Digital divide, 21st century literacies and School libraries. By Bernard BAHATI
Š Nierman, Laura J
October, 2013
Bernard BAHATI
Digital divide, 21st century literacies and School libraries Page 1
Introduction I would like to introduce this work by two quotations from Light’s (2001) work: Rethinking the Digital divide to illustrate how hot is Digital Divide debate. The first quotation is released as follow: “If you have seen what (technology) has done for you and this economy…closing the digital divide is one of the most important things we can do to have the quickest results in alleviating the kind of poverty that is inexcusable in the kind of economy we are experiencing today.” (Light, 2001:711, quoting President Clinton) The second quotation that is, in my understanding linked to first one, is about ICT policy: “This discourse is an example of what historian Carol Pursell (1995) identifies as the nations habit of trying to replace politics with technology and it ignores how technological solutions have a habit of redefining political problems in important ways”. (Light, 2001: 710) President Clinton, in the first quotation, is convinced that bridging the digital divide is one of the strategies to alleviate poverty and this implies consequently that, according to his views, accessing and using ICTs have a potential impact on economic growth and then alleviating poverty. The general idea conveyed in the second quotation is about ICT policies to bridge the divide. Light remarked that (talking about USA) efforts to make technologies available to the ‘havenots’, did not inevitably transform social relations. He suggests that context of technology’s use matters as much as the technology itself. In my understanding, Light‘s conviction is about some ICT policies that fail to produce expected outcomes because they are not addressing the real problems. It is, hence, trough well Bernard BAHATI
planned, critically elaborated, and comprehensive policies that the digital divide can be effectively dealt with in terms of bridging it or reducing it. Clinton and Carol talked about the digital divide from the economic factor perspective. However, researchers tend to agree on the fact that people who do not access and use new information and communication technologies are totally unable to benefit from the opportunities the Information Age has created. In Sorin’s (2012) words, all is dependent on socio-economic status: “The angle of the slope seems to be determined by socio-economic status. The final outcome of this process is that as we add more educational and information resources, the ones that have better chances to absorb them will get much more out of them than those that have lesser socioeconomic resources. Or, in more vernacular terms, the richer (materially) become even richer (intellectually), while the poor will, although getting something out of this intellectual evolution, do not get nearly as much of it. Thus, the difference is not defined in terms of “some get, while some lose,” but in terms of “some get, while some get even more” In view of this, this paper is purported to approach the digital divide not from the economic lens but rather from knowledge and information lens in Ecosystem of Literacy in Library Context.
Defining the digital divide Attempts to accurately define digital divide are frequently seen in scholarly literature and the debates are mostly related to whether
the
digital
divide
would
be
understood in terms of the differences in access to ICTs or in terms of the differences
Digital divide, 21st century literacies and School libraries Page 2
in use of ICTs or both. Historically,
complementary assets; (3) A gap in actual
Hoffman et al. cited by Liangzhi Yu (2006:
use – the minutes of telecommunications of
236) argue that the term ‘digital divide’
various purposes, the number and time
entered public discourse at around the mid-
online of users, the number of internet hosts
1990s. According to these authors, from the
and the level of electronic commerce and;
outset, the term has been loosely used to
(4) A gap in the impact of use – measured by
express either the disparity between people
financial and economic returns. Yet this
in
and
definition seems to be incomplete because
communication technologies (ICT) or more
one may raise a question: is the gap between
specifically, the disparity in their access to
who and who or between what and what?
the Internet. However, most authors contend
One can say this gap is between people who
that the divide should be defined in terms of
are on one side of the divide and those on
both access and use and some of them like
the
Van Dijk (1999) go further to challenge this
technology, and access on one side and lack
dichotomous point of view. For him, neither
of those things on the other side.
their
access
to
information
other
side
or
between
policies,
the divide of access nor that of use should be conceptualized as a bipolar division on a
The clear answer to the question above is
single dimension; instead, they should be
found in the definition given by OECD
conceptualized
(2001): the term “digital divide” refers to the
as
continuums
on
multidimensions.
gap
between
individuals,
households,
businesses and geographic areas at different While hotly debate continues to baffle
socio-economic levels with regard both to
researchers
how
their opportunities to access information and
accurately the digital divide would be
communication technologies (ICTs) and to
defined, the definition given by Carsten Fink
their use of the Internet for a wide variety of
and Charles J. Kenny (2003) seems to level
activities.
