THE AFRICAN DIGITAL
LIBRARY:
CONCEPT AND PRACTICE
Mr Paul West
Director
Centre for Lifelong Learning
Technikon Southern Africa
Email: pwest@col.org
Introduction
This account is about how, around a technologically-based
concept, a proposal was developed which attracted funding - so
that, today, the African Digital Library is in place and functioning.
This article explains how and where the resources are gathered,
kept, maintained, serviced, augmented, and made available to users.
The article invites further support, by way of sponsorship and
association-building; and encourages replication of the project
by other readers.
The African Digital Library (ADL) was opened
on 1 November 1999 with close to 3,000 e-books and has subsequently
grown to over 8,000 e-books. The library is a project of the Centre
for Lifelong Learning, Technikon SA, and has been created in the
spirit of the African Renaissance. Digital e-books can either
be downloaded from the Internet using an off-line reader or read
directly on the Internet. Any resident of Africa is able to access
books in the library at no cost, provided they have access to
the Internet.
The ADL represents a collection of books which
is available across the entire African continent of 54 countries
and serves as a back-up to all physical libraries.
The Concept,
Project, and Practice:
The African
Digital Library's Mission was stated thus:
To provide digitized, full-text resources to learners in Africa
via the Internet, thereby contributing to the revitalization of
education and lifelong learning on the continent, the expansion
of business and the alleviation of poverty.
The African Digital Library provides a core
collection of digitised, full-text e-books in support of lifelong
learning in Africa. The collection covers 52 subject areas and
is available in 54 countries of Africa. The ADL strives to provide
its services to scholars and learners throughout the region, via
existing institutions and to individuals. Access is free of charge,
providing the user has access to the Internet. The ADL strives
to provide a range of materials in support of existing facilities.
Any existing library can increase its physical offerings to clients
instantly, by providing one or more Internet-enabled computers.
The ADL works in co-operation with netLibrary,
a Colorado, USA-based company, to provide the services that are
required. e-Books are hosted on the Internet on server farms at
physical positions that are secure and not from particular countries.
The location of the server farms is critical in ensuring the fastest
possible access to all countries. Internet access in African countries
is primarily received from the USA, with some European and other
countries also being used. Peering points to access information
between African countries normally takes place off-continent.
The hosting of server farms to support the African Digital Library
needs to take place at sites close to normal peering points to
maximize delivery speed of e-book pages.
The partners in establishing the ADL were:
An application was made to the World Bank's
Development Marketplace in February 2000 and the project won a
$US90,000 grant. This grant enabled the collection to be expanded
by approximately 2,800 e-books. NetLibrary contributed to the
project by way of discounted storage fees and programming. The
collection, as at the end of 2000, had grown to approximately
8,000 e-books. Digital books are now gaining popularity - but
tend to remain in the early-adaptor section of the market. Many
people still prefer the printed equivalent. The ADL provides access
to books that users would not otherwise be able to access in local
libraries.
ADL is clearly a developmental project, aimed
at assisting a less-developed region of the world, where basic
access to books is comparatively limited in contrast to what one
finds, for example, in North America and Europe.
As mentioned, the ADL was created by a joint
venture project between the Centre for Lifelong Learning of Technikon
SA, The Association of African Universities and netLibrary, a
Colorado based US Company. NetLibrary has more than 500 publishers
signed up to provide books in e-book format to netLibrary's online
customers. Online libraries normally provide access to specific
members of that library or institution and this restricts the
access, preventing some people from gaining access to e-books.
ADL does not operate on this principle.
The ADL purchases one copy of each book for
the central collection. These books may be borrowed by a single
user at one time and carry a two-hour loan time - after which
the book may be borrowed for a further two hours. Books that are
downloaded to a user's PC are re-encrypted after two hours of
off-line use and simultaneously become available again in the
central collection for somebody else to borrow. If a user wishes
to re-borrow a book that has been downloaded and has not expired,
the user simply goes online for a short period of time to check
out the book once more. e-Books that have expired do not have
to be downloaded a second or third time, but can simply be made
available again by going online and re-borrowing it in this way.
When books are used online via a Web
browser, a dictionary is available for checking the meaning of
words. Additional search and magnification facilities are also
available in the offline reader. This facility makes it possible
to use e-books even with slow Internet links and dial-up connections.
The off-line reader offers the users several additional facilities,
such as, the ability to:
-
make notes;
-
highlight text, input bookmarks;
-
search the full text of the book;
and
-
copy and paste bibliographic information
and limited amounts of text.
Intellectual
property
e-Books are protected with regard to their
intellectual property, through an encryption mechanism that is
built into every e-book. Books are received by netLibrary from
the original print publisher and are encrypted into this format
before being made available for sale to existing e-libraries hosted
by netLibrary. The ADL, being one of these libraries, is able
to view a list of over 39,000 e-books from which it can make purchases.
Recommendations for the purchase of books are received from individuals
within Africa and specialist library staff at netLibrary.
