A digital library is being set up at the Moldova State University (USM) with financial support from the Government of Japan in the framework of the Grant Assistance for Human Security Projects of the Grassroots Program (Kusanone Porgram). USM rector Igor Sharov and Japan’s Ambassador to Moldova Yamada Yoichiro signed a grant agreement to the value of US$70,800, IPN reports.

The goal of the project is to ensure access in online format to the library’s resources for students, teachers and researchers from Moldova and other countries and to transcribe in a digital format the book volumes, scientific works and manuscripts from the collection of the USM Central Library, the University noted in a press release.

The grant provided by the Government of Japan was used implicitly to purchase equipment for scanning books and managing data.

The project implementation period will be of a year.

The Kusanone Program was launched in Moldova in 2008. So far Japan provided US$6.7 million in grant funding for 79 development projects designed to improve public welfare and human security.