Building Academic Capacity in Africa Since 2000 - WiderNet Project
The WiderNet Project, established in 2000, focuses on fostering academic collaborations in Africa. With 4,700+ participants from 36 institutions in sub-Saharan Africa and India, significant efforts have been made to collect over $2.1 million in new and used hardware and software. The project has refurbished and shipped 1,200+ used computers to partner universities in Nigeria, Liberia, and Ethiopia. Through the dedication of 700+ volunteers who have contributed over 15,000 hours, the project emphasizes practical, cost-effective solutions to help build a digital culture. Initiatives include promoting best practices, establishing user groups, providing student internships, and advocating for gender equity.
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The WiderNet Project Since 2000, building capacity at African institutions for academic collaborations 4,700+ participants from 36 institutions across sub- Saharan Africa and India (~30% women) Collected over $2,100,000 in new & used hardware, software for partners in Africa Refurbished and shipped 1,200+ used computers for partner universities in Nigeria, Liberia, and Ethiopia 700+ volunteers have put in over 15,000 hours Focus on practical, cost effective solutions Helping to build a digital culture (best practices, user groups, student internships, gender equity ) see one do one teach one
The Reality of the Internet Cost Freakishly expensive: 100x U.S. Liberia 2011 : $150K for dedicated 1mbit Beware the aristocratic Oh, let them buy bandwidth attitude. 800 lb. gorilla effect Bandwidth Blackmail Internet an extraordinary sacrifice for institutions with other very compelling needs
The Reality of the Internet Connection Very slow: no audio/video, PDF paranoia Can only be used by a handful of users Forget it between 10am and 3pm as connection is saturated. Very rarely 24 x 7. Many institutions hard pressed to deliver 6 hours a day Frequent lapses of a day or more Occasional lapses of a week or more
Mobile is King Europe 120%, Africa 53% mHealth, mGovernance, mCommerce Feature phones still outsell smartphones 4:1 Usage is significantly different; rarely smorgasbord in developing countries Texting, email most common
The eGranary Digital Library The Internet in a Box
Replacing Bandwidth with Storewidth 4,000+ GB information store inside LAN Over 30 Million educational documents Collection created and maintained by librarians Multimedia, audio, video at full network speeds No bandwidth costs Augments a conventional Internet connection Internet LAN
The eGranary Digital Library can provide thousands of networked computers high-speed access to millions of documents and multimedia files over a local area network. Even when the Internet connection is broken! LAN X Internet
The eGranary is already installed in more than 500 schools, hospitals, clinics, and universities in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.
The eGranary Digital Library Permission from over 1,800 authors & publishers (MIT OpenCourseware, Wikipedia, WHO, Math TV, Virtual Hospital, Khan Academy, etc.) Over 30 million documents 50,000+ books, hundreds of journals, hundreds of Web sites & CDs Patrons open documents 100 5,000 times faster than with their Internet connection Built-in search engine and catalog. Looks and acts just like the Internet.
WiderNet Project Internet Speed Test Average Bandwidth by Organization in Kbits 9/21/04 -- 300+ tests 70,000 65,445 60,000 An eGranary on a LAN is 4 to 5 times faster than an Internet connection at a U.S. university 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 17,103 10,000 2,587 831 512 508 437 117 111 105 92 90 70 66 56 54 52 39 36 23 16 13 11 0 WARO/IDRC US Home DSL UCT Libraries US phone modem Stad Kaapstad Lund University City of Cape Town University of Jos Ford Foundation SA University of Abuja Msunduzi Municipality Saint Joseph's University Ahmadu Bello University Zaria Dar es Salaam Computing Centre Carnegie Corporation of New York University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria Food and Agriculture Organization National Library of South Africa South Peninsula Administration United States Mission -- Nigeria Intranet -- eGranary Digital Library Northern Cape Provincial Library Service Jomo Kenyatta University of Ag & Tech
2010 Evaluation Program Supported by the Rockefeller Foundation Logistics of implementing the eGranary highly dependent on the enthusiasm of a champion Many of our subscribers do not expect or use technical support Never enough access points (computers) Information literacy the most daunting task faced by librarians and instructors
User-Friendly Portals Having access to information is one thing, being able to use it well to meet a specific purpose is another Portals organize information into user- friendly, issue-centric interfaces Health care, education, water development, etc. Reduces the time and effort for new users to integrate digital resources into their mission
Solidarity Librarianship Area librarianship for groups of people with similar needs/goals One half of good service is about listening Wisdom of the crowd Reduces the time and effort for new users to integrate digital resources into their mission
Health Care Training in Zambia With colleagues at universities in Zambia and the Sparkman Center for Global Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, we have identified, collected, cataloged 1,500+ resources and developed collections for teaching medicine, nursing and midwifery, and public health.
Liberian medical students exploring The Bones of the Skull, a 3-D interactive software.
