“We rural folk do not have time to read long laws and regulations, and I was glad to receive answers to my questions during the webinar,” a farmer, Mrs Mārīte Ramata, told librarians. In just one year 2011/12, the library organized eight webinars on topics including accessing European Union agricultural subsidies, taxes, farm accounting and organic farming. Webcasts through 20 rural public libraries attracted 1,878 viewers. The service has inspired the Ministry of Agriculture to use webinars for their regional agricultural conferences.
The service was initiated with support from the EIFL Public Library Innovation Programme (EIFL-PLIP) in 2011. The case study is based on impact assessment conducted by the library.