Purpose
It has been a decade, as the collaboration between the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) and the Ghana Library Authority (GhLA) to extend information and communication technology (ICT) and library services to rural deprived, unserved and underserved communities in Ghana dubbed the library connectivity project. This paper aims to evaluate this initiative from the perspective of relevant key stakeholders and through the lens of the digital inclusion model.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted a qualitative approach to evaluate the library connectivity project offered to deprived communities in the Upper East Region of Ghana. Interviews were conducted with the head librarians, ICT teachers and school librarians. Focus group discussions were held with pupils from four beneficiary schools of the project. The researchers also witnessed four of the outreach programmes and training sessions and observed the mode of instruction.
Findings
The study brought to fore the enormous benefits of the library connectivity project as it aided school pupils to acquire practical ICT skills, which were found to be useful towards their final exam. Despite the enormous benefit of the project, it was bereft with a lot of challenges such as inadequate logistics and personnel thereby restricting the project to very few schools. Low staff motivation and unmotorable roads were also found to be a challenge, which could all be as a result of lack of funds.
Research limitations/implications
The paper underscores the importance of computer and information literacy and reveals how the GhLA is using innovative mobile library services to bridge the digital divide through the library connectivity project.
Originality/value
This paper makes a further contribution to the paucity of literature on the role of mobile libraries in the promotion of computer and information literacy.
Public libraries, nonprofits, and community organizations are key providers of digital literacy and technology education in their communities. Given that they play a crucial role in helping persons outside formal education to navigate the digital world, these organizations have the potential to be key players in addressing problematic information. These institutions could provide critical support in this area since they teach people to use information and communication technologies and how to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information effectively and efficiently. This poster explored how seven digital literacy curricula for adults address problematic information. We found problematic information related lessons were siloed from other lessons on social media or online searching, and these curricula do not use current best practices for evaluating information but rely on older information literacy models.
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