Experiencing the International
Children’s Digital Library
Benjamin B. Bederson

University of Maryland (UMD) | bederson@cs.umd.edu

 

and broadly accessible information of all kinds. The Web is easy to change and inexpensive; it is these characteristics that encourage different behaviors and attitudes about content on the Web in the minds of readers.

[ 1] Hutchinson et al. “Supporting Elementary-Age Children’s Searching and Browsing: Design and Evaluation Using the International Children’s Digital Library.” JASIST 58, no. 11 (2007).

ing and reading books online [ 1]. There are currently more than 2,500 full books online from 59 countries in 48 languages.

The access afforded by the site presents a risk. Do we gain breadth and access? Or do we lose focus and depth because of the form? The answer, of course, is both.

By deploying a live and widely used website, we have studied its use both informally and through a variety of academic studies. We have partnered with institutions such as the World Bank, the Government of Mongolia, and One Laptop Per Child and have learned what the library can mean through deployments in developing countries.

November + December 2008

[ 2] Montemayor et al., “PE TS: A Personal Electronic Teller of Stories,” University of Maryland, 1999. http:// hcil.cs.umd.edu/trs/99- 25/ 99-25.html

Children and Adults Children are not just short adults [ 2]. Their interests and abilities differ from ours, and they change over time. Children are often more physical and concrete than adults. This becomes clear when they search. Younger children, especially, are likely to want to search by physical characteristics of the book such as the length, size, and even color of the cover. They also are more likely to focus on concrete characteristics of the book while

We all know what a book is. It’s made of paper; you hold it in your hands; it contains words and sometimes pictures. We know that books have certain affordances such as ruggedness, ease of reading, portability, and are relatively expensive (at least compared with electronic forms). But perhaps most important, books afford deep attention. They engage and focus. They are relatively unchanging, and so they become cultural references. And these same characteristics also encourage writers and publishers to invest a lot in their creation—knowing that they may well not have a second chance.

A children’s book is all that, and more. This is true not only because of the pictures and larger format printing, but also because of the impact these books can have. There is potential to be unlocked in every child—if only he or she can be exposed to rich and diverse experiences and ideas. We want our children to grow into everything we envision the world should be. From board books to the rich pop-out books of Robert Sabuda, from the obscure titles to the Harry Potters, children’s literature has a rich history of many forms that support this vision.

And then there is the Web— also somewhat magical in our idealized cultural vision of free

What Is It About Books?

We can find so much, so fast on the Internet. But when we find that content, do we focus on it and engage deeply? Or do our minds wander as we interpret and envision our own lives in the stories we read? Do children do the same?

It was from these questions and many more that a growing realization emerged: Despite the breadth of the Web, and the diversity of our world, something was getting lost when looking at online content. Do children concentrate on the Web with the same degree of attention as books? My colleagues and I often saw children engaging with computers and the Web in ways that were so much less meaningful than the books that were being replaced.

In 2002 this led me, with my colleagues Allison Druin and Ann Weeks (and a cast of many more), to build the International Children’s Digital Library (ICDL)—a website of exemplary, freely available children’s books from around the world with a child-friendly interface for find-

To experience the ICDL visit:
www.childrenslibrary.org