Libraries in partnership to bridge the African digital divide for development: Kenya takes the plunge

Abstract

Technology is critical for development. A lot of African countries have to deal with the technological gap that threatens to widen the North South development gap. Libraries can play a major role in this struggle by facilitating access to relevant technological information to support development projects in Africa. This has not been easy for the last few years. Libraries in Africa have to deal with constantly reducing budgets, a factor that has greatly contributed to the slow progress in digitization of library content and hence affected efficiency in access to the same. This paper examines the problem and analyses the impact of partnership in overcoming the digital divide in Africa. The paper highlights the Kenyan experience.