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Opportunity for All: How the American Public Benefits from Internet Access at U.S. Libraries.

This document summarizes preliminary findings of a literature review of research on the impacts of public access to information and communication technologies. The report was prepared by Araba Sey and Michelle Fellows for the Global Impact Study. Working Paper Series. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed herein are preliminary and do not necessarily reflect the views of CIS or the University of Washington, or the sponsors of this study. CIS does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution‐Noncommercial‐No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. You are free to copy or download this work and share it with others as long as proper attribution is provided, but you cannot change this work in any way or use it commercially without the written consent of CIS. For questions or inquiries, please contact CIS at the address listed above or email cisinfo@u.washington.edu. ABSTRACT Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are widely acknowledged as important resources for socio‐ economic development. Due to resource constraints, shared access forms the dominant mode of access to these technologies in most developing countries. Governments, non‐governmental institutions and business entrepreneurs have invested significant amounts of human and financial resources in public libraries, telecenters, internet cafés and other forms of public access, without clear evidence on what the ultimate outcomes will be and the actual costs. This report presents a review of empirical research on the impacts of public access to ICTs in order to document what is known about this approach to ICT service delivery. The results show that there is limited conclusive evidence on downstream impacts of public access to ICTs. The evidence that does exist suggests that the public access ICT model is not living up to the expectations placed on it. This is not necessarily because public access has had no impacts, but because its impact is particularly difficult to identify and measure. As a model, public access to ICTs has experienced success and failure, leading to both reinforcement of the belief that the model should be expanded and strengthened; as well as claims that public access ICTs are ultimately ineffective or even counter‐productive from the development perspective. Four main types of evidence are identified – evidence on venue performance and sustainability, users, usage patterns and downstream impacts. Assessment of this evidence indicates that trends are most apparent in the first three areas, while …

Literature review on the impact of public access to information and communication technologies

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are important resources for enabling poor farmers to make informed decision regarding their farming activities, especially in the rural areas of developing countries. Effective public access ICTs (telecenters and rural radio) based on farmers needs and with farmers’ rural and socio-economic constraints can bridge the knowledge and information divide and contribute to agricultural growth. This paper looks at the public access ICTs (telecenters and rural radio) in Tanzania, by assessing their knowledge and information services that focus on supporting farming activities of small-scale farmers, use of telecenters and barriers faced by telecenters in their knowledge and information services. A qualitative approach was deployed to interview eight telecenter operators, where two of them provided radio broadcasting services. The study found that there was low use of internet for knowledge acquisition, while cell phones were becoming popular for farmers to communicate with telecenter operators and rural radio in case of emergency or advice regarding farming activities. With consistent government funding and conducive regulatory environment, telecenters can develop demand led services and sustain their services by strengthening the following: regular information needs assessments; capacity building; knowledge culture; collaboration among farmers and other related organizations; and utilization of multiple sources of knowledge (such as, ICTs and indigenous communication approaches) in order to meet the disparate farmers’ needs.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/j.1681-4835.2010.tb00310.x

Bridging the Agricultural Knowledge and Information Divide: The Case of Selected Telecenters and Rural Radio in Tanzania

Thesis (Doctor of Phil. (Information Studies)) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

Information and communication technologies and sustainable livelihoods : a case of selected rural areas of Tanzania

Drawing on ideas from the sustainable livelihoods approach to poverty reduction and the concept of technology appropriation, this article discusses findings from a mixed methods study exploring mobile phone use in Ghana. The results suggest that most respondents value their phone for the connectivity it affords with a variety of personal and professional contacts. In this sense, the mobile phone is not an overt means of poverty reduction for respondents but an integral part of their lives, in which it serves multiple functions. The study contributes empirical data to the emerging body of research on mobile phone communication in African countries.

‘We use it different, different’: Making sense of trends in mobile phone use in Ghana

Executive Summary Introduction Key findings and recommendations 1. Introduction Key definitions Context and rationale Methodology Conceptual framework 2. Access Centres and South Africa's Universal Access Policy National optimism and the emergence of universal access policy Implementing universal access Access achieved? Review of the case in two communities Learning from South Africa's experience 3. Uganda's Experience with Shared Access Centres and Universal Access Policy Overview: Universal access policy and implementation Universal access and policy intent in Uganda Implementing universal access Review of the three community case studies Learning from Uganda's experience 4. Start-up and Scalability of Access Centres For-profit sector Not-for-profit sector Analysis and key lessons 5. Local Livelihoods, Reach and Development Impact Livelihoods and priorities in the community cases ICT access and use in the case communities Analysis by livelihood Impact and strategies for maximizing benefits 6. Conclusions, Lessons and Research Directions South Africa and Uganda in the broader context Lessons for policy makers Lessons for those implementing access centres Lessons for those supporting access centres Research directions Last words Bibliography

Sarah Parkinson

Papers

Telecentres, Access and Development: Experience and Lessons from Uganda and South Africa

Uganda's Experience with Shared Access Centres and Universal Access Policy

Access Centres and South Africa's Universal Access Policy