Conclusions--Looking+forward!

In summary, although The Digital Divide is a relatively new concept, and one that will shift as technology continues to shift and permeate almost every facet of our society, it is a problem that cannot be left unsolved. Librarians and educators are uniquely qualified to attempt to bridge this divide, as they are in a position to help facilitate the conveyance of knowledge and skill to the public on a large scale. If worldwide digital inclusion is the ultimate goal, and to achieve this we must create complete digital access to every individual across the world regardless of language, funding and skill level, then an excellent place to start is in the schools and libraries.

In our section on Inequalities in Use & Access, we noted that there are four critical factors that hinder the bridging of the digital divide, they are:


 * Educational: Digital Literacy
 * Economical: Financial Limitations, Infrastructure, and Sustainability
 * Political: Bureaucracy and Censorship
 * Cultural: Culture, Tradition, and Language

Unfortunately, the second and third factors are things that can only be influenced and changed, for the most part, by governments and policy changes. However, the first and fourth are things that can easily be addressed by librarians and educators worldwide, which means that many of us can be fighting half the battle to bridge the digital divide *right now*. As stated by Aqili and Moghaddam (2008) “librarians and information professionals can play a vital role in making information accessible, bridging the digital divide or at least, diminishing it via their information services. These include reference, collection building, inter-library loan, selective dissemination of information, current awareness services, digital libraries, and resource sharing” (p. 235). We must realize that collaboration between all entities both at the national and international level, is “the key to alleviate the obstacles to information access, and so diminish the educational and information divide and totally digital divide within each country” (Aqili & Moghaddam, 2008, p. 237). As Hamilton (2012) states: “the technologies are not enough in and of themselves to close these gaps, but instead, collaborative human partnerships are needed to provide people context and learning spaces for harnessing the participatory power of these technologies and to grow their digital and information literacy skills” (p. 28).

If we do not work as a society to bridge the digital divide, we will further increase the inequality that is already too prevalent across the globe. Although access to and the use of ICTs does not seem like a fundamental need, the Digital Divide Organization (2006) explains “that access to digital technology greatly enhances the effectiveness and affordability of efforts to improve the water supply, improve rural health and education, generate jobs and address any of the other interrelated problems of poverty. Closing the digital divide may not necessarily be the silver bullet for reducing poverty, but there is a much lower likelihood of large scale and sustainable poverty reduction without doing so."



Resources!