Longhorn launches project to supply learners with e-readers

Longhorn Publishers has partnered with World Reader — a company that is providing e-readers to pupils as it seeks to promote a reading culture in developing countries.

The partnership expected to run for seven years has seen 60 Kindles distributed to five schools in the Rift Valley.

“This year we are going to provide materials for use in Standard Five,” Musyoki Muli, the publishing manager at Longhorn Publishers told the Business Daily.

Mr Muli said that the project now in its pilot phase is similar to another one in Ghana that was started in the last quarter of 2010 by the non-profit World Reader where more than 650 Kindles are used by more than 500 pupils.

Under the partnership, Longhorn is providing content to World Reader, which then provides the Kindle readers and secures space for it through Amazon, the online book retailer.

The content is converted into a suitable format for Amazon and is downloadable into a Kindle reader. Mr Muli said that the two-year pilot phase started last year and has already seen material provided to pupils in Standard One and Four.

The value of the partnership is expected to run into millions of shillings if one is to include the cost of the content, platforms being used and logistics.

Direct costs for each Kindle reader amounted to approximately $289 meaning that for the 60 Kindles in use in Kilgoris, World Reader has spent at least Sh1.5 million.

The deal comes at a time when the publishing industry faces the challenge of adopting fast changing technology.

Lawrence Njagi, managing director Mountain Top Publishers who is also the chairman of the Kenya Publishers Association said that the Internet and the growth of other technologies had resulted in book firms changing some of their business models and marketing strategies.

“Every publisher has its own marketing style and a good publisher will adopt emerging trends,” he said.

Mr Njagi said that insufficient infrastructure and unreliable power made it difficult for publishers to fully adopt new technologies.
Although some publishers are distributing content on compact discs, it was highly unlikely that technology would eventually replace traditional books.