DIGITAL LIBRARIES FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES Current status of

DIGITAL LIBRARIES FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES Current status of libraries in India education system largely does not encourage use of libraries • almost entirely paper-based • academic libraries often difficult to access, use • financial limitations • access to latest papers/articles very difficult • a digital library could help address some of these issues, but it needs to be part of a change in the way university education works

DIGITAL LIBRARIES FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES How would a digital library help? theoretically enable anyone with access to a computer to get to latest international research/publications • could be part of larger program to document and digitize local knowledge, research, publications, and make them more accessible to wider national & international community • could be part of Schoolnet-type project for rural areas • but…

DIGITAL LIBRARIES FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES Potential hurdles/problems costs – access plus infrastructure (computers plus highspeed connections) • what about all current material (e. g. , books) that is currently not digitally available • would this be yet another elitist facility, open only to English-educated upper-class people? Can it be any different, and if so how? •

DIGITAL LIBRARIES FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES What are the issues in designing a digital library? - How might an Indian library differ from, say, the UC digital library? - Cultural differences in the material included (customary knowledge, religious issues, politics…) - “Practical” resources not easily put in text form, but that could be digitalized (images, video, spoken records…) - Adaptation to locally variable needs (different parts of India may have different needs) - Multiple languages (not a single dominant language)

DIGITAL LIBRARIES FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES What are the practical issues in designing a library? - Where would the library be based? - How would the library be accessed, in the great variety of Indian communities (cities, villages…), and in the realities of literacy and living conditions? - How would the library be updated and maintained? - How would paper materials be digitalized? - Who would have input into the design and management: villagers, schools…?

DIGITAL LIBRARIES FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES How to build such a digital library? - Need significant funding ($50 million? $200 million? ) and control by Indian actors - Potentially, foundations such as the Gates Foundation or the Packard Foundation - Role of Indian governments?