Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recognizes Guatemala’s Probigua and Argentina’s Biblioteca del Congreso with the 2001 Access to Learning Award

BOSTON — The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced today that Proyecto Bibliotecas Guatemala (Probigua) and the Biblioteca del Congreso de la Nación Argentina have been jointly awarded the 2001 Access to Learning Award for their exceptional efforts to expand access to information, computers and the Internet for all people.

“Probigua and the Biblioteca del Congreso have made tremendous strides to improve public access to information in their respective countries,” said Richard Akeroyd, executive director of Libraries and Public Access to Information for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “We hope that the work they have undertaken in Guatemala and Argentina will serve as models for other countries and organizations.”

The institutions will each receive a $250,000 grant to develop new initiatives and expand their outreach to patrons throughout their countries.

“Access to technology and information will raise the educational level and productivity of many Guatemalan people who dream of a better life for themselves and their communities,” said Rigoberto Zamora, executive director and founder of Probigua. “This award will help Guatemala reach those goals.”

“With this award, we hope to build on the services that we offer readers by increasing the quantity and quality of computer equipment in the Multimedia Room,” said Carlos Alberto Martínez, director coordinator general of the Biblioteca del Congreso. “Then, we will be able to reach all segments of society and fill our city’s thirst for knowledge.”

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Access to Learning Award annually recognizes outstanding libraries, organizations or countries that provide patrons with access to information in innovative and useful ways. Only entities outside of the United States are eligible for consideration. This is the second year the award has been given. Last year’s recipient was the Helsinki City Library of Finland.

Award recipients are evaluated based on their innovative approaches and service to reach low-income individuals who are not current library users as well as effective implementation of technology and services to patrons in their native tongues.

Probigua’s outreach to low-income patrons is pioneering in a country where few communities have access to books or libraries. Probigua establishes and maintains public libraries in rural areas using funding generated by its not-for-profit language school.

Probigua is also working to establish technology centers in affiliation with its libraries. The first center is located at the Instituto Indigena Nuestra Señora del Scoro, a teacher training program for indigenous young women in Antigua. Students there learn basic computer programs, as well as Internet use and Web site creation. This program focuses on young women who most likely will return to their indigenous communities and use their new skills to help their people. A second computer center is scheduled to open later this year.

The Argentine Biblioteca del Congreso originated and continues to function as a service for the country's legislature. In 1917, the library was also charged with serving the general public. Unlike almost all of the country's "bibliotecas populares," which charge service fees and require citizens to pay membership, the Biblioteca del Congreso provides its services free of charge.

The Biblioteca del Congreso provides extraordinary service to the public. With 24 hours of nonstop service six days a week and eight hours on Sunday, the library helps about 1,300 visitors every day. In addition, the library’s Multimedia Room, which includes public access Internet terminals, is open 12 hours a day and will become a 24-hour service by the end of the year.

The foundation chose Probigua and Biblioteca del Congreso through a selection process involving an anonymous committee of distinguished members of the international library community. These members were critical advisers to the foundation on the identification and nomination of potential award recipients.

On the Web:
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, www.gatesfoundation.org

Biblioteca del Congreso, www.bcnbib.gov.ar

Probigua, www.probigua.conexion.com