U.S. Embassy awards grants to Ukrainian public libraries (05/16/04)

U.S. Embassy awards grants to Ukrainian public libraries

Embassy of the United States

KYIV - The U.S. Embassy on April 28 awarded grants to 16 Ukrainian public libraries to open free public Internet centers as part of the Library Electronic Access Project (LEAP). The goal of this program is to provide Ukrainian citizens with free and open access to information.

At the opening of a seminar for the winners of the grant competition, U.S. Ambassador John Herbst congratulated the directors of the winning libraries. "Ukrainian libraries can play an important role in the strengthening of democracy in Ukraine. In this important election year, the need for access to information is particularly acute. These Internet centers will ensure that more Ukrainian citizens have free access to information available on the Internet," the ambassador underscored.

Since 2001 the U.S. government has devoted more than $1.4 million to improving Ukrainian citizens' access to information by opening free Internet centers in public libraries. Libraries receive grants of up to $24,000 for computer equipment, software, two years of Internet access and training. These 16 grants bring the total number of Ukrainian libraries that have received LEAP grants to 76.

The 16 libraries that won grants in the LEAP IV competition are: Bila Tserkva Central City Library, Kyiv Oblast; Horodok Central Regional Library, Khmelnytsky Oblast; Horokhivska Central Regional Library, Volyn Oblast; Dzhankoy Central Regional Library, Crimea; Dykanka Central Library, Poltava Oblast; Dolyna Centralized Library System, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast; Zhydachiv Regional Centralized Library System, Lviv Oblast; Zdolbuniv Central Regional Library, Rivne oblast 9; Kalanchak Centralized Library System, Kherson Oblast; Nizhyn Central City Library, Chernihiv Oblast; Okhtyrka Central City Library, Sumy Oblast; Pryluky Central City Library, Chernihiv Oblast; Terebovlia Central Regional Library, Ternopil oblast 14; Kherson Centralized Library System, Kherson Oblast; Lutsk Centralized Library System, Volyn Oblast; and Druzhkivka Central City Library, Donetsk Oblast.

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