International Journal of Information Communication Technologies and Human Development, 3(1), 1-20, January-March 2011 1 Copyright © 2011, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Keywords: ICT, ICTD, Public Access, Qualitative, Users INTRODUCTION Information and communication technologies (ICT) can play an important role in human de- velopment. Venues such as libraries, telecenters, and cybercafés, which offer public access to ICT, can help offer more access and use of ICT for development among underserved populations in developing countries. While there have been many previous studies about public libraries and Users of ICT at Public Access Centers: Age, Education, Gender, and Income Differences in Users Ricardo Gomez, University of Washington, USA Kemly Camacho, University of Washington and Sula Batsú Research Cooperative in Costa Rica, USA ABSTRACT Libraries, telecenters, and cybercafés offer opportunities for wider public access to information and com- munication technologies (ICT). This paper presents fndings of a global exploratory study on the landscape public access venues in 25 countries around the world. The goal of the project was to better understand the users of public access venues and their needs, this being one of several papers that result from the global study. This paper identifes profles of the users of the different types of venues with respect to age, income, education and gender. While fndings are not new, their value lies in the compelling evidence drawn from 25 countries and across different types of public access venues, which has never been done before. Results high- light the importance of strengthening public access venues in non-urban settings and to strengthen programs that reach out to underserved populations. The authors also point to special challenges faced by libraries and telecenters given the immense growth of cybercafés as public access venues in most of the countries studied. ICT (Rutkauskiene, 2008; Walkinshaw, 2007), especially in the US (Becker et al., 2010; Bertot, McClure, Thomas, Barton, & McGilvray, 2007), about telecenters for community development (Best & Kumar, 2008; Gomez & Ospina, 2001; Kuriyan & Toyama, 2007; Proenza, Bastidas- Buch, & Montero, 2002), and to a lesser degree, about cybercafés and their contribution to social and digital inclusion (Finquelievich & Prince, 2007; Gurol & Sevindik, 2007; Haseloff, 2005; Salvador, Sherry, & Urrutia, 2005; Wheeler, 2007), we found no previous studies that have DOI: 10.4018/jicthd.2011010101