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Programs | L.I.T.S. | Library Development Library Development Libraries As funding permits, Sabre staff and consultants work with overseas institutions to develop library collections and technical services, as well as advise in the application of information technology. Creating online catalogues is important for libraries around the world, but especially those libraries in countries where access to information has not always been considered a public good. As more countries move toward democratic practices in government, other public and private institutions are following. Sabre has helped libraries obtain special collections and advised in the cataloguing of those acquisitions. Even more challenging projects involve re-cataloguing the thousands of materials classified by systems so obsolete as to be useless. Many libraries want to respond to the need for more accurate and efficient cataloguing systems, and library patrons are just as anxious for the higher quality service. Sabre can help in these efforts. Sabre has assisted libraries in conducting technical needs assessments of facilities. For institutions that would like to add to their technical equipment stock or create a new computer facility, Sabre can advise the staff based on comprehensive needs assessments. Even with modest additions to an institution's hardware and software, operations can be streamlined and access to the Internet increased. Sabre staff also work with overseas institutions to develop library and archives-oriented projects. Such initiatives have included a pilot electronic document delivery project and feasibility study on a portable digital camera/recordable CD-ROM module that can be used for preserving archival materials. Librarians The growing role of libraries worldwide as sources for print and electronic information means that the role of the librarian is changing. In libraries where Internet access is available to the public and at university libraries, librarians are often called upon to provide basic on-the-spot training to patrons who want to access the Internet. Librarians are in a unique position to provide a valuable service to people who otherwise may have no place to turn for training. As "information deliverers," librarians play a role in initiating and sustaining successful use of the Internet. As information sources continue to proliforate, the role of the librarian becomes ever more important. For that reason, Sabre encourages librarians and others in the library field to participate in specially designed Internet training workshops. Librarians who have participated in Sabre's Information Technology Workshops have become more competent Internet users and have learned how to use the Internet to the benefit of their institutions at home. In October 2000, four librarians from Algeria participated in two weeks of workshops at Sabre, each individual representing a library at a different level of Internet connectivity. Read the complete training report. In November, 2000, Mrs. Valentina Bannerman of University College of Education of Winneba (Ghana) spent three weeks training at Sabre. Read the training report here. In September, 2001, Mrs. Evangeline Barongo of the Kampala Children's Library, Kampala, Uganda, spent two weeks training at Sabre. Read the training report here