Bridging the digital divide in the islands of Oceania

With the advent of the Information Age, it has become feasible to consider providing electronic access to library tools (bibliographies, indexes and directories) published in the South Pacific. That something is feasible however, does not necessarily make it desirable. To explore this further, a research project was initiated as part of a Masters thesis at Charles Sturt University to survey four countries in the South Pacific: Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. The survey looked at several areas: potential formats for the delivery of current, print-based library publications; user preferences for the type of format for publications, i.e. print or electronic; the practicalities involved in information personnel in the region being able to access library publications electronically (and whether or not this contributes to bridging the digital divide); the status of telecommunications in the region, including access to the Internet; the extent of computer equipment and its use; and the skills level of library staff and users in accessing and using computers and the Internet. Knowledge gained from this survey will help determine the most suitable format for, and the best approach to publishing library publications in the South Pacific.