitalization success
"The EPM Foundation's efforts have contributed to the revitalization of Medellín by providing residents with access to information and training, and creating new hope and a renewed sense of community," said Deborah Jacobs, director of the Global Libraries initiative for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, at an award ceremony in Milan, Italy August 25 during the World Library and Information Congress of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).
"Their work is a stunning example of how a country can use the power of public libraries and technology to transform people's lives," she said.
The EPM Foundation will use the award to expand the services on its web portal and develop information and communication technology training programs.
