In a solemn ceremony held on Tuesday, the Moldova State University (USM) inaugurated the Book Stock Digitization Laboratory of the University’s Library. The initiative was possible thanks to the partnership with the Embassy of Japan in Chisinau. The laboratory is equipped with state-of-the-art technology that enables the transcription in digital format of volumes of books, scientific works and manuscripts from the library’s collection and of other works of cultural value, IPN reports.

The project to create the digital library at the USM was financed by the Government of Japan within the Kusanone program of grants in the field of culture. The US$70,800 grant was used to purchase equipment for scanning books and managing data (scanners in A2, A3 format, computers, server, uninterruptible power sources).

Attending the inauguration event, Japan’s Ambassador to Moldova Yamada Yoichiro voiced hope that the Japan-Moldova inter-university cooperation will increase and expand as the country gets closer to the European Union. “I have heard a lot about the excellence of Moldovan teachers and the brilliance of their students. I’m glad and proud that Japan was able to contribute to the digitization of the Moldova State University, which is the emblem of academic research and higher education in the Republic of Moldova,” said the ambassador.

For his part, USM rector Igor Sharov thanked the Japanese Government and the Embassy of Japan in Chisinau for their confidence in the University’s capacity to develop the digitization project, which comes to complement and show the USM’s role in a world of development and digitization.