Developing World Libraries

I started this week looking at the challenges faced by school libraries in developing countries. Shonhe's (2019) study brings up the following deficiencies:
1) Lack of library policies
2) Poor staffing practices
3) Lack of adequate funding
4) Poor ICT infrastructure
5) Poor library facilities
6) Lack of awareness of the significance of libraries

Thinking upon these and of technology and developing countries, I remembered coming across One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) in my early years of teaching. I was looking up information for teaching my computer class and stumbled on an article. I remembered how intrigued I was by it and how amazed I was that such a formidable goal of providing a cost-effective device to every child in developing countries was generating steam. I am pretty sure I brought it up to my grade eight students and we discussed the magnitude and significance this might have for those learners. Then, it faded away and other things came up. From time to time, I would think about that little green and white computer with a hand crank but I never really followed-up.

OLPC's XO laptop, Creative Commons

This week’s blog post gave me the chance to go back for another look; an update to the story of that green and white laptop. Unfortunately, it hadn’t turned out as glorious as I had hoped. According to Robertson’s (2018) article in The Verge, it was too lofty a goal to attempt to keep the cost of each laptop to $100 each and that created a lot of hardware and software issues to overcome but I think the largest hurdle was as Robertson writes, “thirteen years ago, OLPC told the world that every child should get a laptop. It never stopped to prove that they needed one” (2018). As important as internet devices are in our daily lives, these tools are not miracle workers that will suddenly enable children to becoming lifelong learners; they still require much guidance. OLPC still exists today but on a much smaller scale than its beginning.

Following up on OLPC did lead me to two other organizations: Library for All and Room to Read.

Library for All does not focus on getting devices into the hands of children in developing countries, rather, the organization wants to “help turn access to tablets, smartphones, and legacy phones into substantially improved access to content at resource-starved schools” (Quillen, 2013). Their idea is to formalize a central repository of information curated from free resources on the web for teachers to use, many of whom may be in the early stages of learning how to use technology themselves. The repository features a simplified format with less graphics to save on bandwidth which is often at a premium in many remote locations. Their hope is to be able to tailor these resources to the specific needs of developing countries – teacher comfort, language, subjects, reading levels. The Library for All platform is designed to operate on devices already in the developing world, specifically mobile phones that are more prevalent and accessible and to that extent, they have worked with national telecommunications companies in each country to ensure that users incur zero data charges while reading on the platform (Stephans, 2015). The most important part in my eyes is that this organizations works with local educators to ensure that content is relevant and work with local curriculum and offered in the language of that region. They “believe having access to culturally and linguistically relevant information is crucial in allowing people to lift themselves out of poverty (Stephans, 2015).

Meanwhile, “Room to Read works with local authors, illustrators and designers to create and publish books that reflect the experience and culture of the children learning to read in their libraries. The stories have lessons from local life and culture, relying on fewer and fewer translations of Western stories about hot dogs and snow” (Truong, 2019). The child-centered, friendly and approachable setting of the libraries built by this foundation creates safe spaces for children to explore, develop a love of reading and invite their families into their learning. Further there is funding to empower girls by covering their basic needs so that they will be motivated to develop more academically. I love how in the Vietnam story shared by Truong, a field manager for Room to Read, after encountering a boy who was teased for loving flowers, she brought it to the attention of her team and they are developing more diverse stories, including one of a boy who loves flowers and others to deconstruct stereotypes.

Finally, I found an opinion piece for Tech for Impact, it was noted that COVID-19 has really highlighted a disparity of technology especially in low-income communities across Asia. In it, Sayres points to leveraging cloud technology to give more free access to education and using smart phone apps can be beneficial as those devices are usually most common for access in developing countries. The article also highlights some older tech; many governments and organizations are using broadcast technology, radio and television, to get lessons and educational programming out as well. The article finishes by stating “[a] layered response, of old and new, remote and physical, is the way to truly bridge the digital divide” (Sayres, 2020). I have found the need for this balance in my own school library. We need to be attuned to what our students have accessible to them in order to be able to facilitate what we can.

References

Bernard, S. (2008). Room to Read: Building Libraries, Schools, and Computer Labs in Developing Countries. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/global-education-libraries-developing-countries

Cameron, J. One Laptop per Child. Retrieved 1 November 2020, from http://one.laptop.org/

Knight Foundation. (2015). Library for All [Video]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/135565695

Quillen, I. (2013). Mindshift Library for All: Free Digital Content for Developing Countries. Retrieved from https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/29339/library-for-all-free-digital-content-for-developing-countries

Robertson, A. (2018). OLPC’s $100 laptop was going to change the world — then it all went wrong. Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/16/17233946/olpcs-100-laptop-education-where-is-it-now

Room to Read. (2014). Room to Read | Learn More in Under 3 Minutes [Video]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/qNhLgn1VsG4

Sayres, N. (2020). Tech can drive equality in education. You can help. Retrieved from https://techforimpact.asia/tech-can-drive-equality-in-education-you-can-help

Shonhe, L. (2019). A consolidation of challenges faced by school libraries in developing countries. Library Philosophy And Practice. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/2467

Stephans, K. (2015). Library For All breaks down barriers to knowledge in developing world. Retrieved from https://knightfoundation.org/articles/library-all-breaks-down-barriers-knowledge-developing-world/

Truong, L. (2019). Libraries Changing the Margins of the World | Room to Read. Retrieved from https://bittersweetmonthly.com/stories/room-to-read#