 Hello and thank you to CNI for accepting our program proposal and to all of you who are listening to it. My name is Ann O'Crisen with the Center for Research Libraries, but today we're going to talk about something a little bit different. During this half hour, the aim is to introduce the fledgling OLI or offline internet consortium, particularly its mission, its aspirations, and to invite you to join in this work. Well, a growing number of individuals and communities are able to benefit in numerous ways from the expanded opportunities that new technologies offer. There are nonetheless many populations in regions where internet capabilities are weak to non-existent, resulting in a loss of educational, cultural, economic research and social development. Many data sources report that nearly half of the world does not have access to the internet and many who do face serious limitations, including the extent and the quality of content to be accessed. The idea for the OLI Consortium was born at the IFLA, which is the International Federation of Library Associations, meaning in Roklau, Poland in August 2017. When some of us heard a presentation by Jeffrey Mulsley of the Sarawak State Library in Malaysia, Sarawak is located on the Isle of Borneo, which is the third largest island in the world. Internet broadband penetration in Sarawak is about 50%, and the digital gap between urban and rural areas is huge, where private internet service is available, the cost is a barrier. Government-provided initiatives offer some relief, but the speed is slow. Apri and his colleagues presented their project called Pustaka in a Box, bridging the digital gap. The solution was to set up a web server, a microcomputer Raspberry Pi, which includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capability. The setup easily holds about 50,000 ebooks and one unit of Pustaka costs about $75 to set up. Power needs are minimal and testing in remote areas show that this is an effective way of bridging the digital gap. A growing number of independent organizations and individuals are devoting efforts to solving the problem of internet access to digital information to underserved populations. While making enormous headway, such organizations are often unaware of other efforts, opportunities, and technical advances that could be leveraged. Inspired by the example of the Sarawak State Library, and in order to explore these issues and to pursue solutions, and through various serendipitous connections. The Arizona State University Library and French-based bibliotech, some frontier, with the involvement of ISLA brought together and organized two international summits in February 2018 and February 2020 at the ASU Library in Tempe. In this session, we will provide short videos from three participating OLI members showing use cases with a very, very quick overview of technologies that they have developed. These technology-based non-profit groups are Solar Spell at ASU, the Idea Box at ESF in Paris, and Net Freedom Pioneers, which is based in California but has offices in other parts of the world. After these three presentations, Jim O'Donnell will say a bit more about OLI and how we welcome partners and participants to join us in this work, as well as an event plan for later this year, which may be of interest. In a future session of CNI, we could offer a deeper dive about some of the technologies being developed as our partners attempt to bring quality internet-like information to much of the world, including the United States. So thank you very much. I had been traveling to and visiting schools across the developing world, trying to figure out why technology projects never seemed to work there. And one of the things that I kept seeing over and over again was this forward emphasis on technology and complete lack emphasis on the skills needed to use that technology. I became really passionate about figuring out how to offer better educational opportunities to kids who don't necessarily attend schools that have electricity, books, desks, the internet, etc. It may feel like the whole world is on the internet, but less than half of the world's population has ever connected to the internet. Technologists at Arizona State University took this as a challenge to come up with a kind of starter kit that could be put to use right away in remote parts of the world, places that are still waiting for the infrastructure to connect to the internet. The solar spell was really an evolution of years of working in the developing world and seeing technology that overfailed and succeeded. How do we actually bring relevant educational materials to places that lack electricity, like internet access, lack the basic infrastructures we're used to? I said, okay, in three months, we're going to build an offline solar-powered rugged portable digital library. Let's go. This is our familiar expensive laptop, and this is solar spell. This is not trying to be this. In a developing country where there's no place to plug in this expensive laptop, very soon this just becomes an expensive doorstop. The solar spell has got a solar panel and a rechargeable battery inside, along with a library to learn from. So this is ready to go, whether there's power or not. This costs about $200. This costs almost $3,000. We've seen a lot of projects where things are over-engineered and really fall apart very quickly when the Westerners leave. And so seeing those projects and have worked on those projects, what we try to do with solar spell is bring something that will just work when you take it there. And once we leave, it'll continue to work and work and perform as we envisioned it, so that extreme durability and reliability is what we need because we can't be in those really wrong places when something doesn't work. So what happens when these things get to where they're finally going? Well, that solar panel on the back is ready to start charging up the battery, but the battery is shipped already charged. So a parent, a student, a teacher just plugs in a couple of cables. This throws up a Wi-Fi signal and it's already preloaded with watts to learn. One of the greater challenges for me is to convince people that this project is not about this cute shiny box that we're bringing to the field and that it's not an inexpensive, cheap piece of technology that you can throw over the fence and forget about. It's a library. Mentally, people are hungry for information and this is a great way to get safe, relevant educational information to people. So one of the beauties of solar spell being at Arizona State University is we do have a large, diverse student body that is interested in working on projects that really benefit education in