Where a conventional, physical-campus institution
needs to have multiple copies of the same book available for simultaneous
access by more than one student, multiple copies of the book must
be purchased. The ADL purchases just one copy of every title and
does not purchase multiple copies of the same book. Normal intellectual
property rights exist in all e-books and it is every institution's
responsibility to observe these.
When using a book online or in the off-line
reader, the user may copy and paste small amounts of text into
a word processor file. This is the digital version of photocopying
a page or two for study purposes. The e-book reader however, also
has a facility called "Robocop", which monitors the
user's behaviour and will advise the user if it determines that
an excessive amount of text has been copied. This facility provides
an greater level of security for publishers than is traditionally
available. Should a user continue to copy and paste excessive
amounts of text after being warned by Robocop, the user's account
may be suspended. While the printing of an e-book over a number
of days or weeks may be possible, this would cost the user more
than the price of buying the higher quality, original print version
from the publisher. This monitoring facility operates in both
the online and offline methodologies of using e-books.
Some e-books are provided in a public domain
collection (e.g. Shakespeare's works) and different restrictions
apply to these books. For instance, these books are not copyright
protected in the same way as the regular e-books. Multiple users
may use these books at one time and larger amounts of text may
be copied.
Strategic
Objectives and Library Operation
Conventional library rules have been adapted
to enable a single collection of e-books to be usable, practically,
on a continental basis. Records reflect that e-books are being
borrowed up to 20 times per month - showing a much higher level
of productivity than the physical equivalent, which may be borrowed
for six weeks at a time. In a typical library, such borrowing
removes any possibility of another borrower gaining access for
that period.
The ADL now has a broad collection of e-books.
The next phase of development should see the refinement and enrichment
of the collection in such areas as:
-
Science;
-
Technology;
-
Computer programming;
-
General health
care;
-
Treatment and
control of disease (e.g. HIV/AIDS, TB, Hepatitis);
-
Corporate governance;
-
Corruption;
-
Public sector
management;
-
Business development
and management;
-
Food production
and security; and
-
Animal husbandry
and care
Categories
of membership
Individual users
All people who are resident in Africa may
use the ADL by going to http://africaeducation.org/adl/.
Registering to use the library is free of charge for African residents
and intending users take a link titled "register to use the
library" on the first visit. At this time a specially written
programme attempts to determine the location of the user, by determining
the top-level country domain in the IP address of the user. The
top-level domain is compared to the over 50 top-level domains
of Africa and should it be found in this list, the user is taken
directly to a registration page.
A number of Internet service providers in
Africa use the top level domain of .com, .org or .net and these
appear to come from parts of the world other than Africa. While
a user who was identified as being from an African country is
immediately registered as a member of ADL, a user who uses one
of these domains or is for some other reason not identified as
an African resident, is referred to a different registration page.
The second registration page requests similar information and
then e-mails this to a staff member of the ADL in Johannesburg,
where the application is manually checked and the user registered,
provided they are found to be from an African country. Most of
the above routing is done by hyper-linking and automated processes
that are transparent to the user.
Once users have got a user name and password
for the ADL, they return to the same URL given above and then
take the option titled "use the library". After taking
this link, a web page is briefly flashed with the sponsor's names
and then the user is taken to the logon page. At this point they
enter their login name, password and proceed to using the library.
Associated institutions
Where institutions wish to associate themselves
with the ADL and are able to provide the fixed Internet Protocol
(IP) address, they may have their own logo displayed on the library
for their own patrons to see - this may be done in collaboration
with ADL management. Associated institutions also have access
to their own private extranet site, which gives further information
and statistics on how e-books are being used by their own users.
Each associated library may use the entire
collection of the ADL for their members, free of charge. They
may in addition to the central ADL collection, build a private
collection of books, at their own cost, which can be restricted
for use to their own members. When users of an associated library
login to the ADL, they will see the collection of books available
from the central ADL collection, as well as the additional books
purchased by the associated institution, while other users will
not be able to see the books purchased for restricted use by that
associated institution. The usual entry level for a new library
is at least 500 purchased e-books, which typically costs in the
vicinity of US$60,000. Associated institutions may start their
own collection at very much smaller amounts than this, for example
$US1,500. Where an associated institution or donor wishes to place
books in the central collection, these books become available
to users across the rest of the continent.
Purchasing
of e-books: Business Model and Sustainability
e-Book collections may be sponsored. Collections
may be tailored to the size of sponsorship, with the average cost
of an e-book, including storage and use in perpetuity, being US$75.
Prices of individual books vary within the range of about US$12
to US$250.
e-Books cost approximately the same as their
printed equivalent and storage must be paid in addition to this
purchase price. The cost of storage is equivalent to paying for
the physical library building, cataloguing programmes, library
staff, time, etc. Storage fees may be paid in one instalment or
paid off over a number of years. The ADL pays a once-off storage
fee of 50% of the price of the book. This fee enables the ADL
to have the book in its collection, in perpetuity, and without
any ongoing expenses.