and
authors
about
up these different views. According to them, At least 4 possible interpretations of the
From what has been said about defining the
Digital divide appear in literature: (1) a gap
digital divide, we notice that despite
in access to use ICTs – crudely measured by
different opinions that are emerging, there is
the number and spread of telephones and the
also one important commonality to mention:
web-enabled computers for instance; (2) the
the
gap in the ability to use ICTs - measured by
throughout all definitions. This implies that
the skills base and the presence of numerous
the digital divide is a real social problem
Bernard BAHATI
gap/the
disparity
are
recognised
Digital divide, 21st century literacies and School libraries Page 3
that deserves public debate. This leads me
types have always accompanied human life;
to another point: why do views about digital
it follows that the digital divide, like any
divide seem to differ profoundly? I think
other technological divide, does not have a
that the differences find their significance in
special ethical or political meaning. The
theoretical roots of the digital divide and this
second category of studies contend that the
will be the purpose the following section.
digital divide is real and that it has become one of the most acute developmental
Theoretical foundation of the digital
problems both in a global context and within
divide
individual countries. Liangzhi Yu’s third category of studies agrees with the second
The interpretation of the digital divide has
one in that they also contend that the digital
been an area of much explicit debate.
divide
However as Liangzhi Yu puts it, this does
particularly by the ethical and political
not mean that these debates are without any
economy theories, researchers of this school,
theoretical illumination. According to him,
argues Yu, repudiate the idea that the digital
different interpretations are likely to have
divide is merely a developmental problem;
immediate ramification for a series of
rather, they understand it as more a political
critical questions: Is the digital divide just?
and social issue than an economic one. They
Does it need to be bridged? Who gains and
argue that while some sections of the society
who loses in bridging it? Where should the
enjoy greater liberties – education, job and
resources to bridge the digital divide come
political participation – enabled by the
from? Interpreting the digital divide and,
Internet, some are excluded. The fourth
hence attempting to answer the above
and the last category of studies agrees with
questions, Liangzhi Yu –after reviewing a
the third one that the digital divide is more
number of studies - seems to divide the
than a development gap and points in effect
literature related to the digital divide into
to the existence of much deeper social
four categories:
The first category
injustice. However, these studies reject any
contends that there indeed exist disparities
ideas which see the digital divide as a
between people in their access to ICT; such
strategic political or developmental issue.
disparities, however, are as normal and
Some authors in this category go further to
unavoidable as inequalities in health care,
contend that there is not a digital divide
job
issue per se. ‘The inequality that does exist
opportunities,
working
conditions,
clothing, food, housing transportation and so
is
real.
However,
informed
is social, not digital’.
on. They argue that inequalities of various Bernard BAHATI
Digital divide, 21st century literacies and School libraries Page 4
The digital divide theoretical background
was twelve to one in primary school and
above leads me to notice that researchers are
seven to one in secondary school while
divided in their views about this issue. This
access to the Internet was virtually universal,
division seems to range from those who
as it was in the European Union as a whole.
simply consider the digital divide as a non-
He continues by arguing that developing
issue case to those who are really concerned
countries – with few exceptions of a small
by it and situate it in the context of social
number of countries in Asia, Latin America,
injustice. However, it is obvious that the
and other parts of the developing world (like
current public debate about the digital divide
Malaysia, Brazil and South Africa: my add)
lie within the last three groups of studies and
that
the first school of interpretation does not as
classrooms,
often find its way into these debates.
developing digital content to address the
began
introducing
computers
networking
schools,
in and
educational requirements of the global knowledge economy – are (developing
The digital divide and Education
countries) more concerned with other very To begin I look at the Potashnikm’s (2009)
difficult educational issues like low primary
analysis
and
about
the
Digital
Divide
in
secondary
school
enrollments,
Education which seems to be insightful. He
inadequately trained teachers, little or no
states that the global dimensions of the
access to textbooks, and ineffective school
digital divide are most prominent in
management rather than with improving
education. For him, at the beginning of the
ICT.
twenty-first century many industrialized countries had begun to gear up their
This situation of the digital divide in
education
knowledge
developing countries exerts its impact on
economy by making major investments in
research terrain in this part of the world. As
computers for classrooms, in networking
Pertti Saariluoma (2007) puts it, researchers
their schools, and in training teachers to use
have very little access to contemporary
technology in their teaching. Here, he gives
scientific literature. The majority of research
some
quite
is published in the hundreds of journals that
enlightening: in the United States the ratio of
require a subscription fee. The costs of
students to instructional computers reached
maintaining an adequate library is often out
five to one and 98 percent of schools were
of reach for universities in developing
connected to the Internet. In the United
countries,
Kingdom, the ratio of students to computers
prioritize the distribution of limited funding
systems
examples
Bernard BAHATI
for
the
which
are
where
governments
must
Digital divide, 21st century literacies and School libraries Page 5
to address multiple, equally demanding
peculiarities when it comes to digital divide
social needs within the surrounding society
issue.
