INELI India and South Asia

Building librarian leadership for community development through new innovative services as events, activities and projects, requires learning programs adapting 21^st Century librarian’s skills. It also requires exposing librarian to the realities of the leadership and their engaged in redefining library spaces as a continuous learning centre for all.

INELI - India and South Asia was a comprehensive capacity building program, a global model that benefitted more than 70 public librarians in South Asia. This model equipped the selected librarians to graduate as library innovators through their participation in the online coursework and in person convening’s required to support continuous learning.  The open source e-platform was built to bring in multitude of changes in the way librarians, think design, innovative and create learning opportunities for their target groups beyond books.

A network of trailblazing innovative library leaders for South Asia, now formal graduates of the INELI India and South Asia project, have formulated a Foundation – Asia Network of Library Innovators’ Foundation (ANLiF). The foundation aims to empower librarians and act as enablers for catalyzing changes in the library field of this region.

MSSRF spearheaded the INELI India and South Asia, an adapted model from the global library program of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Since 2015, 3 Cohorts were conceived having 74 public librarians from 6 South Asian countries (Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, and Maldives).

Repositioning Indian Public Libraries are Life Long Knowledge Centre’s

INELI Innovators took to action to “Repositioning and Strengthening the Public Libraries in India, as community-led knowledge and learning centre’s”. The selected INELI Innovators of India have fostered and enhanced their own libraries by designing and creating innovative knowledge-based services for building sustainable vibrant community-oriented libraries. 50 public librarians from 19 States have adopted a consultative, needs based approach for meeting information, educational and learning needs of diverse communities.

For more than two years, they have been actively introducing diverse services and activities in their libraries. Many librarians are facilitating local partnerships, for delivering services in their libraries. They are also building bridges, with schools, colleges, local institutions to enhance access to information to one and all. The major achievements through this process, is captured in this 30 years poster developed in 2019, on the 30 years journey on “Empowering Knowledge Societies”.

Success Stories and Impact