Librii: A New Kind Of Digital Library For The Developing World

This new library-in-a-shipping-container plans on using growing Internet access in Africa to create a new model for making available both electronic information and physical books. It’s a conundrum that library advocates have struggled with for years: in many areas in the developing world, libraries run on donations, which means they often end up with irrelevant books that never even get removed from their boxes. People still come to libraries in these places for a quiet place to read and study, but certainly not because of the resources they provide. Recently, a crop of initiatives have launched that aim to make libraries more relevant again. Librii, a project from Libraries Across Africa that’s seeking $50,000 in funding from Kickstarter, is one of them. The project, which began as Librii director David Dewane’s thesis idea at the Rice School of Architecture, bills itself as "a digitally enhanced, community-based, revenue-generating library on the frontiers of broadband connectivity." In simple terms, the founders envision low-cost libraries (a single library in Ghana to start) that take advantage of the burgeoning fiber optic infrastructure in Africa to provide Internet access, curated content, educational programs, and of course, physical books.Read Full Story Continue reading at 'Fast Company'

[ Fast Company | 2013-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #educational programs

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Librii: A New Kind Of Digital Library For The Developing World'


In a Digital World, What Does “Out of Print” Mean?

With ebooks and print-on-demand, readers never again have to want for a much loved, long forgotten, or previously unpublished book from a cherished writer. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital world


Connecticut: ‘Wait and See’ How Library E-book Market Develops

A report from the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection on the state of the library ebook market has recommended no legislative initiatives, instead advocating a “wait and see” approach. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


A Visit to BiblioTech: The 21st Century All-Digital Library

Ed Nawotka visits BiblioTech, the new all-ebook library in San Antonio, Texas, which is opening new opportunities for the low-literacy community. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #san antonio


5 Things We Learned at Digital Book World 2014

A few key take-aways from DBW 2014: teens aren't reading for fun, ebook sales grow overseas, Wall Street discounts publishing and Amazon is like modern art. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #modern art


Digital Book World 2014: An Industry Transformed

The fifth installment of Digital Book World, the annual New York City conference on digital publishing, was held last week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #industry transformed #digital publishing


Ross Levinsohn Among Leading Execs to Speak at Digital Entertainment World

Ross Levinsohn, CEO of Guggenheim Digital Media, publisher of Adweek, The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard, is on the growing list of industry executives set to speak at the inaugural 2014 Digital Entertainment World conference in Los Angeles. The global marketplace and conference, which is... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hollywood reporter #growing list #global marketplace #content creation #respective industries #joint venture


Can Digital and Print Peacefully Coexist in the World of Comic Books?

While digital distribution has roiled the newspaper, book publishing and music industries, a different story may be playing out in the world of comic books. Continue reading at Knowledge@Wharton

[ Knowledge@Wharton | 2013-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital distribution #comic books #book publishing


Timothy Leary-developed video games found in New York Public Library archive

The New York Public Library recently discovered a treasure trove of video games in its archives created by psychedelic evangelist Timothy Leary. Over 375 floppies (talk about flashbacks) containing a "dozen or so" games developed by the LSD-advocate in the '80s -- some are playable via emulation... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #rare books #good doctor #image credit


Ebooks and Libraries in the Spanish-speaking World

In Mexico City librarians from Colombia, Mexico and Spain agreed there remained numerous challenges to libraries offering digital content and lending ebooks. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #spanish-speaking world


E-Publishing Growth is Organic in the Developing World

Emerging markets incorporate international digital publishing models, while at the same time putting their own stamp on them, writes Octavio Kulesz. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-09-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #developing world


Blackwell's to open digital development office

Blackwell’s is setting up a new digital development office with nine new members of staff.... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


LSU Libraries Granted Additional Funding for Digitizing Louisiana Newspapers

The LSU Libraries' Special Collections division was recently awarded $210,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities, or NEH, to digitize an additional 100,000 pages of Louisiana newspapers published from 1836 through 1922. This marks ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lsu libraries #national endowment


PC World magazine ends print version -- will focus on digital

Print media is dying; some may argue it is already dead. With the launch of the iPad and the current industry trend of tablet media consumption, consumers don’t want to clutter their homes with stacks of paper magazines and newspapers. Not to mention, there is the trend of "going green" which is... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2013-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital editions #print media


NBCUniversal Taps Lion Forge Comics to Develop Digital Comic Books Based on Beloved 80s TV Shows

NBCUniversal, one of the world’s premier media and entertainment companies, has partnered with digital publisher Lion Forge Comics to develop licensed comic books based on popular TV shows from the 1980s and 90s. Under the agreement license ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #entertainment companies


No Surprise: Student-Age Digital Natives Still Like Libraries, Print

A new Pew report takes a look at how 16-29 year olds view print books and libraries versus ebooks and digital offerings. Print is still the favorite among younger Americans. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital offerings


Creating A Digital Library A Bookless Students

This Kickstarter tries to answer the question of why--in a world of digital media--kids in the developing world don’t have access to books. When Rebecca McDonald moved to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, she wasn’t a career humanitarian. Her most recent job was overseeing construction... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital library #public works


Philip Pullman Calls for UK Authors to Be Paid for Digital Library Loans

In the UK, authors are paid by the government when their physical books are borrowed (around 6p per loan), but digital titles are not yet a part of that agreement. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #uk authors #physical books #digital titles


African-American-Interest Collection Development for Libraries

New! For the July 1, 2013 issue (reservation deadline June 17, 2013): Some call it multicultural, some call it Africana, some call it a “special collection”; but whatever it’s called, the procurement of materials that reflect black culture is a part of a librarian’s job, and we wanted to hear... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #school libraries #public libraries #special collection


More Than a Digital Book World

With ebook and total digital sales posting steady—if generally smaller—increases in 2012, sales of print books held up fairly well across the book trade and at most major houses. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book trade #major houses


Digital publications to head to deposit libraries

New regulations coming into force tomorrow [6th April] will mean that publishers will have to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital publications