Training Workshop for Librarians of Public Libraries

Over the decade before this project, Latvia's public libraries had been expanding from spaces to read and borrow books into a nationwide network of trusted places supporting digital skills and lifelong learning, a shift accelerated by the earlier 'Father's Third Son' library development project (2006-2013). The Training Workshop for Librarians of Public Libraries was run by the Culture Information Systems Centre together with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, the State Radio and Television Centre, the State Revenue Service, the Rural Support Service and the Register of Enterprises of Latvia.

The workshops aimed to introduce public librarians to up-to-date e-services and e-government tools -- covering the general electronic environment, e-signatures, the State Revenue Service's electronic declaration system, the Rural Support Service's application system, and the Register of Enterprises -- so that librarians could in turn train citizens in their local communities.

A total of 31 training sessions were held in regional libraries and regional training centres, training 1,075 librarians from more than 650 public libraries across five curriculum modules. As part of the related international research project 'Daily innovators and daily educators in the libraries', the Culture Information Systems Centre also surveyed a representative sample of Latvian public libraries in February 2016 on their educational offer for adults.

The February 2016 survey found that, over the previous 12 months, adults were a priority group for non-formal training at 60% of public libraries, 54% of libraries worked specifically with unemployed people, and digital literacy skills (e.g. basic computer use, software, internet search, e-services) were the top training priority reported by 73% of libraries.

The project reinforced public libraries' role as hubs for digital and social inclusion in Latvia, particularly for older people and marginalised groups, and demonstrated librarians as a scalable channel for training citizens directly, though the reported figures are programme/survey self-reports rather than an independent impact evaluation.