Global Disability Rights Library Networked with 100+ U.S. groups, international advisory board, and field partners to identify needs & resources. Over 2 million new disability rights resources added to the eGranary Thousands of these resources catalogued and mapped to 10 portals Curricula developed for training disability rights advocates
Community Information Platform Sponsored by the Intel Corporation CIP adds interactive Web 2.0 capabilities Create IDs and logins (LDAP security) Built-in software for making unlimited Web sites Easy to upload and share locally-made content Local content can be centrally developed and shared to other eGranary sites MySQL and PHP for local dynamic Web databases Moodle: course management software Drupal: Web content management system WordPress: Blog software
Knowlegesphere Wi-Max Backbone 180px-EGranaryLogo LAN
Knowlegesphere Gov t Offices Gov t Offices Clinics/Hospitals Clinics/Hospitals Universities Universities Schools Schools Churches/Mosques Churches/Mosques Private Homes Private Homes Internet Caf s Internet Caf s New Computers New Computers Refurbished Computers Refurbished Computers OLPC OLPC Mobile Phones Mobile Phones Kiosks Kiosks Laptops Laptops Pocket Computers Pocket Computers 180px-EGranaryLogo
Knowlegesphere Serve Millions of Educational Resources to Thousands of Patrons The Cost of Internet Connection??? Gov t Offices Gov t Offices Clinics/Hospitals Clinics/Hospitals Universities Universities Schools Schools Churches/Mosques Churches/Mosques Private Homes Private Homes Internet Caf s Internet Caf s New Computers New Computers Refurbished Computers Refurbished Computers OLPC OLPC Mobile Phones Mobile Phones Kiosks Kiosks Laptops Laptops Pocket Computers Pocket Computers 180px-EGranaryLogo
Silos in the eGranary eGranary Local Others Web Content Web Content Web Content Software Catalog Index Data Software Catalog Index Data Software Catalog Index Data
Silos Combine into Single View eGranary Local Others Web Content Software Catalog Index Data
New Silos Snap-In / Snap-Out Registered Silos Web Content Web Content Software Catalog Index Data Software Catalog Index Data
Silos Offer Flexibility Anyone can make a silo Silos can be made for specific groups or topics Ideal for government documents or local languages Silos can be created and updated centrally, then distributed via DVD or USB key
Three Challenges to Scale Face Time How many hours users spend with a computer Information Access How much, how fast, and at what price Human Capacity The ability to install, maintain, and incorporate IT
Total Cost of Ownership Five-year or ten-year perspective Infrastructure 9% Personnel 30% Stuff 28% Training 33%
Think Hybrid Solutions Face Time Employ new and refurbished computers, handhelds, smartphones, leverage privately owned devices Information Access Off-line information stores like eGranary, flash memory, whole community knowledgesphere, managed bandwidth Human Capacity Focus on training children to set up and manage IT systems, build culture of cooperation, see one, do one, teach one , service learning projects to enhance community access to ICT
Hybrid 12-volt Power Model 12-volt Core eGranary Server, essential 12-volt computers, and wireless network powered 24x7 by deep- cycle battery bank. http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQN0Czj1RolVeXQ6xxblq0KsKW9DREv9V8TGFMEQmH2eNcvb8FKRASXFbs http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQN0Czj1RolVeXQ6xxblq0KsKW9DREv9V8TGFMEQmH2eNcvb8FKRASXFbs
Hybrid 12-volt Power Model 12-volt Core eGranary Server, essential 12-volt computers, and wireless network powered 24x7 by deep- cycle battery bank. http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQN0Czj1RolVeXQ6xxblq0KsKW9DREv9V8TGFMEQmH2eNcvb8FKRASXFbs Knowledgesphere Institutional and privately-owned battery-powered devices running for hours on their own charge that can access the services in the core. http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQN0Czj1RolVeXQ6xxblq0KsKW9DREv9V8TGFMEQmH2eNcvb8FKRASXFbs
Hybrid 12-volt Power Model 12-volt Core eGranary Server, essential 12-volt computers, and wireless network powered 24x7 by deep- cycle battery bank. http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQN0Czj1RolVeXQ6xxblq0KsKW9DREv9V8TGFMEQmH2eNcvb8FKRASXFbs Knowledgesphere Institutional and privately-owned battery-powered devices running for hours on their own charge that can access the services in the core. http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQN0Czj1RolVeXQ6xxblq0KsKW9DREv9V8TGFMEQmH2eNcvb8FKRASXFbs Traditional Systems 220-volt new and refurbished computers and printers that are only usable when the power is on.
Whats Next?? ILS (Evergreen, Koha ) eMail Various language versions Machine cataloging Targeted collections for smartphones, tablets Asynchronous return pipe / GSM Bandwidth Optimization U.S. Prisons, etc.
Lessons from a Sandbox or, What goes around . Easy networking has been done Better distinctions about information Solidarity librarianship Community information is key Big difference between doing no evil and doing what s right The more things change
The eGranary Digital Library Delivers!
The eGranary Digital Library The WiderNet Project The School of Library and Information Science University of Iowa http://www.egranary.org Presenter: Cliff Missen missenc@widernet.org