(Fourie & Neale-Shutte, 2006; Oyebode, 2002). To these challenges the author adds
Peculiarities of the digital divide in Sub-
some other impeding factors like unreliable
Saharan Africa (including Rwanda)
electricity supply, poor Internet connections, as well as a lack of adequate computer equipment, appropriate software, and even technological
expertise
which
make
researchers in developing countries not only less able to access research, but also less able to contribute papers, participate fully in collaborative research, or receive peer support or acknowledgment as compared to those in more IT-connected countries. As a result, contends Pertti, qualified scientists in developing countries can find themselves outsiders
in
discussions.
international
scientific
Another important aspect is
related to some aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). The international harmonisation of IPR laws treaties, argue Peter Johan Lor and Johannes Britz (2006), is worrying because it places ever more power in the hands of large multinational ICT and media corporations while steadily
The situation of the digital divide in developing countries generally analyzed above reflects to a certain degree the nature of the digital divide in Africa. However, as we will see in the next section, Africa, and precisely
Sub-Saharan
Africa
(including Rwanda), has some its own Bernard BAHATI
picture showing how severe is the digital divide in SSA1 and this divide can be gauged from the following selected ICT indicators mentioned in Gashaw, K.’s (2004) work: Internet users number 1 in 250–400 people, compared to 1 in 15 people as a world average, and 1 in 2 people for North America and Europe (Jensen, 2002); there are only 8 computers for every 1000 people (compared to 68 computers per 1000 as the world average and 360 per 1000 in the G8) (Ganitsky, 2003); the total amount of international outgoing Internet bandwidth is around 1500 Mbps in 2002 (with 400 Mbps for South Africa alone) (Jensen, 2002); only 14 mainline telephone lines exist per 1000 people, compared to 655 per 1000 for G8 countries (Ganitsky, 2003); the majority of the countries of the sub-region lack a national ICT policy, with only 17 African
eroding the information commons.
more
To begin, it is worth presenting a general
countries having such a policy as of 2003 (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, 2003). The figures shown in these examples provide a general picture of how wide is the digital divide in SSA but figures do not speak by themselves. Is there any 1
SSA stands for Sub-Saharan Africa
Digital divide, 21st century literacies and School libraries Page 6
explanation
which
would
help
in
provide a better understanding of how users
understanding such kind of pity situation?
in
Yes: this explanation can be related to some
emotionally go through the process of
problems faced by SSA countries on daily
information retrieval,
basis. I roughly present those problems
anxiety, uncertainty, and confusion that goes
thanks to M.D. Gebremichael and J.W.
along with information seeking and last but
Jackson’s (2006) work. For these authors,
not least the failure to incorporate the
there numerous various problems like: the
traditional local knowledge in the digital
relative
content.
political
and
socioeconomic
SSA
physically,
mentally,
and
the amounts of
instability coupled with various levels of governmental control and often insufficient management of information infrastructure which
complicates
government
information
access;
monopolies
telecommunications
of
systems
and
broadcasting networks in some Sub-Saharan nations limit the possibility of outside investment by restricting ICT sustainability in
the
private
sector;
while
many
governments have begun the process of complete deregulation, some advocates and
From this brief and non-comprehensive but quite
guiding
presentation
of
various
problems which may be said to hinder efforts in bridging the digital divide in SSA, I notice that there is an overlapping set of impeding factors related to a particular social, political, economical, and cultural contexts within SSA region and these contexts need to be taken into account while ICT policies are being elaborated. Bridging the digital divide
agencies favor a more moderate approach that allows for both maintaining some public communications
facilities
as
well
as
commercial development. These authors also add the heterogeneous nature of language in the Sub-Saharan region which makes standardization difficult and the new focus on ICT literacy training in the developed world which further isolates the 35 percent of Africa’s population who are without basic traditional literacy skills; the lack of ICT policies based on a communitybased
needs
assessment
Bernard BAHATI
which
Given the significance of the digital divide issue in an information society, we notice with Liangzhi Yu that it is hardly surprising that most of the related studies would conclude
by
proposing
policy
recommendations for tackling this digital inequality. Hence, the features discussed in this section on policies oblige me to backtrack to the section about theoretical foundation of the digital divide and see what kind of policy recommended by each of four
would
Digital divide, 21st century literacies and School libraries Page 7
groups of studies to bridge the digital
remote areas, providing ICT centres in
divide2.
