Digital libraries and development in Sub‐Saharan Africa

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to review some of the critical information needs in Sub‐Saharan Africa and the challenges that face libraries in the region in establishing digital libraries as a way of overcoming the great information shortfall in the region.Design/methodology/approachA selective survey of relevant literature is carried out in the study with focus on the role of libraries and information in social development, sectoral information needs and the issues involved in the establishment of digital libraries.FindingsThe paper argues that lack of social development in Africa is exacerbated by lack of adequate information. The paper concludes that, through better information gathering, processing and especially by taking advantage of today's digital transfer of knowledge, countries in the Sub‐Saharan region can experience rapid economic, social and political development.Originality/valueThe paper concludes that digital libraries in the Sub‐Saharan region can be strategic gateways to the global information and a boost to development in the region. The goal of establishing digital libraries in the region can be achieved through measures such as adoption of modern information communication technologies, amassing relevant digital content, investing in digital skills for library staff and users, strategic partnerships between local institutions, and funding agencies and above all government‐backed strategy on digital libraries.

Analyzing Digital Library Initiatives: 5S Theory Perspective

“…This has enabled African countries to fill the information gaps between developed and developing nations. According to Kavulya (2007) DL has facilitated better information gathering, processing, distribution, access, and application in Africa.…”

A synthesis of research on ICT adoption and use by medical professionals in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…Networked health information is a particularly potent boundary object between government agencies, non-profit organizations, and commercial and technological enterprises in the developing world. Many working in this research area perceive a need for education and resources that are not controlled by government [24].…”

auroraDL and responding to end-user digital library needs

“…The literature about implementing certain popular DL projects [2,3,4,5,6] focused on technical issues such as platform requirements and compatibility issues of compiler versions and platforms [7], issues of evaluation [8,9,10,11,12,13], or issues of non-Latin scripts [14,15]; few considered the "on-the-ground" implementations and use issues by either non-trained library, museum, and archival staff or users outside such environments [16] and streaming retrieval results to existing interfaces, Flash, XML, and using XML-FO to .pdf files.…”