Islamabad: The US Embassy in collaboration with Amazon.com, donated 12 Amazon Kindle e-readers to local libraries of the twin cities.
These would engage young audiences by providing readily available content about American society and culture as well as English language materials.With the addition of the e-readers, these local partners are among the first Pakistani institutions to make this new technology available to the general public.In a ceremony held on Thursday, the embassy official Megan Tetrick formally handed over the new e-readers to libraries from Islamabad and Rawalpindi currently supported by the US Embassy.
“Our Lincoln Corners and Reading Rooms throughout Pakistan provide print and electronic research references, access to English language resources, and computers, as well as accurate information about U.S. history, government, society, and values. Our Lincoln Corners and reading rooms offer the resources Pakistani young people have told us they want and need and the Kindle e-readers are a response to this,” Ms. Tetrick said.
The e-readers underscore the Embassy’s ongoing support to local libraries throughout Pakistan with information and programs about the United States.The U.S. Department of State will distribute over 6,000 Kindles worldwide. Currently there are three U.S. Embassy supported Lincoln Corners located in Karachi, Peshawar, and Islamabad that provide information and research services free to the Pakistani public. In addition, the Embassy maintains partnerships with six reading rooms in the Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Muzaffarabad, and Skardu regions.
In 2011, over 20,000 students and patrons visited the various Lincoln Corners and reading rooms throughout Pakistan. These spaces hosted nearly 100 programs providing intellectual enrichment. Since Lincoln Corners were first opened in 2006, over 100,000 library patrons have used these facilities.The US Embassy provides funding, programs, computer equipment, and other support for the centers while Pakistani partners provide the space, personnel, collection maintenance, and other basic services. – Onlinenews
