Causes of Digital Divides in India and the Role of Indian Libraries to Bridge the Gap
Authors
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Jadavpur University, Jadavpur, Kolkata–700032
Mahuya Chakrabarty -
Jadavpur University, Jadavpur, Kolkata–700032Chaitali Dutta
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17821/srels/2014/v51i1/47189Keywords:
Digital Divide, Social Aspects, Digital Skills, Ict Growth And Development, Role of LibraryAbstract
The term "Digital Divide" refers to the difference between individuals within or outside the families, businesses and geographic areas in various socio-economic levels with regard to both their opportunities in accessing Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and also the use of the internet for multiple purposes. This study investigates the economic, social and political consequences of digital inequalities and also the inequalities caused due to several demographic and socio-graphic profiles of information users. This study considers antecedents, occurrence and consequences of digital divide and includes the barriers of digitization. This study also provides several propositions on the role of libraries to bridge the digital divide in the context of use of internet and computer. It is also tried to explain briefly how libraries can use various digital facilities like mobile phones, wi-fi facility, AIT Technology, JAWs usage etc. to serve its information user in a better way and also can minimize the gap of using digital divides in different levels of the society.
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Accepted 2014-02-25
Published 2014-02-01
