Digital doorways: Perspectives and experiences on a global platform to increase equitable access to reading materials in underserved languages

• In Event: Reading in Motion: Book Supply, Book Use and Assessment of Habit of Reading

Proposal

This second paper provides a case study of a new digital platform global printable library that aims to be the global education community’s key repository of printable children’s book content, both children’s literature (fiction and nonfiction) and instructional material (decodable readers, leveled readers, textbooks, and teacher’s guides) in all license forms and in hundreds of languages. To date, the platform has supported book development in underserved national languages in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Niger, and Senegal to date, producing hundreds of open source titles available to the global education community. The platform is the first global project to engage stakeholders from both development/ non-profit publishing and trade/educational commercial publishing, include a collection of design files, print-ready PDFs, and openly-licensed resources, including design templates, training videos, and metadata instructions to ensure global usability. The key audiences for the platform are Ministries of Education (MoEs), donor-funded projects, and NGOs that need print-ready resources; publishers of books in underserved languages who would like to find quality content to translate and publish and/or who would like to license their own content on the platform; and printers that are given access to file downloads or links curated by organizations commissioning printing.
The case study examines the reach of the platform and user experiences. Particular attention is paid to perspectives of individuals who often find themselves at the margin due to non-dominant language identity and lack of financial resources.

Author

• Penelope Bender, NA