Another small library was funded by the Soros Foundation. It was open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, had recent texts in English, and subscribed to several good English-language general medical journals. It also had a small seminar room with slide projection and videocassette capabilities. Offices are poorly lit, are furnished only with bare wooden chairs and tables, and are usually shared by four or more junior faculty. Classrooms are unlit, are furnished with ancient fixed wooden desks, and often lacked glass in the windows.
Blackboards are just that-boards painted black.
The chalk is so hard and the paint so glossy that legible marks are difficult to make. There are no erasers. The system of medical training in Albania is not working. Aid flows from the European Community, the United States, and other countries in the form of medicines, technological equipment, money to repair the infrastructure, and fellowships allowing professionals to study for short periods in various countries. The United States Agency for International Development is funding a project to improve the departments of emergency medicine and women's medicine at the University of Tirana.