OSCE-supported electronic library for Kyrgyz Police Academy opens

BISHKEK, 24 August 2010 - The Kyrgyz Police Academy new electronic library, established with the support of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek to improve educational process and provide access to worldwide electronic library resources, opened in Bishkek today.

The OSCE has provided the library with more than 2,000 books on law enforcement, criminal law, forensics, administrative law, municipal police, public order, human rights, psychology, ethics and other topics. The books are being uploaded to the electronic library, which will enable more effective searches and improve access.

"Professionalization of the police remains a core aim of the OSCE-supported national Police Reform Programme. This new electronic library will support trainees and staff at the Police Academy and in other regions of Kyrgyzstan to develop and deepen their professional and learning skills through this improved and timely access to information sources," said Ambassador Andrew Tesoriere, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek.

Almaz Bazarbaev, the Head of the Kyrgyz Police Academy, said: "Up-to-date databases, automated search systems and access to professional legal literature are critical for supporting effective law enforcement. The establishment of an electronic library with the financial support of the OSCE Police Reform programme is an important step towards integrating the Police Academy with other library resources and maintaining academic standards."

Officials from Kyrgyzstan's Ministries of Interior and Education and Science and the Police Academy, as well as representatives of scientific and other educational libraries and civil society, took part in the opening ceremony.