Kōjām: A Gateway to eBooks for Marshallese Students
Kōjām is a Marshallese word for a door, doorway, or gate. This project, developed in partnership with the U.S. Embassy Majuro, has resulted in a new virtual portal – a single, straightforward website that directs students and educators in the Republic of the Marshall Islands to thousands of eBooks currently available for free from a variety of online sources. It gathers links to these sources together and describes them in one convenient place. In the future, if additional funding is secured, this portal is poised to link to even more titles available via an OverDrive subscription. The Marshall Islands are extremely geographically isolated, but their relationship to the U.S. remains close and unique. Enhancing educational opportunities available to Marshallese students is a priority for the United States. The U.S. Embassy Majuro seeks to increase student access to eBooks and to encourage digital reading. Kōjām is an important part of this effort.
Cynthia Traeger
MLIS