the developing world. And with solar spell, there's always improvements that we can make both in the software and the hardware design. This is actually a process I came to realize and there is so much value from going to the field, sometimes from failing. But the most important thing is that you actually make time to reflect and learn from the things that didn't go right and figure out what it is that you want to make right the next time or work to make better. University students help build each solar spell unit. And as part of coursework, they also help refine and improve solar spell. The units you see them building here will ship out in a few weeks, but already there's a newer, better design, which is what the student teams will help put together on the next build day. We assemble a team of students and give them a real world challenge that's focused on, you know, a project that our partners in the field have identified as a need that they have. And I tell the students, okay, we're going to work really hard on this problem for a whole semester, and then you're going to come with me at the end of the day or at the end of the semester and deliver this to our partners in the field. We're going to look them in the eye and we're going to say, All right, this is the best that we could do from on campus now work with us and help us make it better for you. From a design standpoint really have four key areas. We've got the solar spell from industrial design standpoint itself and what the package looks like. Second is the electrical engineering design that goes into the solar spell. The third is the computer science side that makes a Raspberry Pi startup as a Wi-Fi access point and provide this offline website and the fourth is the user interface design and designing for that first time user. All of those areas we have about 50 students every semester involved in all four of those design areas in the moving solar spell and enhancing it. And so every semester we do challenge students with both ideas that are kind of out there and ones that are really needed to support our students and teachers in the field. And so we always want to have a balance of what can be done. Basically one of the long stories short is that if you give students the right incentive, they always come through. Every single time we go to the field we identify new challenges. So the initiative will never be over because the hardware at the library, the content of the library, the software, the training that we do with teachers. Every single part of that can be approved and we work to improve it every time we go to the field. More than half of the world's population does not have access to the Internet either because they lack the electricity or coverage to access Internet or because Internet data is too expensive. At Libraries Without Borders we know that vulnerabilities are exacerbated when people lack access to the information they need to make decisions. For the disaster strikes it is crucial to have access to emergency information which could include where to find shelter, how to adapt to current sanitary conditions and how to reconnect with family. Later on it's time for psychological reconstruction and starting up emergency schools. What if we could bring the Internet offline, bring libraries to where they are most needed even when there is no Internet and no electricity. For this, Libraries Without Borders has created an offline digital library, the Coon Book. The Coon Book is a battery operated device that streams video content, documents, images and digital courses using an integrated Wi-Fi hotspot. These contents are tailored to each location and disaster type so that they are in the right language and adapted to local needs and cultures. This library is organized in packages such as health information, maps or even activities to help children process trauma. These contents are then preloaded on a hard drive and accessed via the browser of a tablet, telephone or computer. It is successfully used in health clinics, libraries, schools and community centers throughout the world. Its compact format makes it a highly flexible tool that can be transported anywhere. It is both replicable and shareable. The Coon Book is fully documented in open source user guides. You can build it yourself or it can be completely assembled by us. The Coon Book comes in a kit that extends its functionalities making it a turnkey solution. Let's see a quick presentation. It's a quite simple device to use. It has one push button in the front and two plugs at the rear of the casing. One plug is used to power up the device and the other one is a cable that can connect the Coon Book to the internet. It's simple to start. You press the push button for two seconds then wait for the LED to flash. Once it's done, just grab a tablet, a smartphone, or laptop to connect to the Wi-Fi hotspot and browse the IT screen portal. In some use cases, you may want to extend the Wi-Fi coverage with an external antenna. This antenna covers a Wi-Fi area up to 200 meters and can host around 50 people depending on the usage. Thanks to a solar kit, we can use a battery and a foldable solar pad. This solar panel can charge the battery. Once it's done, you can use the battery to power up a few tablets. The Coon Book or the Wi-Fi antenna. This set of devices is what we call the Coon Book Kit. It's easy to assemble. In the next step, we are going to see it through a GMO high-coach. The ID box is a media center in the kit. It's basically composed of four boxes. Inside of these boxes, you will find physical contents, books, games, creative materials, musical instruments, cameras, these kind of things, but also tablets, computers. You have a server in one of these boxes and in this server, you will find thousands of digital resources that are carefully selected. The ID box is more than a tool. It's a concept that transforms a space into a cultural information hub, a social hub also where people can meet, exchange, debate. People that go to the ID box can also receive training in this space. So it's a very multi-sector space that can be used in many different contexts, such as the humanitarian context of Bangladesh. The idea is to continue with a step-by-step approach to provide tools as people are also evolving with us and integrate these new tools, these new technologies, such as tablets, for instance, so they can connect to the server, accept the digital resources that we selected with this step-by-step approach. We hope to reach great impact and also to increase mobilization and participation in the project that we run with our different partners. Our world is connected, but accessing information is a daily struggle for many