Reading in First Nations and the on-demand book service

Abstract

The Book Service (ODBS) is a collaboration between First Nations communities in Northern Ontario and academic researchers from the University of Toronto. The aim of the ODBS is to bridge the gap between physical and digital libraries. The latest workshop (organized in March of 2010) dealt with issues of reading in First Nations communities; and included the shipping of three complete sets of ODBS equipment to three Northern Ontario communities. In addition, graduate students were sent to various sites (Thunder Bay, Sioux Lookout and Keewaywin) to meet in person with community members, act as facilitators, and assist with setting up the equipment and getting a sense of potential uses. Indeed, there is an obvious service gap that technology and equipment cannot bridge, and the on-going challenge remains the articulation of a community-driven strategy. This poster will present initial feedback gathered by following up with the event participants, the facilitators, as well as the community members in the various sites. Their diverse perspectives present a holistic picture of the On-Demand Book Service as perceived by the different stakeholders, and may hold great insights to other such information and library science projects that attempt to bridge great geographical and cultural distances.