Slow internet speed a barrier to new digital library platform

The Libyan Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MHESR) is establishing a digital library platform for universities to provide comprehensive and immediate access to academic resources and various scientific references for faculty members and students.

An agreement to implement the Digital Library Platform for Libyan Universities project was signed on 23 September 2024 between NexusLab, a company specialising in developing digital educational solutions, and the Libyan Post Telecommunications and Information Technology Company (LPTIC), according to a statement posted on MHESR’s Facebook page.

On 24 September 2024, LPTIC issued a statement stating: “This agreement signifies a strategic investment aimed at supporting digital transformation in Libya, enhancing the global ranking of Libyan universities, and establishing the country as a key hub in building a bright future for higher education and scientific research in the nation.

“This initiative is expected to effectively enhance academic achievement and scientific research, creating an intellectual environment that fosters innovation and development.”

The Digital Library Platform for Libyan Universities is one of the tools for implementing the country’s 10-year national higher education and scientific research strategy (2024-34) that aims to reform education, teaching and scientific research and promote their roles in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through “producing and publishing digital knowledge content in all fields, and making it widely available”.

Advancing data-sharing practices

Amal Rhema, a lecturer at Al-Jabal Al-Gharbi University in Gharyan, Libya, welcomed the governmental approval of the project for establishing a digital library platform for universities. “It is fundamental to enhancing the quality of education, allowing access to unlimited academic resources, and supporting research and academic innovations,” she told University World News.

“It will save time and effort for students and academic communities to get instant access to educational, research, and knowledge with only an internet connection and a few keywords or titles,” she said.

“The digital library will also help advance data-sharing practices among the university community in Libya, which is lagging behind African countries, through developing institutional and disciplinary research data repositories at the digital library platform for universities.”

While South Africa and Egypt are leading Africa in data-sharing practices, Libya ranked 44th out of 49 African countries regarding contributions of research data in the data citation index (DCI) hosted by the Web of Science in the period from 2001-23, according the study, ‘Mapping research data landscape in Africa using the Re3data and data citation index’ in the journal Information Development.

Tool for sustainable development

Rhema indicated that, “This digital platform will help market Libyan Universities’ products and services and its associated research centres, which will help bridge gaps with business and investment sectors.

“Promoting university-industry cooperation through the digital platform will facilitate the translation of research outputs into local products needed by local markets which will help accelerate achieving the SDGs,” Rhema said.

The 2023 SDG Digital Acceleration Agenda, a global analysis of the connections between digital technologies and sustainable development, demonstrated how digital solutions, including digital platforms, can directly benefit 119 of the 169 SDG targets (about 70%), including education.

Challenges and solutions

However, “besides the envisaged advantages of the new digital library, students and academics will face several challenges in using it which must be dealt with,” Rhema warned.

“While the digital environment in which the digital library will operate was improved by upgrading the country’s current internet capacity, which resulted in increasing internet penetration and lowering the cost of internet connectivity, the speed is still low,” she note. Libya’s internet penetration stood at 88.4% at the start of 2024, according to DataReportal.

Libya is eighth on the list of African countries with the cheapest internet, compiled by the British travel blog ATLAS & BOOTS. The country ranks 152th out of 177 countries with an internet speed of only 16.12Mbps, according to Data Pandas.

“While the shift to digital library platforms is a transformative initiative, the challenges that may arise focus heavily on the lack of digital literacy among the population, coupled with financial and infrastructural limitations,” Rhema pointed out.

“These challenges can be addressed through programmes educating individuals on digital literacy, addressing the prominent skills gap, and new infrastructure investments with the reassurance of financial stability, whether grants from international organisations or politically sourced funds.”