From left, Violet Taukave, Robert Blakeslee, Sulieti Havea, of  the US Embassy Suva, at American Corner, Tupou Tertiary Institute, Nuku'alofa 5 March, 2013.

A two day workshop is being held in Nuku'alofa to introduce local librarians and teachers to the "eLibrary USA", a virtual library with online access to publications about the United States.

It gives members of the Information Resource Centre, American Corners and other American spaces around the world, access to a range of resources.

Violet Taukave, the Director of the American Resource Centre at the Embassy of the United States in Suva, who is conducting the workshop said today their aim was not only to show participants how to access and use the elibrary USA database, but also to assist librarians develop their research skills. 

"We want to empower librarians who are information providers with certain researching skills," she said.

"The elibrary USA database can be accessed from the American corner using a username and password. It gives free full text to online journals, users are encouraged to visit the corner for access to this vital research database. The username and password for access is only for the American corner computers," she said.

Tonga's American Corner was established at the Tupou Tertiary Institute in Fasi in March 2010. to provide a focal point for Tongans wishing to learn about the USA.

US Vice-Consul Robert Blakeslee, who is in Tonga on a routine consular visit, opened the workshop today, March 5.