1 Libraries, Telecentres and Cybercafés: A study of public access venues around the world Submission to IFLA, Quebec, 2008 Chris Coward, Ricardo Gomez, Rucha Ambikar University of Washington, Information School www.cis.washington.edu Abstract: This paper offers early insight into ongoing research comparing public access venues such as libraries, cybercafés and telecentres in 25 countries around the world. We study information needs and uses of information and communication technologies (ICT) in these public access venues, with a particular focus on underserved populations. Understanding trends, differences and similarities across venues and across countries offers an emerging map that will help researchers and policymakers conduct future research and make better decisions to strengthen public access to information through ICT. Introduction and project description Over the last decade, providing public access 1 to information and communication technologies (ICT) has been seen as an important contribution to help address digital inclusion for social and economic development, sometimes referred to as bridging the digital divide. Early interventions aiming to narrow the gap between the digital haves and have‐nots focused on access to computers and technologies, in the hope that such access would bring about more equitable distribution of resources, knowledge and solutions to people’s problems. This simplistic approach has long been criticized, with growing voices insisting that access alone is not enough to promote social inclusion or bridge the digital divide (Barzilai‐ Nahon, 2006; Bryne Potter, 2006; Fink & Kenny, 2003; Gómez & Casadiego, 2002; Gómez & Martínez, 2001; Gurstein, 2003; Wilson, 2004; Yu, 2001). While insufficient, access to ICT is a starting point, and a valuable one if accompanied by explicit programs to promote meaningful use and social appropriation of the information and technology resources in question. Acknowledging that providing access alone is insufficient to bridge the digital divide, this large‐scale comparative research seeks to understand public access venues in different countries around the world: 1 We use the term “public access venues” to refer to institutional places that offer access to information, with or without ICT, and that are open to the public without restrictions that exclude some over others. Some of them charge nominal or cost‐recovery fees (public access is not necessarily free access) and many public access venues are not government owned or operated (public access is not necessarily public institutions). Schools and academic institutions that restrict access to their libraries to the student or staff population alone are not considered public access venues in this study. Meeting: 107. Managing libraries in a changing environment – legal, technical and organisational aspects Simultaneous Interpretation:English, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Russian and Spanish