Digital identities, student investments and eGranary as a placed resource

Abstract

In this article, we draw on our research on the digital portable library, eGranary, undertaken in a rural Ugandan village in 2008, to contribute to place-based studies of digital literacy. Our research project investigated the uptake of eGranary by students in the community, focusing on six secondary students who worked as library scholars in the local library. Drawing on Blommaert's construct of scale, we illustrate how both space and time were implicated in the diverse practices associated with eGranary, and their indexical meanings in the wider community. In addition, with reference to Norton's work on identity and investment, we illustrate how students’ identities shifted over time from trainee to tutor, and how the use of eGranary enhanced what was socially imaginable to the library scholars. We demonstrate that Norton's construct of investment thus serves as a useful complement to Blommaert's construct of scale. We also found, however, that students in the wider community who did not have access to eGranary engaged in practices of resistance. We conclude that while eGranary traveled well to Uganda, the limited local resources available in the community compromised its effectiveness, and may well limit the realization of students’ imagined identities for the future.

Keywords:

• digital literacy
• identity
• investment
• globalization
• Uganda
• eGranary

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the six library scholars for their enthusiasm, commitment and generosity. Warm thanks also to Dan Ahimbisibwe, whose local knowledge was invaluable, and to Kate Parry, who facilitated the transfer of eGranary to Kyato Community Library. Funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada is gratefully acknowledged.