Embracing Digital, Encouraging Reading

Screens have taken over the world. Everywhere you turn, you see one. It could be a phone firmly gripped in a person’s palm, or a Jumbotron across the street that steals your attention for a moment. Worldreader has pledged to take advantage of this exponentially-growing digital migration. In Kenya, they have and continue to bring digital reading to schools. Through a partnership with Kenya National Library Service (knls), both groups have heightened our reading culture one e-reader at a time.

Wordreader started in 2010, with the vision of a world where everyone could be a reader. After realizing that over 750 million people worldwide are held back due to low literacy levels, they sought after partners that would help decrease this number. Their main purpose then became combating low literacy levels globally. But with everyone glued to a screen, the mission had to go digital. That’s where the partnership with knls began. Dubbed ‘Library E-reading Activities Partnership’ (LEAP), the partnership focused on digital reading programmes, and the result was exceptional. Through LEAP, knls was able to send a wide collection of e-books through 3,000 e-readers to 61 public libraries. In turn, library visits became more frequent.

The results were clear: there was a 38% increase in knls’ overall book collection, and over 300,000 library users checked out the e-readers. There was a significant rise in the registration of new members proving that the partnership factoring in digital migration was effective.

LEAP’s success was also as a result of knls’s outreach activities. Book clubs, reading competitions, and debates were among the outreach activities that resulted in the rise of daily walk-ins to local libraries. Other outcomes of this? The strengthening of the reader’s critical thinking skills, understanding of the world around them and their position as possible change makers.

One shining example of the impact of this partnership is the Rumuruti Library. Rumuruti is a rural town in Lakipia County where inter-ethnic conflict is common. Poverty is also a challenge many Rumurutians face. In this kind of environment, the Rumuruti Library has been a refuge where people, old and young, can interact without violence or hopelessness. The readers engage with ideas and connect with others. As more children walk into the library, Agnes, the head librarian, notices the upscale in their confidence. The more e-readers they interact with, the more books they check out, the better their self-image. Where they would have been timid and bowed, the books help them face the harsh realities around them with resilience.

The #PaukwaPeople at Worldreader and knls are restoring a sense of pride to these tender, budding Kenyans. And we say Hongera!

When was the last time you strolled into a knls library? Maybe you could walk out with a library in the palm of your hand.

#KeLibraries