Modovan Library Partnership

In Spring 2006, the Robert M. Fales Health Sciences Library began an important and ongoing international endeavor with the eastern European country of Moldova. Donna Flake and Diane Darrow, began a partnership between the Moldovan Scientific Medical Library of the State Medical and Pharmaceutical University "Nicolae Testemitanu" and the medical libraries of North Carolina. As of the end of 2006 approaches, tremendous progress has been made thus far:

●	Over 40 boxes of current medical journals and books have been gathered for this Moldovan library and are awaiting shipment (The goal is to gather and ship 10,000 current medical books and journals to Moldova before December 2007.)
●	All of the North Carolina medical libraries are providing the Scientific Medical Library in Moldova free electronic interlibrary loans.
●	Four library vendors have provided the Scientific Medical Library of Moldova these excellent databases free of charge and they are: Elsevier provided & EBSCO provided Teton Data Systems provided provided OVID MEDLINE & Clin-eguide
●	Donna Flake and Diane Darrow spent a week in Moldova organizing and further developing the partnership in September 2006.

The medical library partnership is part of a broader bilateral agreement begun in 1997 between Governor Easley of North Carolina and President Voronin of Moldova. North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall facilitates the collaboration between North Carolina and Moldova, and her website describes other NC/Moldovan initiatives (http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/Partnership).

The Scientific Medical Library serves as the library of the State Medical and Pharmaceutical University of Moldova. It also serves another role as the National Medical Library of Moldova. The library employs 62 librarians and library assistants, and contains 1,200,000 books (almost all in Russian). The library's collection is spread over several locations at the University. The medical university is tremendously large by US standards, containing 800 professors, 7000 students, 1800 residents, and 91 residency programs.

Scientific Medical Library of Moldova

Liubovi Karnaeva, Director of the Scientific Medical Library

Moldovan Librarians

Reading Room inside the Scientific Medical Library

Silvia Ciubrei (Deputy Director) and Elena Barbos (Interlibrary Loan Specialist)

Silvia Ciubrei is a Deputy Director of the Scientific Medical Library of Moldova

These Moldovan librarians are the leaders of our international partnership:

● Silvia Ciubrei is the primary contact with the medical library initiative in Moldova. She is one of the four deputy directors of the Scientific Medical Library. Silvia is head of the Information Technologies and International Collaboration departments.

● Liubovi Karnaeva is the director of the Scientific Medical Library.

● Elizaveta Vedean is one of the four deputy directors of the Scientific Medical Library. Elizaveta is head of the Public Relations department and coordinates all of the reading rooms in the Scientific Medical Library.

NC/Moldovan Library Partnership

Front Row:

ElizavetaVedean, Silvia Ciubrei, Donna Flake, Diane Darrow, & Elena Barbos

Back Row:

Dr. Ghenadie Curochichin (Family Medicine Physician) & Dr. Angela Vatamanivc (Chief of Family Medicine)

The following North Carolina medical libraries are
participants in the partnership:

Health Sciences Library at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC http://www.hsl.unc.edu

Duke University Medical Center Library in Durham, NC http://www.mclibrary.duke.edu

Laupus Health Sciences Library at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC http://www.hsl.ecu.edu

Coy C. Carpenter Library of Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC http://www.wfubmc.edu/library

SEAHEC Medical Library in Wilmington, NC http://www.coastalahec.org/library/library-home.asp

Charlotte AHEC Library and Information Resource Center in Charlotte, NC http://www.charlotteahec.org/irc/index.cfm

Northwest AHEC Libraries in Hickory, Salisbury, and Boone, NC http://northwestahec.wfubmc.edu/link/members.html

Mountain AHEC Health Sciences Library in Asheville, NC http://www.mahec.net/library/index.asp

Area L AHEC Library/Information Center in Rocky Mount, NC http://www.arealahec.dst.nc.us/isinfo.htm

Wake AHEC Medical Library in Raleigh, NC http://www.wakeahec.org/library

Southern Regional AHEC Information Access Center in Fayetteville, NC http://www.southernregionalahec.org/students/iac.html

The following letter was written by Dr. Nicolae Esanu, the President of the State Medical and Pharmaceutical University "Nicolae Testemitanu" of the Republic of Moldova, to show his appreciation for these international efforts:

Since the North Carolina – Moldovan Medical Library Partnership began earlier this year, so much has been accomplished. The partnership has provided us a vital link to medical schools and medical information in North Carolina. The ability to get free electronic document delivery has and will improve health care in Moldova. Also, the links to medical information provided by the partnership have been essential. This new program is fantastic and we appreciate it and value it. The partnership has made a tremendous difference to all of us at the medical school and we are sure this will contribute to the improvement of the system of medical education and health care in our country. I would like to thank all persons who work and contribute to the development of this partnership