Projects to bridge the knowledge and digital divide

The knowledge and information activity support project for low-income areas aims to disseminate academic and literary books to small libraries and local children’s centers in rural and remote areas with little access to information and culture. the small library revitalization project creates resident-oriented, cultural spaces for daily life, which replace library services in areas where public library service is not available. it aims to expand small libraries, which are set up in existing spaces such as community centers, welfare centers, religious facilities, and underused spaces within apartment complexes. the library in my hand project allows people to use the library wherever they are by using digital technology. its mobile web service (http://m.nl.go.kr) was piloted in may 2010 followed by full service on july 1, 2010. it consists of menu bar that can be accessed easily by any smart phone user. the “search” button at the top of each page enables users to access any book in possession from their smart phones. the audio book sharing project encourages publishers and authors to donate text files in order to convert them into braille and audio versions and posts them on a website so that people with disabilities can read and listen to them freely. these digital contents will be provided through the dibrary portal (www.dibrary.net).