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Making Books Accessible to All Children by 2023

Thu, April 18, 1:30 to 3:00pm, Hyatt Regency, Floor: Pacific Concourse (Level -1), Pacific H

Proposal

This presentation will provide an overview of the Global Book Alliance approach to making books accessible to all children by 2023. The Global Book Alliance is working to transform the supply of reading materials so that the right books are accessible, available, and appropriate for children at the right time and for the right price. Children, especially in the early grades, lack access to books designed to teach them to read in languages they use and understand. If children do not have access to these reading materials, they can’t go on to learn other subjects. Current practices in developing, procuring and distributing reading materials for the early grades do not ensure equitable availability for all young students. Unfortunately, local language content only comprises approximately 25% of digital publisher databases. The market for local language content is often too small to cover the costs of content generation and therefore limits the number of available titles. One option is to translate and digitize existing titles.
The GBA’s focus is on both print and digital options. The GBA is working with digital platforms to support further spread of their content. The GBA is also working with partners to digitalize their books and materials to make them accessible on-line. And one of the GBA’s key initiatives is the Global Digital Library, an on-line platform to make the digitalized books available globally in multiple languages. The options for using digital platforms is just beginning. The GBA will be supporting the GDL as it continues to grow, working with GBA partners to encouraging the uploading and down loading of titles as well as support to new title development through the Global Book Campaign.

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