Moldova books project

By George DeGraffenreid
Academic Personnel

Fresno State is sending 20,000 lbs of books to a sister institution in Moldova.   Moldova is the poorest country in Europe and resources in the country are very limited.   The sister university, Balti State ‘A Russo’ University has a library that is gravely insufficient for the needs of its 7,000 students.   We recognized an opportunity to transform the library at Balti State University by providing books and materials that will have an impact on the education of students for decades to come.

Although the primary language of instruction is Romanian, Balti State University has a strong focus on teaching languages in addition to its other major fields. Many of the students who are majoring in other academic disciplines also complete a minor in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish.

Unfortunately, many of the library’s books are in Russian, which is not favored nor the primary language of most of its students. Library holdings in the languages are especially sparse. With extremely limited access to Internet resources, students are required to rely on the library for academic study. Textbooks are in short supply and the university library serves as the principal place for students to gain access to written materials.

The first phase of the project consisted of collecting high quality books to enhance the library and that can be used by students in specific disciplines or for language study. The total number of books being sent is approximately 8,000, which will nearly triple the size of the libraries holdings.

This phase is now largely complete, although we would accept a limited number of high quality literature books in French, German, Italian or Armenian, to add to the shipment. These books must be received by no later than Dec. 3, 2004.

The second and continuing phase of the project is soliciting financial donations from friends in the community to assist with the $5,000 cost to ship the books from Fresno to Balti, Moldova. There are no U.S. government or state funds that can be used for this purpose and we are relying on our Fresno community to assist in this effort. At 25 cents per pound, this is truly a bargain for the influence the books will have in the educational life of this small country – impacting students for decades to come as they use these books in the library at Balti State University.

You may mail your tax deductible contribution to: Moldova Project, The Smittcamp Family Honors College ,M /S MH128. Make your checks payable to the CSUF Foundation.

If you have any questions about the project, email Dr. George DeGraffenreid or call 8-3027.