eGranary : Widernet

"...The WiderNet Project’s eGranary Digital Library delivers digital information directly to Web servers inside institutions, bypassing the Internet. More than 2.5-million educational documents are currently delivered to more than 50 institutions in Africa and other undeveloped areas in the world giving at least 300,000 students and professors access to information over their local area networks (LAN) quickly and at no cost. The eGranary Digital Library regularly adds new content that is provided by authors and publishers all over the world who want to enhance the educational opportunities for developing countries...Currently, only 6 of 27 Nigerian universities have a direct connection to the Internet and none have enough bandwidth to serve their users adequately. A fraction of professors and students have access to email and basic computer programs, but the computer capacity is nowhere near what is available to students in the United States and Europe. The result is the exclusion of Africa from global communication, and the exclusion of young people seeking a higher degree of education..."