eGranary Digital Library Project

The UAB Sparkman Center for Global Health has teamed up with the University of Iowa/Widernet “eGranary” Project to build a digital library of health information resources for students and practitioners in medicine, nursing, public health, and other health-related disciplines for several Zambian institutions. For more general information about the eGranary project, please visit www.egranary.com. The eGranary project is supported by many global collaborators, including the World Health Organization.   

Due to the limitations of access to the Internet (either because of availability, slow speed, or high cost) in many parts of the world, including Zambia, this computer-based tool, the eGranary Digital Library, is a LAN/Intranet based off-line repository of digital information. While it does not need to be connected to the Internet, the eGranary interface is much like using a web browser, and users can access any material that can be digitized. This project will help users of the eGranary access health information and training materials through specially created "portals" organized by content and type, including: e-books, web pages/web sites, articles, DVDs/videos, case studies, tutorials or curricula, and clinical practice guidelines. Users will also be invited to put local materials onto the eGranary system.   
 
Since mid-2008, a team of health professionals and students from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Iowa, and the University of Zambia have been working together to identify useful health information resources to load onto the eGranary. The initial installation and training sessions occured during June-July of 2009 at the University of Zambia, Chainama Hills College of Health Sciences, the Centre for Infectious Disease Reseach in Zambia, and the Zambian Forum for Health Research (ZAMFOHR).
 
An updated version of the eGranary was installed and further training sessions were held at those locations during the summer of 2010. In addition, the eGranary was installed at a new site, the Chikankata Mission Hospital, a rural hospital and training center approximately 125 km south of Lusaka. 
 
The Sparkman Center would like to thank all of the UAB students and faculty who have contributed to identifying resource materials for the eGranary. We would especially like to thank the Schools of Nursing, Health-Related Professions, Medicine, and Public Health for their contributions.