Twenty-five Ethiopian librarians will attend a four-day capacity building workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital city.

The workshop is part of a joint project of EIFL, Addis Ababa Culture and Tourism Bureau and the Consortium of Ethiopian Academic and Research Libraries (CEARL). The project aims to modernize operations at 11 public libraries in Addis Ababa by equipping them with computers and internet connections, and building their capacity to integrate their new technology into services that meet the information and skills needs of children and youth.

Addis Ababa Culture and Tourism Bureau, the agency responsible for development of libraries in the city, is to equip the libraries.

Working with the EIFL Public Library Innovation Programme (EIFL-PLIP), CEARL has designed a training curriculum focused on technology, e-literacy skills and new service development. The curriculum draws on experience gained by EIFL-PLIP in implementing similar capacity building programmes in Ghana, Kenya and Uganda.

The 25 trainees include two public librarians from each of the 11 public libraries that will be equipped with ICT, and three library professionals identified by CEARL to become trainers in future, and who will learn the curriculum and the training methodology. 

The training will take place in Addis Ababa University Library Cloud Computing Centre. It will be led by international trainer and impact assessment specialist Kristine Paberza, and Ato Mesfin Gezahegn, chairman of CEARL.

Read more about EIFL's capacity building programme for public librarians in Africa.