Webcast review Dividing lines
In August Research Information’s Tim Gillett hosted a panel discussion on ‘bridging the digital divide’. Below are some extracts from the debate
Covid 19 and the need for social distancing has meant that university libraries are now operating on a largely digital – and therefore remote – basis. This has exacerbated the digital divide for students and researchers who can’t afford the equipment necessary to work remotely, or for those who live in areas where wifi, and even mobile phone reception, is not available.
The panel was made up of three members of the library community around the world for whom this has been an issue:
• Elaine L Westbrooks – vice provost of university libraries and university librarian at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Elaine is responsible for the leadership and general administration of the university libraries; • David Prosser – executive director of RLUK, which is a consortium of the most significant research libraries in the UK and Ireland, and whose purpose is to shape the research library agenda; and • Nkem Osuigwe – human capacity
development and training director at AFLIA – the African Library and Information Associations and Institutions.
Despite the best efforts of all concerned – and multiple test calls to ensure a reliable connection – Nkem Osuigwe was unable to join the panel at the last moment due to connectivity issues between the United Kingdom and Nigeria. Osuigwe was sadly missed during the debate – but, as many viewers pointed out, her absence illustrated perfectly the issue of the digital divide.
Defining the divide
Westbrooks: ‘The digital divide refers to unequal access to computer equipment and the internet due to social, economic and geographical barriers. There are several aspects to the digital divide, and I would name four of them: access to reliable internet through local broadband; secondly it’s about affordable subscription; thirdly its about affordable technology (computers and other
“Researchers were increasingly
requesting online video meetings to discuss their requirements”
devices); and fourth, digital literacy is another component. ‘In the United States, there are three
ways in which we see the digital divide: whether you are in a household that is in a rural or urban area; ethnicity – native American, black and hispanic populations are disproprionately affected by a lack of access; and finally, middle income versus lower income is another area that has highlighted disparities. Microsoft has estimated that more than 160 million people in the United States do not have access to broadband at home – that’s a huge number and it has definitely been exacerbated by the pandemic. Where I live in North Carolina, our rural population
Elaine L Westbrooks
David Prosser
Nkem Osuigwe
44 Research Information October/November 2020
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