This research focuses on the public access to information and communication landscapes in 24
countries, with specific focus on public libraries, to understand the information needs of
underserved communities, public access to information and communication venues, and the
role of ICT.
Through field research in 24 countries conducted by local research partners, and cross-country
comparative analyses based on common research design elements (see list of countries and
research design overview in Appendix), The project aims to contribute to the knowledge in the
field of information and ICT for development. Of particular interest and value are: the
comparative look at key venues (libraries and other), and the mix of depth of in-country
knowledge with breadth of global comparison to elicit success factors and scenarios to
understand how diverse population can and do access and use ICT to improve their lives. All
outputs of this research will be broadly disseminated to interested stakeholders and placed in
the public domain.