"I have always imagined Paradise as a kind of library", mused the Argentine writer Jorge Louis Borges in 1960. Now, fifty years later, most of us are more likely to turn to the Internet than a librarian when seeking information. Archives of books, journals and articles are being digitised and uploaded on a wide scale; encyclopaedias and dictionaries are not only available free-of-charge online but are also populated with crowd-sourced knowledge, making their content more comprehensive than ever before; millions of people are available anytime, anywhere, to offer you just the expertise you need. So, in this digital age of ours, do we still need libraries? Can they still offer us the paradise of discovery and learning that Borges dreamed of? In a dedicated session at eLearning Africa 2013, six presenters were on hand to prove that libraries are both useful and essential to development and education in Africa.
Opening the African Libraries in the Digital Age session, Darren Hoerner, Programme Director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and session chairperson, suggested that "Libraries are reaching outside their walls". "Reaching out", changing shape and developing new forms were certainly the recurring themes of the session, as speakers from across Africa shared their experiences and case studies of how libraries in Africa are adapting to the needs of their users in 2013.
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