Knowledge for rural development : New role for libraries

1. Knowledge for rural development : New role for libraries By Dr M Ishwara Bhat Librarian Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani (Rajasthan, India) PIN 333 031 Email : ibhat@bits-pilani.ac.in

2. Scope of the paper : Information services which energize rural development • Studies have proved that information services go a long way in catalyzing rural development • Critical information requirements of rural persons

3. Examples of information requirements for a farmer Meteorological information relating to local area; Market prices for produces; Government schemes for the poor; Cattle and feeds; Agricultural information (Disease control; Paddy cultivation methods); Availability of vaccines and medicines in health centers; Wages fixed by the government; Rules and regulations of employment exchange; Yellow pages (addresses of doctors, carpenters, masonry people, government officials etc); Bus timings; Availability of food grains in the fair price shop; Fish segregation over the coast etc.

4. Traditional library services vis-a-vis Development agenda – Where is the mismatch ?-All our libraries, including digital libraries and internet serve only a fraction of human kind.-Poor people, in their struggle to keep body and soul, cannot think of information and libraries.-Information our libraries contain is outdated and not of much use to the poor.

5. -Information we have cannot be understood easily - because of language barriers and technical details. -Information cannot be accessed by the poor people easily; they find barriers in our libraries. -Information in our libraries is irrelevant to a poor person. -Our ICT applications are beyond the reach of the poor.

6. Village Knowledge Centres (VKC), Pondicherry • Application of ICT for providing knowledge to rural poor. • Hub and spokes model. 10 VKCs around one hub; Linked by wireless internet. • Located in schools, panchayats, temples etc. • Information required for the farmers, fishermen is collected locally and made available on daily basis. • Over 100 databases have been built locally.

7. Public address system is used for announcing important news. • Daily newspaper – Farmer’s Dairy. • Training programs for the women for income generation. • Online videoconferencing with government officials, medical specialists etc. • Managed by volunteers, mainly women. • Training and hardware provided by M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai. <http://www.mssrf.org/>

8. Volunteers and space for the VKCs are provided by the people. • Information updated over wireless network, sometimes twice a day. • VKCs have become hub for social gatherings. Reference: http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/~chan/istb01/readings/ICTenabledknowledge.pdf

12. READ Foundation, Nepal • Runs 45 rural libraries in Nepal. • Each library has 3000 – 5000 books. • Has a multimedia center and 5 computers and internet. • Brings out newsletters and online bulletins. Subjects are : Agricultural information; Microfinance; Commodity prices; Investment etc. • Also audio and videos for those who cannot read.

13. Libraries also serve as hubs for many awareness camps and workshops. • Social services are organized in partnership with universities; civil society etc. • Has a sustainable economy model. • Library serves as a common place for women and children to sit and discuss their problems. Reference: http://www.readnepal.org/projects/projects2.htm

15. Boat Libraries in Bangladesh • Started by a NGO Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha in 2002. • Managed by volunteers. • Covers a radius of 240 kms of rivers, streams, and wetlands in Natore, Pabna & Sirajganj districts. • Shidhulai runs 21 boat libraries (besides 5 boats for agricultural training, 5 boats for healthcare, 4 boats for evening educational shows, 7 boats for holding workshops). • Each library has 5 computers with internet access, 1500 books, 50 periodicals and 5 newspapers. Library makes 4 stops during the day, each stay is of 2-3 hours in a place. • 3 volunteers manage one boat library.

16. Serves 88000 families. • Locally produced content on Human Rights, Women’s Rights, Biodiversity, Environment etc are made available. • Information on agriculture, modern farming; pest management; fisheries, commodity prices are also made available on the computer. • Contents tailored to both literates and illiterates. Multimedia programs available. • 70% of the beneficiaries are women. • Farmers send their agricultural problems by e-mail which are answered by specialists Reference: http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub136/pub136.pdf

18. Chiwamba Community Information Center, Malawi, Africa Situated about 45 kms east of Lilongwe, capital of Malawi; provides the following services : • Reading and borrowing; books for formal education, income generation, adult literacy and recreation.

19. Video shows offering development information, publicized through notice boards. • A community newsletter which is displayed in strategic locations such as churches, market places etc. • Literacy classes.

20. Talks and meetings by specialists in small business, agriculture, community development; health etc. • Games. • Cultural activities – drama clubs. • Produces locally made information materials on agriculture, health and literacy. • Managed by the community, with volunteers. Only one information staff. • Supported by IDRC Canada initially. Now managed by Malawi National Library Service. Reference :http://www.bookaid.org/resources/downloads/Libraries_Literacy_Poverty_Reduction.pdf

21. Illubabor Community Library and Information Centres, Rural Ethiopia • 12 Government reading rooms in rural Ethiopia were transformed into vibrant LICs. • Community LICs were linked with social development plans.

22. A vibrant civil society was formed around the LICs diversifying services to all sections of society, including semi-literates. • Agriculture and Health are the priority areas; besides pressing social problems such as Family Planning, HIV- AIDS, food security etc.

23. Knowledge of local people used to solve problems; traditional knowledge was shared. • Materials were published in local language, Oromifa. • For sustainability, resource generating schemes were started; • ICTs were introduced.

24. Lectures and workshops, literacy classes, writing contests, drama and poetry programs, cultural events and quizzes were organized. • Libraries have become places to encounter local action and dialogue. • Project supported by Oxfam, Canada. Reference :http://www.bookaid.org/resources/downloads/Libraries_Literacy_Poverty_Reduction.pdf

25. What is common in all these ? • Libraries have become hub of community development programs (not merely repositories of knowledge or recreation materials) • Local content is generated and disseminated, Librarians are content creators/facilitators. • Schemes have to be sustainable. • A blend of various technologies are required to suit the needs of different kinds of users

26. Libraries facilitate knowledge sharing, not merely knowledge finding. • Knowledge is to be presented in a way the poor can understand and take action; Work beyond traditional librarianship. • Libraries work closely with the civil society and also other organizations for resources and expertise.

27. Which way to go • Pilot development focused library projects. • Intensive research into the information needs of rural people • No ‘one size fits all’ approach • Information needs to be repackaged • Technology has to be appropriate to the situation • Training programmes in development information work • Develop a synergy with all organizations involved in development agenda.

28. “ For those in need, access to information by itself is often not enough to solve a person’s problems. Very often the information has to be linked to action and this requires the involvement of a variety of community groups, self help organizations and the like” British Librarian, Dr B Usherwood

29. Thank You Email : ibhat@bits-pilani.ac.in