Digital books to be produced in PNG

There is a big need for books in Papua New Guinea.

And few academics like John Kasaipwalova are of the view that riding on technology would greatly address this need.

Paradise Publishing House is going digital with its Paradise digital books.

With hardcopies, the challenge is the accumulated cost when it reaches shelves of bookshops throughout the country.

Kasaipwalova says sending hardcopies to 11 thousand schools throughout the country is very difficult.

But if these books are reduced into a digital format, the outcome is the big reduction in price and the ease of transportation. 

“In one small chip, we can have hundreds of books, cheaply, airfreighted in small packets and schools can use smartphones/laptops/tablets/computers, to read, download and print out and have access to thousands of books available,” he said.

He is working with CHM in digitalising these books, through Paradise Publishing House.

The publishing house has also partnered with the National Library to set up libraries in every school throughout PNG.

“We’ll talk to authors and publishers and with their permission, thousands of books from all over the world, we can start producing digital books in PNG, made available to all schools,” he said.

There is also the cost difference between downloading from the internet (which is slow and expensive) and buying the preloaded chip (which will cost less). 

CHM founder and managing director Raymond Chin says it will change the way education in PNG looks at books.

“The future will be digital books.”

Kasaipwalova is also in talks with the Australian National University to digitalise all books they publish, and make available in the country. 

UPNG’s School of Natural and Physical Sciences was the first to see eight of their prescribed textbooks reduced digitally.

And CHM is willing to continue this partnership to digitalise as much of the library the school wants.

Author: 
Gloria Bauai