The Integrated Information System of Moldovan Libraries (SIBIMOL) was put into operation during the seventeenth edition of the International Book Fair on September 2, Info-Prim Neo reports. Author and director of SIBIMOL project, the director of the National Library of Moldova, Alexe Rau, said that this event is very important for the community of librarians and for the Republic of Moldova in general. The system will form the basis of the virtual library of Moldova. Being a collective creation of the participating libraries, it provides integrated access to the global fund that includes the collections of all the libraries of the country. This means that the society will have improved access to information and knowledge. The web cataloging is a new element brought by the system. No library of the world uses such a method. According to Alexe Rau, the system will contribute towards improving the prestige of the libraries and of the profession of librarian. Now the libraries have their place in the national strategy for building an information society “Electronic Moldova”. SIBIMOL will integrate the informatized libraries of Moldova into a national network through the Internet. The Remote Collective Electronic Catalogue will constitute the major, integrating part of the system. It will include the collections and databases of all the libraries of the country and will be accessible in any settlement: in libraries and at home. Any town or village resident could look for the publications they need through the Internet and could order them through the automated inter-library loan unit. At the second stage of the project, the reader could order the full text of the articles, chapters or pages from books, photo images, audio records etc. in the local library or from the home computer, after choosing them from the Virtual Library of Moldova, which will be one of the component parts of the system. Through its portal (sibimol.bnrm.md), SIBIMOL will allow Moldovan users to have access to collective catalogues, databases and electronic resources of the countries of the world. At the same time, the countries of the world will have access to the National Remote Collective Catalogue and the electronic resources of the Moldovan libraries. Among the beneficiaries of SIBIMOL will be the over 1.8 million readers of the libraries of Moldova and the users of home and workplace libraries. The first part of SIBIMOL project is valued at 314,000 USD. SOROS Moldova Foundation offered 142,000 USD out of this sum as grant. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, other ministries and departments that have libraries, the local public administrations and the National Library also contributed money for purchasing the equipment needed by the libraries that form part of the system so as to make sure that their databases are compatible. The SIBIMOL software was created by experts of SC Imesoft Romania.