Tech-knowledge-y
Hi there!
Another Happy Sunday to you! It looks like snow is finally out of the forecast and I couldn't be more pleased. The snow and I have a love/hate relationship. I love it when I can look at through the window while sipping on a hot drink by the fireplace. I love it when I can got for relaxing winter strolls. And I love it when I can go up to the mountains and play! However, I do not love it when I need to get to work and the roads are an absolute mess. Anyways, the purpose of this post is not to grace you all with the intimacies of my relationship with snow (although I'm sure I could whip up a mean venn diagram). No, the purpose of this week's post is to discuss libraries across the world, particularly in developing nations, and the ways in which technology can help libraries.
Global Libraries
After a quick Google search it became evident that there is a movement to provide developing countries with access to libraries. For instance, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation started a Global Library initiative in 1997 with the goal "to improve the lives of “information-poor” people while positioning the world’s public libraries as critical community assets for learning, creativity, and community development" in mind. Unfortunately, this initiative ended in 2018 but not without leaving a lasting impact. Over the 20 years that the initiative was running, the foundation provided the following opportunities via public access to internet:
Supplies for one “Library in a Box”:
Why Does It Matter?
As indicated by the Library for All video below, literacy is a basic human right. Everyone should have the opportunity to read, write, and access information. Traditional literacy, digital literacy, and access to knowledge provides a more even playing field for everyone. Libraries in developing nations should offer more than just weeded, discarded books from the shelves of libraries in developed countries. The most effective way to offer knowledge to those in developing countries is through the provision of internet and technology access such as tablet, cell phones, and laptops. People in these nations need tools to enable them to advocate for themselves. These tools can be offered in the form of knowledge. From something as basic as the knowledge of one's own rights as a citizen to something as complex as the knowledge to become an entrepreneur. Whether you live in a developed or developing country, EVERYONE deserves to be able to access unfiltered, uncensored information that can change their lives.
Leave a comment and/or question in the comments section and I'll try to get back to you ASAP.
Take care,
Miss P.💕
References
Beyond Access. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://beyondaccess.net/
Global Libraries. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Global-Libraries
Libraries for All. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.librariesforall.org/initiating-lending-libraries-in-developing-countries/technology-in-libraries/
Libraries for All (2015). Library For All. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0G6drthKjc
Another Happy Sunday to you! It looks like snow is finally out of the forecast and I couldn't be more pleased. The snow and I have a love/hate relationship. I love it when I can look at through the window while sipping on a hot drink by the fireplace. I love it when I can got for relaxing winter strolls. And I love it when I can go up to the mountains and play! However, I do not love it when I need to get to work and the roads are an absolute mess. Anyways, the purpose of this post is not to grace you all with the intimacies of my relationship with snow (although I'm sure I could whip up a mean venn diagram). No, the purpose of this week's post is to discuss libraries across the world, particularly in developing nations, and the ways in which technology can help libraries.
Global Libraries
After a quick Google search it became evident that there is a movement to provide developing countries with access to libraries. For instance, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation started a Global Library initiative in 1997 with the goal "to improve the lives of “information-poor” people while positioning the world’s public libraries as critical community assets for learning, creativity, and community development" in mind. Unfortunately, this initiative ended in 2018 but not without leaving a lasting impact. Over the 20 years that the initiative was running, the foundation provided the following opportunities via public access to internet:
- In the United States, about a third of those age 14 and older—roughly 77 million people—use a public library to access the internet each year. Public library users report more positive impact on their lives from internet use in areas such as health, education, time savings, income, and personal finances.
- In Chile, a national digital literacy campaign trained hundreds of thousands of people in basic technology skills, largely via a network of more than 300 public libraries.
- In rural Botswana, public libraries serve as small business owners’ offices, helping people make their businesses more sophisticated and competitive.
- In Romania, more than 41,000 farmers filed online applications for agricultural subsidies at public libraries in a single year, resulting in more than US $63 million in subsidies from the Ministry of Agriculture to individuals.
(Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 2018)
Another example of global access to knowledge is the Hester J. Hodgdon Libraries for All Program. The program was founded in 2003 in support of the San Juan del Sur Biblioteca and to provide the opportunity of library access in Central America. Not only has the initiative assisted the San Juan del Sur Biblioteca, it has helped create 55 access points to pop-up libraries in Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, and Costa Rica through a system called "Library in a Box". This system can be bought for $250, providing a seed collection of 100 books with the following kit:
 |
| (Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/libraryladyjane/3714778472/) |
Supplies for one “Library in a Box”:
2 Green Boxes
1 Borrowers Book use an Actas Book instead
(No more Borrowers books and sheets are available)
500 Register Form
1 Accession Book
500 Labels 1” x 2 5/8” Laser 5160
250 Print or Write 1” x 3”
1000 # Accession Sheets
1 File card transfer case lid style
500 Library cards- 500/pkg
100 Self adhesive laminate cards 100/pkg
500 Pressure sensitive due date slips 500/pk
4000 Plastic library logo book bags
Library name stamp
300 Notification Card
500 Registration Cards – printer provided
500 Borrowers Log cards – printer provided
300 Information Book Mark (“how to keep the books from the library safe”)
Journal book for each project
1 Borrowers Book use an Actas Book instead
(No more Borrowers books and sheets are available)
500 Register Form
1 Accession Book
500 Labels 1” x 2 5/8” Laser 5160
250 Print or Write 1” x 3”
1000 # Accession Sheets
1 File card transfer case lid style
500 Library cards- 500/pkg
100 Self adhesive laminate cards 100/pkg
500 Pressure sensitive due date slips 500/pk
4000 Plastic library logo book bags
Library name stamp
300 Notification Card
500 Registration Cards – printer provided
500 Borrowers Log cards – printer provided
300 Information Book Mark (“how to keep the books from the library safe”)
Journal book for each project
Yet another example of global librarianship is the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions' (IFLA) initiative called Beyond Access–Making Information Work for Everyone. The IFLA is working hard to ensure that individuals and communities have the opportunity to develop through access to knowledge via traditional and digital literacy. Beyond Access educates governments and international aid organizations through partnerships, conferences, and international events. The IFLA supports libraries and non-government organizations, providing resources designed to develop upon the idea of the modern library. Below are just some of the projects that the Beyond Access initiative is working on:
 |
| (Source: https://beyondaccess.net/projects/) |
As indicated by the Library for All video below, literacy is a basic human right. Everyone should have the opportunity to read, write, and access information. Traditional literacy, digital literacy, and access to knowledge provides a more even playing field for everyone. Libraries in developing nations should offer more than just weeded, discarded books from the shelves of libraries in developed countries. The most effective way to offer knowledge to those in developing countries is through the provision of internet and technology access such as tablet, cell phones, and laptops. People in these nations need tools to enable them to advocate for themselves. These tools can be offered in the form of knowledge. From something as basic as the knowledge of one's own rights as a citizen to something as complex as the knowledge to become an entrepreneur. Whether you live in a developed or developing country, EVERYONE deserves to be able to access unfiltered, uncensored information that can change their lives.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0G6drthKjc)
Take care,
Miss P.💕
References
Beyond Access. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://beyondaccess.net/
Global Libraries. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Global-Libraries
Libraries for All. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.librariesforall.org/initiating-lending-libraries-in-developing-countries/technology-in-libraries/
Libraries for All (2015). Library For All. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0G6drthKjc
This is a strong detailed post. I appreciate how the title of your post is so closely tied to your theme and message. You have linked some great resources here. I especially appreciate the final section of the post. This is a great example of taking your thinking and learning to that next step. I encourage you to start sharing your ideas on Twitter to connect with a broader audience. You have good ideas. They are worth sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi Ashley,
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you mentioned that developing nations have no use for our old discarded books. I had a few boxes of books ready to recycle just a couple of weeks ago and was asked why we weren't donating them overseas. I tried to explain that students elsewhere have no use for our old, ripped, and stained texts about Pluto, the ninth planet, but that argument was not well received. It is almost as if people feel guilty disposing of things and the idea of giving them away reduces this. Unfortunately, nowadays, I think a lot of donations act more as a burden than a gift. We must ask ourselves, are we giving someone something that will prove to be legitimately useful to them, or simply asking them to take care of our garbage for us?