Inquiry Blog Post 4: Developing World Libraries / Mobile Devices
I have well over 300 books in my house, mostly in boxes or tucked in closets. Only some of our collection of books have made it onto shelves. I have so many books because I love reading. I also have an e-Reader. I actually don't know where it is, but I do know that using it I can carry around a LOT of books, way more than I could with physical books. To give you an idea, an 8GB Kindle can hold roughly 3100 regular plain text e-Books (Plant).
Given that my iPhone has 64GB it could hold over 24000 books if I didn't do anything else with it. Same would go for a basic tablet with similar capacity. So if I don't have Internet access, but I load books to my device, I can conceivable carry a small library with me anywhere I go.
Libraries in Developing Nations
As someone living a comfortable life in an urban center in a developed country I don't often give much thought to the material items I possess. I don't look at things like books, paper, pencils and other school supplies as luxury items. However, as UNICEF points out in their article Mobile technologies for third world development:
For children, having books to read or all the materials needed to complete an academic year is an unattainable luxury in poorer regions. Today, however, technology is opening up new avenues through the use of low-cost mobile devices, be they telephones, tablets or e-readers.
The article went on to talk about an NGO by the name of Worldreader. I was intrigued by the statement that Worldreader "makes 35,000 titles in 52 languages available to a community of readers that already exceeds 10 million in 49 countries. (article link to 2018 Worldreader annual report)" (UNICEF)
This reminded me of the challenges faced here in Canada in remote communities. My wife taught in a remote reserve only accessible by air or winter road. The cost of everyday items was significantly higher than in Winnipeg. It also reminded me of the shoebox drives sometimes held in schools, where students fill shoeboxes with school supplies to send to developing countries.
This suggests that access to a library and the attendant books and resources would be an extreme luxury. So off to Worldreader I went. Lets just say I never made it past Worldreader and the work they do to leverage mobile technology to promote reading.
Libraries, E-Reading, Activities, and Partnerships (LEAP)
Reading in times of uncertainty
In 2014, Worldreader partnered with Kenya National Libraries Services (knls) on the Libraries, E-Reading, Activities, and Partnerships (LEAP) initiative. The LEAP partnership involved a
[S]hared vision of empowering Kenyan libraries as hubs of information and technology. Armed with a library of digital books, cost-effective and portable electronic reading devices, and dedicated library staff, Worldreader and knls launched a pilot program in eight libraries to test the feasibility of a national digital reading project in Kenyan libraries. (LEAP 2.0 Final Report)
The LEAP pilot project involved 8 libraries in Western Kenya. According to the final report, the LEAP initiative started with the deployment of "200 e-readers (25 per library) and 44,000 e-books (225 per e-reader)". Furthermore, the report indicated that "patronage nearly tripled in all libraries, e-reader trainings reached over 20,000 patrons, and libraries initiated and held over 254 community events."
The success of the pilot led to LEAP 2.0, a project to bring scale the LEAP pilot project for delivery to all knls libraries. A part of the report of particular interest is the training. As part of the partnership Worldreader trained local librarians to implement the program and monitor results. Training included:
- E-Reader Basics
- Project Management
- Patron E-Reader Training
- Project Launch
- Monitoring and Evaluation
- Sustainability
- Worldreader app
An interesting note in the report identified that e-Readers were not to be seen as a replacement for books, but as a compliment:
Librarians worked with their patrons to ensure digital books complimented their collection and weren’t seen as a replacement.
- During school visits to knls Kibera, librarians and teachersrequire at least 30 minutes of reading with print books afteran e-reader session.
- The Head Librarian at knls Rumuruti carries both e-readersand print books during her outreach visits, and discusses the importance of both.
Final Thoughts
I thoroughly enjoyed browsing through the Worlreader site to learn more about the NGO and the initiatives it has taken around the world to promote reading using mobile devices. Reading snippets, watching a video or two, and looking into some of the reports was illuminating.
A follow-up to the LEAP 2.0 Final Report entitled Digital Reading in Kenyan Libraries: From Pilot to Scale went further into the challenges of the pilot and the lessons learned. Visiting Worldreader's reports archive gives you access to their initiatives and learnings related to fostering reading through mobile devices around the world.
Finally, I like the idea of seeing the library as more than a collection of books. While I love books and much prefer curling up with a book to an e-Reader, digital content is not going away. So learning from partnerships like that between knls and Worldreader are crucial in figuring out how to compliment and extend a physical collection of books with a digital collection of information.
Sources:
Information
Plant, G. (2022, July 21). 8GB vs. 32GB: How many books can a kindle hold, and which one should you choose? Hooked To Books. https://www.hookedtobooks.com/how-many-books-can-a-kindle-hold/
Mobile technologies for third world development. (n.d.). UNICEF Global Development Commons. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://gdc.unicef.org/resource/mobile-technologies-third-world-development
Worldreader. (2018a, July). LEAP 2.0 Final Report. Worldreader. https://comms.worldreader.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/LEAP-report_digital.pdf
Worldreader. GREATNONPROFITS. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://greatnonprofits.org/org/worldreader
Images / Video
Reading in times of uncertainty. (n.d.). Adobe Creative Cloud Express. Retrieved October 26, 2022, from https://express.adobe.com/page/VKEHP1ktOd3pO/?utm_content=194000493&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&hss_channel=lcp-816571
Mobile learning in the Library. (n.d.). Flickr. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattcornock/16858344857
Worldreader. (2018). LEAP: Empowering Kenyan libraries as hubs of information and technology [Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgPblGw_Pnk
Gr
Thanks for the inspiration! I think that the organization that you found would be a great connection for our classmate who was speaking about supporting schools in Ghana this week. The technology to help students in under-resourced communities with books in their own language and culture is powerful. Like you, I enjoy reading with a physical book but I can appreciate that when you are creating a mobile library that a device that can do the heavy lifting for me and promote literacy at the same time is a win as well.
ReplyDeleteYes, "compliment and extend" a collection is exactly what we should be aiming to do by utilizing e-books and devices. I too am a traditionalist and will always prefer a physical book, but this past week has opened my eyes to the need for digital libraries from a financial perspective. Funding an entire collection full of books will inevitably be more expensive than having access to online materials. Your post has given me some food for thought and I'm going to chew on it for a while.
ReplyDeleteYour final thoughts stick with me - a digital collection should complement and extend a physical collection! I truly hope books always exist in paper form, but I can absolutely appreciate that digital books are more affordable and don't take up physical space - this is particularly important in developing countries.
ReplyDeleteI came across WorldReader in my travels as well - the number of titles and number of countries they reach is kinda awesome!!
:) Shawnese T
This is a strong post. I appreciate your reflective narrative and the way in which you applied your reading and research to your personal context. You share many important thoughts and ideas.
ReplyDeleteI like how you highlighted the training aspect of this program. Supporting local librarians to be skilled facilitators means more follow-through and opportunities for deeper learning. I can imagine a challenge here with the travelling "mobile library" kind of programs - it must be hard to develop that continuity. I also like the mention of "community events." It's so important that our learning/literacy work is connected to the cultural knowledge that resides in our family and community life. I wonder what the events look like.
ReplyDelete