deprived communities, sponsoring libraries and schools to provide free or low cost
Researchers in the first cluster, who
Internet
interpret the digital divide as a non-issue,
appropriate
contends
services that fit the economic capacity of
that
ICTs,
like
any
other
technological inventions in the past, will be
access,
and
level
of
providing
the
technologies
and
different markets.
diffused by market forces to the vast majority of society, and the current digital
The third cluster which seem to be critical
divide, if any, will only exist as a transient
of both the first cluster’s view that the
phenomenon;
for
digital divide will eventually disappear
government intervention in terms of costs
through the working of the market and the
but its role is to facilitate the working of the
second cluster’s technological optimism that
market and promote competition.
the digital divide can be diminished by
there
is
no
need
providing technologies to the disadvantaged. For scholars in the second category of
According to researchers in this cluster, such
studies who see the digital divide as a real
conceptualization
but developmental issue, contends that the
government to focus upon technological
digital divide will not diminish without
solutions (providing networked facilities at
governmental and societal interference and
public venues) which, when delivered alone,
that a widening of the digital divide presents
often bring more benefit to technology
a
development.
providers than to disadvantaged people. This
Although this cluster agrees with the first
concern is also emphasized by Light
cluster upon market forces and promotion of
criticizing studies describing and measuring
competition in eliminating the digital divide,
the divide and policy reports that use these
it nonetheless, believes that a certain degree
studies which, according to him, tend to
of government interference, international
share two basic assumptions:
aid, business sector re-orientation and
computers mitigates inequality and that life
societal support are needed to bridge the
in the new geography of cyber-space frees
gap.
such
people from other social constraints. Citing
governmental and non-governmental actions
respectively (Bijker, Hughes, and Pinch,
as improving information infrastructure in
1987;
serious
It
hindrance
therefore
to
recommends
Cuban,
will
1986;
likely
mislead
introducing
MacKenzie
Wajcman,
1985)
and
Wajcman,
1991),
Light
(Fischer,
and 1992;
2
This policy review is drown from the work of Liangzhi Yu (2006)
Bernard BAHATI
contends
that
Digital divide, 21st century literacies and School libraries Page 8
Technologies are not independent of the
to policy makers - who need to effectively
society in which they are created and the
deal with the digital divide - an eclectic way
context there are used; their array of
of doing things, favoring advantages and
interactions
avoiding disadvantages of one these various
with
different
people,
organizations, institutions, and culture –
approaches.
such as individual teachers, schools or academic subjects – make it difficult for any
At this point it is clear that the digital divide
particular technology to have uniform or
constitutes one of the major hindrances
even entirely predictable effects.
impeding some people from finding their way in
the
new
information
society
Researchers of the forth cluster who see
governed by the new global knowledge
inequality as to be rooted in ‘social’ rather
economy which is people based as it was
than in the ‘digital’ are
against any
mentioned above. For Castells, it is through
activities or policies that hype the digital
accurate educational reforms that countries
divide, contending that it will distract
could cope with this new emerging world.
governmental attention from more pressing matters, cause misuse of public resources and increase technological dependence of developing
countries
on
developed
countries.
policy recommendation have got their strengths and weaknesses. By confining the bridging of the digital divide on market forces the first cluster researchers tend to the
important
role
of
the
government which is emphasized by the researchers
There are some authors who do worry about some current strategies in bridging the digital divide in developing world. These are
In my understanding, all the four clusters in
minimize
Bridging the digital divide in SSA region
in
the
second
cluster.
Researchers in the later are too development centered and fail to relate the digital divide to other social inequalities and constraints which are emphasized in the third cluster policy recommendation and to some extent
like Gashaw Kebede (2004) who argues that solutions to the global divide provided by Western technologies that are applied in Third World countries are an expression of cultural imperialism that neglect that local and traditional ideas are of high cultural importance in solving the problems of the Third World and Luciano Floridi (2001) who says that the digital divide can engender new forms of colonialism and apartheid that must be prevented, opposed and ultimately eradicated.
