The Rural Village Libraries Research Network, Uganda, Africa
Geoff Goodman, Valeda Dent Goodman · Apple Academic Press eBooks · 2021
The Rural Village Libraries Research Network was established by Dr. Dent and Dr. Goodman with the mission of bridging the information divide in rural communities in Uganda. In the following interview, Dent and Goodman share the challenges of setting up and conducting research on rural community libraries in Africa. Zimbabwe has a relatively well-developed framework for rural libraries—most notably, the services and support provided by the Rural Libraries and Resources Development Programme, which has been in existence for quite some time. Uganda has a still-developing framework with more than 100 rural community library members across the country. Members include school libraries, stand-alone libraries and small information centres. The Kabubbu Library does have electricity powered by generators, and the Kitengesa Library does have solar panels that provide power for a few hours each day.