The “Content Divide”: What It Is, Why It Needs Our Attention and the Role of Stakeholders

Throughout history, humans have been creating, managing, disseminating, seeking or searching, and using information or content in one form or another to meet various needs. Increased adoption and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the last few decades contributed to the emergence of a strong “information society” and, according to some, even a “knowledge society.” In an information and/or knowledge society, individuals and countries with the necessary means can acquire or gain access to ICTs and information/knowledge, benefit from their use and thrive/prosper while others remain poor, creating inequities or disparities such as the “digital divide.”

Whereas the digital divide is the topic of numerous publications, discussions at forums and the focus of investments, what is often missing from the discussions is the nature of, and ways to seriously address, the content or information divide in a comprehensive and/or global manner.

In this talk, based on an extensive and critical survey of the literature, I plan to: (1) present my take on what the “content divide” is all about; (2) make a case for why it needs the attention and concerted efforts of the relevant stakeholders in the information environment and beyond; and (3) outline the roles of the relevant stakeholders, including library and information professionals and information environments, in mitigating the content divide.

Abebe Rorissa is an associate professor and Associate Dean for Faculty Development at the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity, University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY) (the iSchool @Albany). He received his PhD in information science from the University of North Texas. Prior to his current position, he worked in Ethiopia, Lesotho and Namibia as a lecturer and systems/automation librarian. He has also consulted for academic institutions, national governments and international organizations, including the United Nations. His research interests include multimedia information organization and retrieval, scaling of users’ information needs, use/acceptance/adoption and impact of information and communication technologies, and data analytics. He is published extensively in leading international journals such as the Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology (JASIS&T), Information Processing & Management, and Government Information Quarterly. He was a member of the Board of the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) and its Executive Committee.