In my understanding these
authors advocate context-based ICT policies
in the forth. It is, therefore, worth proposing Bernard BAHATI
Digital divide, 21st century literacies and School libraries Page 9
to bridge the divide and not a “copy-paste”
level,
way of doing things. In SSA various
telecommunications and economic policies
researchers
to promote private and public investment in
have
proposed
their
recommendations in this line.
countries
will
need
to
change
ICT. They also point to the need for government agencies to incorporate ICT,
Gebremichael and Jackson (2006) propose
such as PCs, into educational and other
what they call “a holistic, user-centered
institutional systems. Here the role of
approach to Sub-Saharan Africa” which emphasises
the
communities
involvement
and
of
governments,
education is critical. Given its importance
SSA
and its close links to income, policies to
from
improve computer/Internet literacy and build
planning to implementation of ICT polices
the related skills base in educational
and a given population’s needs must be the
institutions and through vocational training
focus of the ICT project. For them, this user-
are seen as particularly important over the
centered, holistic approach will allow ICT
long term (OECD3 2001).
development agencies to provide services with greater relevance, targeted training, and
In addition to these policy recommendations
would allow for the utilization of sparse
from scholar perspective, I would encourage
resources. Carsten and Kenny (2003) join
cooperation
and
between
SSA
Jackson’s
countries. Notwithstanding the important
that
the
role of developed countries in helping
challenge of bridging the digital divide lies,
bridging the divide in SSA (in terms of
to a large extent, in finding alternative ITs
information
and institutional change that better meet the
development, in terms of hardware and
needs of poor people in poor countries (by
software supply, etc.), there are certain
institutional
promising initiatives in some SSA countries
M.D.
Gebremichael,
recommendation
specifically
by
change, to
J.W.
within
arguing
he
alternatives
is
referring
other
and
technology
literacy
than
that would serve as model for other
ownership as a means of exploiting the
countries. One of these laudable initiatives is
opportunities afforded by the new digital
the translation and adaptation of certain IT
technology).
In examining cross-national
programs and operating systems, and search
data on ICT from SSA, Oyelaran-Oyeyinka
engines in local languages like Africaans,
and Lal cited in the work of Gebremichael
Sesotho, IsiZulu and IsiXhosa on Google (in
and Jackson (2006) have advocated two
South Africa), Kiswahili on google (in
major policy implications for the region in regard to ICT development. On a national Bernard BAHATI
3
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Digital divide, 21st century literacies and School libraries Page 10
Kenya and Tanzania), and to some extent
Building on the Rapapot’s dichotomization,
Kinyarwanda (in Rwanda). These projects, if
we notice that more than five centuries later,
well carried out, would help in overcoming
the advent of Web 2.0 and the new social
two important hindrances in bridging the
media
digital divide in SSA. The first is the
profound method to expand the way people
heterogeneous nature of language which
interact,
makes
create.
difficult
harmonization
and
brings
perhaps
communicate,
an
and
even
more
collectively
standardization of ICT usage and the second is about facilitating the incorporation of local traditional knowledge which is, in most cases, conveyed through local languages. Lastly, I would add that policy and decision makers, in their efforts of bridging the divide, should be aware of the inspiring idea of Christian Fuchs and Eva Horak (2006) that “a misconceived premise, may lead to misconceived policy conclusions” and be convinced that some times, somewhere technological solutions will redefine their political problems and strategies.
In today's world, the notion of literacy has expanded to include much more than just reading and writing. The traditional three Rs-literacy
(Reading,
aRithmetic)
is
wRiting,
challenged
unprecedented
rapid
dissemination
of
and
by
an
creation
and
knowledge
and
information. In answering the question “What should school teach?”, Christie (cited by Castells, 2001:17) reviewed theories about
teaching
of
multiliteracies
that
signifies the expanded literacies of the knowledge society, and for her, this raises
Digital Divide and the 21st century
the issue of technologies that link the global
literacies
world in networks of information, images and ideas.
