Supporting Democracy 

As a PhD student in library and information science in the U.S., Claudia Șerbănuță aimed to apply her learning to the libraries of Romania, her home country. She wrote her thesis on what happened to Romanian libraries under communist rule in the 1970s and ’80s, and worked with Susan Schnuer on a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation training program for 12 Romanian public librarians. The training was held at the University of Illinois Mortenson Center for International Library Programs, of which Schnuer is associate director, in 2012. Șerbănuță not only facilitated language translation but contextualized the learning for the visiting librarians, some of whom went on to take leadership roles in Romanian librarianship.

When she became interim general manager of the National Library of Romania in 2014, she worked to transition the institution into a new era. Successes included securing funds to open a children’s interactive room and provide training to librarians about digitization and other topics.

In her role at the Progress Foundation, she continues to reconceptualize libraries in Romania and the surrounding region, supporting STEM projects for children and the Public Libraries as Active Citizens Hub projects. In September 2020, she led the first Occupy Library, an online international conference “positioning libraries as supporters of democracy in the region,” says Șerbănuță. The event had more than 100 speakers from 25 countries and 800 participants from 30 countries. The conference focused on how libraries can partner with civil society organizations—community groups that often resist authoritarian regimes. Schnuer says, “She is passionate about making libraries in her region supportive of democratic principles and responsible to the needs of their local communities.”

“We all need free and quality resources, support, and open public spaces to grow into the best version of ourselves as individuals and as communities,” Șerbănuță says. “I believe public libraries are what we need.”