people around the globe. Forget cat videos and selfies. Families are disconnected from accessing health, education and valuable knowledge that could make a big difference. Communities with limited infrastructure in remote locations, under government censorship, or those who simply can't afford their internet bill, are left in the dark. That's where Napsack for Hope comes in. Napsack for Hope's technology brings curated online content to users all over the globe through satellite TV. Satellite TV is more common and less expensive than internet service and works in even the most remote locations. Our curator team gathers the best and most requested entertainment and educational files from around the web and bundles it into a digital Napsack. The Napsack is then encoded into discreet, untraceable video files that are broadcast via satellite to a small local dish. Anyone with a satellite receiver, USB stick and the Napsack application can easily record, transfer, decode and view the content on their laptop or smartphone. This way, more information is more accessible to more people for free. And what's possible when information is freely accessible to everyone? Anything. Well, my head was implausible, it made me shiver. There was a lot of potential in technology and I said, this has to be known to the people. Development has already been done, it has already been approved. We included an official program, an initiative by the federal government in educational matters. It is important that the access to this platform, which is learned 2.0, is available on the internet. But here, at least in Alvaro Obregón, with Huchita Oaxaca, the guys have never had internet. So how is it possible that they access this content? This is where we come in. In this computer laboratory, the guys come to learn a little bit of computer. We have approximately 12 computers. The content station is this small computer, which is in charge of storage and sharing the content that we have collected for the guys. We work together with a bandakau antenna and a small Wi-Fi device, so that the guys can connect from their smartphones, from their tablets. So, at least it gave us a license. Because obviously what we wanted to do was to consult the guys, but to consult something that was worth it, something documentary, something historical, not only to enter the internet, but rather to chat, but rather that it would help us in educational matters. And this is what made us fall from the sky. NAPSAC for Hope, Connectivity Without Borders. Join the information liberation today. My name is Jim O'Donnell. I'm a university librarian at Arizona State University. And I'm happy to round out this program about the offline internet consortium. We've just seen reports from colleagues working in the offline internet space around the world. What they have in common is technical ingenuity, engineering skill, and deep commitment to bringing to the underserved the best of what the internet makes available to people in privileged regions. There are in fact dozens of organizations working at various levels and various ways to find how to give access to those without. Perhaps the most surprising approach we've had in our consortium came from an association of theological schools, looking to provide a core library, the seminaries in Africa. There are countless needs like that. In fact, there are many places, geographical places, what I might call social places. But the internet does not yet reach. Official estimates suggest half the people on the planet fall into those zones, but in some ways the numbers are even higher. In some countries, for example, something of the internet is available, but censorship cripples it. In others like the United States, networking in major cities is ubiquitous, but many people cannot afford a data plan sufficient to their needs and do not have the experience becomes savvy users of what they are able to access. So the kinds of places where offline internet has an opportunity to make a contribution, include at least geographically remote locations. Socially disadvantaged locations where networking infrastructure is inadequate or overpriced. Politically disadvantaged locations where self serving politicians obstruct the search for knowledge. Post disaster situations where normal facilities are out of service and post conflict situations where refugees find themselves on the run or in camps or connectivity is impossible. What I'm hearing about working with the offline internet consortium is to see the passion and ingenuity that our friends and colleagues are bringing to remedy these conditions. What you see behind me is the homepage of the offline internet consortium for the very simple URL. I'll repeat it later, but it's offline hyphen internet.org. So email address internet unplugged at gmail.com will reach the steering committee, we welcome inquiries of every kind. If you're working in this space as a provider of service, we'd like to know how to become one will be glad to talk with you. But it's like that theological association, you have a problem reaching an audience that needs information you curate. We can connect to your likely partners. We realize that the underserved populations are literally everywhere. The videos you have seen take us to traditional sites of human development on other components. But we in Arizona State University are engaged in these issues in part because the Native American communities in our own state have their own struggles. As we've more than found out last year, and locked down drove students back to homes on the reservations are getting a zoom connection proved impossible. The State Library of Arizona is working with those communities. Our colleagues at W. Texas frontier have worked with the urban poor by finding ways to meet that neighborhood longer maps, a nearly ideal place to find people with some time on their hands and curiosity despair. In the work of innovators and practitioners from around the world. We hope to support development of technology, broader implementation, and ultimately greater funding support for these efforts. In our last meeting, we identified a vision and strategy for advancing our mission. For a first step, we look not only for new partners and users, but for the most efficient way to support creation of a nucleus of a small secretariat. We coordinate the work and advance the outreach to funders, whether those be private governmental or NGO. If you are impressed by what you've seen here today and if you can help us in any of these ways. Do you want to participate in this consortium. Please join us will make it easy. Thank you for your time and attention. Thank you for enjoying this presentation with us.