Electron School Library – access to digital copies of books
My name is Irina. I am 15 years old, I'm a pupil (mathematical-economical specialization), Ukraine. I am a programmer and agree with the necessity of teaching kids business. I believe that children can see business ideas which adults don't see.
I publish my idea of electron school library. The purpose is to define value of this idea as a business project. Critics can destroy if or make incitement to development and realization of this idea in different countries of the world.
I don't offer you a business plan because each country has its own special features. I will publish only basis and some questions which you will need to research by yourself in your country.
Idea
To create in schools electron school libraries where each pupil can take literature which he need for studying in school.
What problem exists and why we need this - benefit
I think that you know this problem well. The majority of pupils fit with it when teacher says that class begin studying a new work of literature. In this time this book is needed by everybody urgent. In traditional school library there is no such books or there are only some copies and it isn't that amount which pupils need.
In result everybody solves this project by himself. If I understand everything right this problem for example in North America solves by Google. I think that the majority of you fit with this situation and it is a standard issue. I want that you look on it from a business position.
For example, Canada has 30 millions of habitants. There are more than 10% of pupils. How much the average pupil spends on internet provider in a year? It can be $1, $10 or more. We will multiply it on 3 millions of pupils and will have a minimal number - $3 millions. Probably, this money will seem for somebody not very big to fight for them. In the USA amount of pupils is ten times more. The exact number for your country you can count by yourselves and define a perspective of this business project. I think that in some countries the final result will have an impressive view.
Now we will move to other no less interesting and difficult questions which need research. Who pays the money for this project?
- You. Your earned money.
- Your parents for your personal Internet.
- School where you can have a free (or conditionally) access to Internet.
- Governement.
- Business.
- Book publishers
We will look on this point. If in school there is a free Internet and you can use it then on this stage it doesn't matter who pay for provider: your parents (if it is a public school) or state (if it is government). In any way it costs money. Count how many pupils in parallel classes study. If everybody of them makes search by himself then probably more economical will be to make search one time and move it in school library. Try to count not only school, but schools of your town and state at all. It can be big money and big business. Don't forget that search in Internet always is much more difficult than work of literature, i. e. when you refer to Google you always receive a big dose of advertising for which you pay too. I think that these questions everybody must think, research and count perspectives of business by himself. Barak Obama by one of the first his decisions was to freeze salary in his government trying to freeze money for his county. You can count and compare how much money can spare you it this project will be realized. If we with you will understand this project by discussing this project, if it is worth more efforts we will move to next necessary questions.
For me today it isn't only idea, it is an almost finished project. I collected a Russian library in which there are 300 writers and 5000 works of literature. I wrote computer program which is realized on principle of traditional library. In school electron library pupil can take a needed book in electron type for acquaintance. It made to prevent replication and violation of copyright. After two weeks received work of literature ends its work on users computer but he can take it in library again. Already today I can supply all Ukrainian schools with this library even if there is only one old computer. This program can be not only at school, but it can be everywhere where there is a computer and where there is necessity of access to literature. And it can be not only school literature, it can be any special and relative difficult of access sources. In principle this program is self-sufficing, i. e. it don't need a librarian and there is no necessity in filling of library cards and catalogs.
Please send comments on my idea.
Subject matter: Electron Library
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