Media Release

Community Hope in East Timor Libraries

What role can libraries play in rebuilding a war ravaged society? An enormously positive one according to Patti Manolis CEO of the Geelong Regional Library Corporation, who will soon deliver a lecture on the subject at the State Library of Victoria.

War destroyed much of East Timor’s infrastructure and with little money to rebuild, the road to independence has been a rocky one. One area for hope is East Timor’s public libraries and the substantial role they are playing in education, skills development and community building.

In 2003 Patti Manolis was awarded the Margery C Ramsay Scholarship, which allowed her to undertake a study tour of libraries in East Timor, including university, school and community libraries. Patti observed the significant hardships the East Timorese face in literacy and learning.

A lack of facilities, money and East Timor’s diverse set of languages are huge challenges for libraries. The official languages of East Timor - Tetum and Portuguese - are joined by many indigenous languages, making book sourcing and selection difficult. Despite this Patti says libraries are making steady progress.

‘Libraries in East Timor are helping to rebuild a culture suppressed by occupation and war. Schools don’t have libraries here. Many houses are too small to allow quiet study and reflective learning. Libraries in East Timor are bringing people together to share stories and learn. Steadily libraries are introducing computers and the Internet into communities that have very little technology. Books in the national and native languages are hard to come by but libraries are sourcing and sharing them which makes a big difference in the lives of people who cannot otherwise access them.

Giving communities access to modern information in a format they understand is vital for the development of a confident and able society. While there is still much to do we are seeing the important work of education, knowledge and community building underway in East Timor’s libraries, not only in Dili, but in very remote districts too,’ she said.

Lecture

'Libraries in East Timor: Rebuilding a nation's knowledge' by Patti Manolis
Time: Wednesday 21 May 2008, 6.30-7.30pm
Venue: Experimedia, State Library of Victoria, 328 Swanton St Melbourne
Bookings: 03 8664 7555  or  learning@slv.vic.gov.au
Cost: Free

Media inquiries

Matthew van Hasselt
Media relations coordinator, State Library of Victoria
Ph: 03 8664 7263
Email: mvanhasselt@slv.vic.gov.au