The worst scenario for the ADL is that the
collection growth may slow due to a shortage of funds. But, since
there are no subsequent charges in future years, there can never
be a cash flow shortage in the ADL.
e-Books cannot be lost, damaged or stolen,
since the original copy always remains secure on the server hosted
by the netLibrary. If any corruption occurs in a local file, the
same page or e-book is simply downloaded again.
The main staffing posts of the ADL do not
require full-time employees. The roles are partly voluntary by
both the individuals and the organisations involved in the project.
Costs can therefore be contained to an absolute minimum.
The ADL is negotiating with an African publisher
to digitize works of African origin and to make these available
for sale via netLibrary and digital book vendors (e.g. Amazon.com).
This is expected to make African works more visible and available
internationally and to generate a revenue stream by way of royalties
back to the continent. This will be shared between the owners
of the intellectual property, the digital publisher, and the ADL.
Potential
Sponsorships
-
The African Digital Library may be sponsored
in the following ways:
-
e-Book collections (US$75 to US$2m);
-
Sponsorship of the central office
(US$60,000 annually);
-
Travel and subsistence to support
an annual meeting of representatives from all sub-regions
of Africa, to help co-ordinate e-book selection and promotion
(US$25,000); and
-
Travel and subsistence to support
an annual meeting of management members of the ADL to
govern the African Digital Library.
Sponsors may expect recognition in a few ways:
-
On the flash page that users see when
they enter the library (http://AfricaEducation.org/adl/
then take "Use the library";
-
Sponsors may be included in a roll
of honour, hosted on www.AfricaEducation.org,
accessible from the ADL;
-
Sponsors will be recognized in presentations
at conferences and meetings, as having supported education
in Africa;
-
A later development may include
sponsor labels in individual e-books;
-
Should a sponsor wish to remain anonymous,
this will be respected by the ADL; and
-
A section 501[c]3 registered company
in the USA is able to issue tax certificates in that country,
while Technikon SA can issue tax certificates in South
Africa.
The Future
and Expected Outcomes
-
The African Digital Library currently:
-
Has over 2,000 registered users (African
scholars and lifelong learners);
-
Has over 8,000 e-books;
-
Has 20 associated libraries; and
-
Is available to 54 African countries
-
The objectives for 2001 are to grow the
services of the African Digital Library:
-
To 4,000 registered users (African
scholars and lifelong learners);
-
To 12,000 e-books;
-
With 25 associated libraries; and
-
In 54 African countries
Over the next five years, the African Digital
Library will strive to reach at least 30,000 users in Africa's
54 countries, with a collection of at least 50, 000 e-book titles.
The improvement in the quality of computer
screens over the past years and expected improvements during the
next three to five years is likely to make books more user-friendly
and easier to read on screen. New type fonts such as the "Clear
Type" font and the digital book reader developed by Microsoft
is another example of how characters can be made to be more legible
on the computer screen. e-Books can be downloaded onto palmtop
PCs, such as the Palm Pilot, for more portable use while travelling.
Other e-book readers are under development and are expected to
become available during the next few years.
Capacity
building in Africa
The ADL would like to assist institutions
in Africa to convert the full text of theses, dissertation and
research papers into e-book format, so that these may become more
visible to other researchers on the continent. Where theses material
s are available in e-book format they are then also available
for sale to other libraries around the world. This has two benefits:
first, a revenue stream is created and, secondly, African research
papers, not otherwise readily available, become accessible to
the rest of the world.
Additional study material might be made available
on a broader public basis by this same mechanism. This would include
public domain material on topics such as agriculture, entrepreneurship,
health, information technology, and food production.
Funding
The ADL's central collection provides support
to institutions and individuals in more than 50 countries across
a very large and poor continent. The central collection needs
to be sponsored by grants and donations to ensure continued growth.
When funds cease to exist, the expansion of the library
ceases, through the availability of existing books continues without
any interruption.
The ADL can accommodate sponsorships from
$75, being the average price of one e-book and the 50% storage
fee, to $2m for a very substantial collection of e-books.
-
Sponsors of this
collection will benefit from the following:
-
The sponsor
organisation's name will be displayed every time a user
enters the library (if the sponsor wants this);
-
e-Books that
are sponsored will be available for the benefit of lifelong
learners in 54 countries;
-
e-Books can
never be lost, damaged or stolen - the collection remains
safe at all times; and
-
Sponsors of
the ADL may be seen to be playing a supportive role in
the revitalisation of education in Africa - a continent
that is in desperate need of accelerated development.
Conclusion
The use of e-books is beginning to gain acceptance
across the majority of countries in Africa. The ADL represents
an example of how e-books can be used to support the development
of hundreds of organisations and tens of thousands of lifelong
learners, in a continent that has very limited resources. The
future of projects such as this depends on the availability of
project funding by forward thinking global organisations who are
serious about the development of the continent. The project has
developed successfully so far.
References
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