The WiderNet Project

The WiderNet Project is an independent nonprofit organization affiliated with University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) that is dedicated to improving digital communications in developing countries.

Bringing the equalizing influences of the Information Revolution to underserved populations in the developing world, The WiderNet Project distributes millions of digital library materials via the innovative eGranary Digital Library, trains computer technicians, coaches decision-makers in African universities, provides cutting-edge research on information technology issues facing the developing world, and donates computer equipment to partner universities.

Our major focus is the eGranary Digital Library. Hailed as a new way of delivering the world's knowledge to the seven out of eight people who cannot access the Internet, the eGranary Digital Library puts millions of documents at the fingertips of those at educational institutions in developing countries without using an Internet connection.

The few schools in the developing world with connections to the Internet spend enormous amounts of money for slow and unreliable connections. The eGranary Digital Library overcomes this problem by storing huge amounts of information on hard drives inside a school's internal network. It contains books, websites, journals, movies and audio files from hundreds of contributing authors and publishers who freely contribute to help bridge the digital divide.