“The generation that grows up on the sunny side of the new digital divide will inherit the
To elaborate on this idea of multiliteracies,
ease and status that comes with being the
one can say that the notion of literacy
literati in a world where literacy has become
evolves following the changes in society and
‘digiteracy.’ Those stuck on the dark side of
technology
the new media digital divide will be as out
definition of 21st Century Literacies can
of luck and out of touch as those who
provide much more insights:
and
the
NCTE’s
(2008)
cursed Johannes Gutenberg as an agent of the devil when that first printed Bible came off the press in 1452.” (Rapapot, 2009)
“Because technology has increased the intensity
and
complexity
of
literate
environments, the 21st century demands that Bernard BAHATI
Digital divide, 21st century literacies and School libraries Page 11
a literate person possess a wide range of
action” states Rheingold (cited in Rapapot,
abilities and competencies, many literacies.
2009).
These literacies are multiple, dynamic, and The
malleable”
most
glaring
question
is:
Can
governments ensure the world’s citizens will For NCTE, active, successful participants in
access and use these new technologies
this 21st century global society must be able
which will help them to become actual 21st
to:
century literate people? The answer to this question will always be a big “NO” if there
Develop proficiency and fluency
are no well thought and coordinated efforts
with the tools of technology;
purported to bridging the digital divide.
Build intentional cross-cultural connections and relationships with
How can librarians still help schools kids
others so to pose and solve problems
to move towards becoming 21st century
collaboratively and strengthen
literate people amid digital divide?
independent thought;
Design and share information for
Librarians
can
develop
digital
global communities to meet a variety
literacy initiatives by partnering with
of purposes;
schools, colleges, local businesses
Manage, analyze, and synthesize
and organizations. This can create an
multiple streams of simultaneous
across-the-lifespan
information;
digital literacy.
Create, critique, analyze, and
They
can
also
approach
partner
to
with
evaluate multimedia texts;
instructional technologists to provide
Attend to the ethical responsibilities
teacher
required by these complex
integration into the classroom.
environments
role in helping people to become actual 21
2.0 with its new digital production tools, information-gathering
capabilities,
technology
and
work
with
the
community tele-centers than are
st
century literate. For instance, the use of web
for
In case of Rwanda, librarians can partner
New digital technologies play an important
support
established in each Rwandan district.
They also can explore the use of free and open source materials
and
distribution networks, "will enable people to
All the strategies above can be explored but
mobilize new, powerful forms of collective
let me elaborate on one of them that seems
Bernard BAHATI
Digital divide, 21st century literacies and School libraries Page 12
much more workable for me: the use of free
information resources by creating a simple
and open source materials.
webpage providing links to the various resources.
In this sections, I want to show that library and information professionals who do not have access to huge budgets and other resources to venture on well equipped libraries, can still provide good quality services to their users at almost no additional cost. The ideas presented in this section are adapted from Chowdhury’s (2002) work on how the digital libraries can bridge the gap. Of course, the basic IT infrastructure and Internet access are the pre-requisites to these services, but the cost to this is negligible compared to the contents.
Information Through Subject Gateways and Virtual Libraries One of the most prominent, and useful especially from the end-user perspectives, outcomes of the recent digital library research has been the development of a number
of
subject
gateways.
These
gateways select and organise valuable subject-specific
information
resources
available on the web, and let the user access to those resources through a custom-built interface. As a Librarian and information professional, I can make one or more of
Using information from Government, Regional and International Organizations
these subject gateways accessible to my patrons.
One of the direct impacts of the Internet on the
governments
and
international
Digital Reference and Information Services
organizations has been that they are now trying to make as much information available on the net as possible. As a result, end users can get access to the up to date (as much as possible) information for which, even a few years ago, they had to wait for long and had to go through a number of hassles. As an information and library professional in the developing and poor country I can make sure school children have access to all of these, or preferably to
A number of reference and information services are now available on the web. Interestingly, many of these services are provided by non-library and commercial organisations. Such services provide free access to various online reference sources, and allow users to either select a specific source or conduct a search on a range, or all, of the reference sources. Examples of such services include the following:
selected and the most appropriate, web Bernard BAHATI
Digital divide, 21st century literacies and School libraries Page 13
Internet Public Library (http://www.ipl.org),
counterparts embrace new technologies and
Infoplease
excel in the provision of information
Internet
(http://www.infoplease.com), Library
for
Librarians
services. Thus, they (librarians) would be
(http://www.itcompany.com/inforetriever/)
preventing the majority of the world
and many more others.
population, who live in the developing and least developed countries, from becoming
ďƒź Free access to e-journals and ebooks in many areas. Some
publishers
information poor day by day.
and
Conclusion
associations/organisations are now making journals available free to the readers in some countries (including Rwanda). A number of free e-journals are now coming up in
Throughout this paper, an understanding of the
digital
divide
was
developed
by
analyzing views and theories with regard to scientific, economical, social, educational
different subjects.
and ďƒź Free digital libraries
political
contexts.
