Computing

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Overview

• Wellspring Africa
• The WiderNet Project
• The Three Challenges to Scaling ICT
• The Bandwidth Conundrum
• The eGranary Digital Library
• eGranary Knowledgesphere
• Local content
• Reflections on Service

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The WiderNet Project

• Since 2000, building capacity at African
  institutions for academic collaborations
• 4,000 participants from 24 universities in
  Nigeria, Ghana, and East Africa (30 women)
• Collected over 2,000,000 in new used hardware,
  software, and refurbished 1,200 used computers
  for partner universities in Nigeria
• Volunteers have put in over 10,000 hours
• Focus on practical, cost effective solutions
• Helping to build a digital culture (best
  practices, user groups, student internships,
  gender equity)
• see one do one teach one

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Three Challenges to Scale

• Face TimeHow many hours spent with a computer
• Information AccessHow much, how fast, and at
  what price
• Human CapacityThe ability to install, maintain,
  and incorporate IT

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Access to Information
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39 .05
29 .04
16 .12
InternetConnectivity Costs
67 .05
4 1.1
2 2.9
1 6.8
Users/1000 population Proportion of Average Salary
2 3.8
12 5.5
6 3.5
1 3.3
1 8.1
13 1.5
? 9.9
7 5.0
3 1.4
34 0.2
35 0.1
68 0.2
Source 2005 World Development Indicators, World
Bank
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The Reality of the Cost

• Freakishly expensive 100x U.S.
• 2007 150K for dedicated 1mbit
• Extraordinary sacrifice for institutions with
  other very compelling needs
• Bandwidth Blackmail
• Beware the aristocratic Oh, let them buy
  bandwidth attitude.
• 800 lb. gorilla effect

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A Bandwidth Comparison
The University of Iowa28,000 students
? Internet
LAN ?
1,000Mb x 2
(not to scale)
100Mb network backbone
Ahmadu Bello University24,000 students
? Internet
LAN ?
2Mb common use
100Mb network backbone
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The Reliability of the Internet Connection

• Very rarely 24 x 7
• Many institutions hard pressed to deliver 6 hours
  a day
• Frequent lapses of a day or more
• Occasional lapses of a week or more
• Many points of failure, the external connection
  to blame about 70

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The eGranary Digital Library
The Internet in a Box
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Replacing Bandwidthwith Storewidth

• 750GB information store inside LAN
• Millions of educational documents
• Collection created and maintained by librarians
• Multimedia, audio, video at full network speeds
• No bandwidth costs
• Augments a conventional Internet connection

? Internet
LAN ?
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The eGranary Digital Library provides every
networked computer high-speed access to millions
of documents and multimedia files.
Even when the Internet connection is broken!
LAN
X
? Internet
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The eGranary Digital Library

• Permission from over 800 authors publishers
  (MIT OpenCourseware, Wikipedia, WHO, Math TV,
  Virtual Hospital, etc.)
• Over ten million documents
• Tens of thousands of books, hundreds of journals,
  hundreds of Web sites CDs
• 250 installations in Africa, India, Bangladesh,
  Haiti
• Patrons open documents 100 5,000 times faster
  than over their Internet connection

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eGranary Demonstration
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A Curated Solution

• Content seen as safe for those leery of the
  wild and wooly Internet
• Primary and secondary schools, prisons, community
  libraries
• An additive option can work in conjunction with
  a standard Internet connection
• Librarians have more control

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III. Human CapacityA Five-Point Recipefor
Digital Success
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Point One
Develop strong institutional leadership
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Point Two
Teach your children
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Point Three
Nurture widespread adoption of all digital
technologies
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Point Four
Encourage, assist, and reward innovators
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Point Five
Beware of naysaying computer nerds
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Expanding Access Even More

• Able to serve a larger patronage with nominal
  additional costs
• Free wireless public libraries
• Whole communities connected

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The eGranary Digital Library
Knowlegesphere
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Multi-lingualEducationalResources
Local eMailand Communication
Community Informationand Local Content
10 million educational documents
GovernmentDocumentsand Data
HealthInformation
LegalResources
Data Collection
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Knowlegesphere
Wi-MaxBackbone
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Knowlegesphere
Govt Offices
New Computers
Clinics/Hospitals
Refurbished Computers
Universities
OLPC
Schools
Mobile Phones
Churches/Mosques
Kiosks
Private Homes
Laptops
Internet Cafés
Pocket Computers
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Serve Millions of Educational Resources to
Thousands of Patrons
The Cost of Internet Connection???
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Community Service

• Its not enough to be goodone must be good for
  something.
• Serving the university and wider community
• Building community knowledge
• Empowering whole communities

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Seeking Passionate Partners

• A not-for-profit service project
• Believe that information access is important for
  all populations
• Primary, secondary, tertiary education
• Health care, legal services, public libraries
• Recognize that inexpensive information delivery
  is key
• Ready to contribute to serve the information poor

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• I slept and dreamt that life was joy
• I awoke and saw that life was service
• I acted and behold, service was joy!
• --Rabindranath Tagore

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The eGranary Digital LibraryThe WiderNet
ProjectThe School of Library and Information
Science University of Iowa http//www.egranary.
org Presenter Cliff Missenmissenc_at_widernet.org