Koulla Peristiani

Born in Engomi of Nicosia in 1951. She is a graduate of the American Academy of Nicosia. She continued her studies in England, where she did a Proficiency in English Studies and a Teacher’s Training for teaching English to foreign students.

​She worked at the British Council Library for a year and then went to the States where she completed her degree in English Literature at the University of Minneapolis, Minnesota. On return from the States, she worked at various posts at Intercollege, and when the need arose, started working as a librarian. From thereon, she worked for the next thirty years, for the establishment of the University of Nicosia Library and contributed in the creation and administration of policies and procedures in adherence with the mission and vision of the University. Alongside with working close with library staff and University staff, she participated at the University Senate, the Council and the Curriculum Committee.

​In 1992/93, she obtained scholarship for a CASP Short Term Training Program (Fulbright) in Library Science and continued with various MLS summer courses at Indiana University. She was a member of the American Library Association and participated in various conferences such as the IFLA Conference of 2000.

​As a Director of the University of Nicosia Library, she participated in various committees for the development of the Cyprus Library Network in 1996, and the European project “Kypriana” included on “Europeana”, dealing with the digitization of Cyprus cultural Heritage. She took part in the initial committee that began the formation of the Cyprus Union Catalogue, which included academic as well as other public libraries. In addition, she was a great advocate for the creation of a consortium of Cyprus libraries and participated in the initial committee that began the formation of Cyprus Academic Consortia, which today plays an important role in the negotiations for purchase and sharing of electronic resources among all university libraries.