Some
policy
recommendations to bridge the digital divide have been highlighted and the analysis
Many digital libraries provide free access to a variety of digital information resources. While discussing the collection and services of free digital libraries, and arguing how they can help many developing countries, Witten et al. (2002) comment that digital libraries provide a golden opportunity to reverse the negative impact of ICT on developing countries.
focused later on the peculiar nature of the digital divide in SSA where, as it was remarked, attempts to bridging the digital divide should be contextualised to subSaharan
Africa's
unique
environment.
Coming back to the digital divide and 21st century literacies we have observe that New digital technologies can play an important role in helping people to become actual 21st century literate. However, for the latter can
By exploring the solutions described above, that is free subject
gateways, digital
reference services, free access to e-journals
only be done successfully if well thought and
coordinated
efforts
purported
to
bridging the digital divide are deployed.
and e-books, and free digital libraries, librarians and information professionals from developing countries would avoid sit behind
and
watch
Bernard BAHATI
their
developed
Cited works
Digital divide, 21st century literacies and School libraries Page 14
Carsten, F. and Kenny, C. J. (2003), W (H)ither the Digital Divide?, Emerald Chowdhury, G. (2002) Digital divide: how can digital libraries bridge the gap? In: Digital Libraries: people, knowledge and technology - 5th International Conference on Asian Digital Libraries, 2002-12-11 - 200212-14, Singapore. Fuchs, C. and Horak, E. (2006) Africa and the digital divide, Center for Advanced Studies and Research in Information and Communication Technologies and Society, University of Salzburg and University of Vienna, Austria Gashaw, K. (2004), The information needs of end-users of SubSaharan Africa in the digital information environment, Department of Information Science, Faculty of Informatics, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, Published by Elsevier Ltd Gebremichael, M.D., and Jackson, J.W. (2006), Bridging the gap in Sub-Saharan Africa: A holistic look at information poverty and the region’s digital divide, Government Information Quarterly 23 (2006) 267–280
Liangzhi
Yu
(2006), Understanding information inequality: Making sense of the literature of the information and digital divides, Journal of Librarianship and Information Science 2006; 38; 229, DOI: 10.1177/096100060607060 0, the online version of this article can be found at: http://lis.sagepub.com/cgi/c ontent/abstract/38/4/229
Light, J. S. (2007), Rethinking the digital divide, Harvard Educational Review; winter 2001; 71, 4; Academic Research Library, pg. 709 Luciano, F. (2001), Information Ethics: An Environmental Approach to the Digital Divide, Philosophy in the Contemporary World, Volume 9 Number 1 Spring-Summer 2001 NCTE (2013). Framework for 21st Century Curriculum and Assessment. Retrieved from http://www.ncte.org/governance/liter acies on September 14th, 2013 North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (2003). 21st Century Skills: Literacy in the Digital Age. CA: Metiri Group OECD (2001), Understanding the digital divide, OECD publications Pertti, S. (2007), Open Access Publishing as a bridge across the Digital Divide, An Interdisciplinary Journal on Humans in ICT Environments, Volume 3 (2), May 2007, 116–119
Bernard BAHATI
Digital divide, 21st century literacies and School libraries Page 15
Potashnik, M. (2009) The international Gap in technology – the digital divide in Education, Education and Technology in balance, Educational Encyclopedia, http://education.stateuniversity.c om/pages/2124/InternationalGap-in-Technology.html
Sorin Adam Matei (2012). Knowledge Gap Hypothesis and Digital Divides – A review of the literature and impact on social media research. Retrieved from http://matei.org/url/1oo, on September 16, 2013
Rapaport, R. (2009). The New Literacy: Scenes from the Digital Divide 2.0. retrived from http://www.edutopia.org/digitalgeneration-divide-literacy on September 15th, 2013
Bernard BAHATI
Van Dijk, J. (1999). The network society. Social Aspects of new media. London: Sage. Witten, I. H., Loots, M., Trujillo, M.F., and Bainbridge, D. (2002). The promise of digital libraries in developing countries. The Electronic Library. 20(2002), 7-13.
Digital divide, 21st century literacies and School libraries Page 16