The promise of digital libraries in developing countries

Abstract

Although knowledge is critical for development, few developing countries are participating in the information revolution. Just as industrialization and globalization have increased the gulf between the haves and have-nots, so information and communications technology is creating a chasm between the knows and know-nots. For dissemination of humanitarian information, traditional publishing and distribution mechanisms have failed tragically. Whereas a U.S. medical library subscribes to about 5,000 journals, the Nairobi University Medical School Library, long regarded as a flagship center in East Africa, receives just 20 journals. In Brazzaville, Congo, the university has only 40 medical books and a dozen journals, all published before 1993. Digital libraries, by decoupling production and distribution costs from intellectual property charges, offer a desperately needed lifeline.