11 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Libraries Initiative April 2007

22  Guided by the belief that every life has equal value  Our goals: »Improving health »Strengthening education »Reducing poverty BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION

33 PROGRAM AREAS  Global Development »Agricultural Development »Financial Services for the Poor »Global Libraries  Global Health »Priority Diseases & Conditions »Breakthrough Science »Other Initiatives  United States »Education »Pacific Northwest »U.S. Libraries

44 GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT  Agricultural Development »Reducing world poverty by helping smallholder farmers increase their yields and find markets for their products  Financial Services for the Poor »Improving family economics by increasing access in developing countries to financial services – loans, insurance, and savings accounts  Global Libraries »Increasing equity in access to information technology with no-cost access to computers and the Internet in public libraries

55 GLOBAL LIBRARIES SITUATION  Computers and Internet can improve lives by connecting people with: »e-Government services »Information on economic development, health, and education »Basic communications  87 percent of the world’s population lacks access to the Internet  Access to technology is just one step in improving lives

66  Access to information is at the core of their mission  Trusted institutions that are used by people in the community  Appropriate venue for promoting information access and use through technology »trained staff »community involvement »sources of ongoing financial support, including public funding  Librarians and staff can play a critical role in helping individuals develop skills and confidence WHY PUBLIC LIBRARIES?

77 Public Libraries and the Internet  Libraries are a Gateway to Information »Economic and community development »Internet access »Literacy programs »Workforce training » E-Government services » Technology training » Emergency response » Early childhood education

88 IMPACT  More than computers and connectivity: we work to bring positive social benefits  Success is not determined by the number of computers and libraries alone  Strong focus on impact assessment and planning: how to engage the community  Desired outcomes help grantees build a country- appropriate system for planning and assessing impact

99 HOW WE WORK  Building capacity beyond access is key to improving lives: Community engagement Appropriate infrastructure Technology training Locally produced and relevant content Advocacy Impact planning and assessment Computers and Internet access in public libraries

10  Total PCs Granted: 47,200  Libraries Receiving a Grant: 11,000  Training Opportunities: 62,000 Initial Results

11 INITIATIVE BUILDS ON SUCCESS  Outgrowth of the U.S. Libraries initiative »"If you can get to the public library, you can get to the Internet"  Investments expanded: Canada, United Kingdom, Chile, Mexico, and Access to Learning Award  Lessons learned: »Advocacy and promotion early in process »On-the-ground capacity »Investment in underlying systems (training, impact assessment, and technical support)

12 GLOBAL REGION APPROACH India Southeast Asia Eastern Europe: Latvia* Lithuania* Africa: Botswana* * Indicates current pilot grants Americas: Previous grantees: Mexico ( ) Chile ( )

13 BUILDING ON SUCCESS: CHILE CHILE (2001 – 2005) -Increased access to information and technology is promoting economic development, especially in agriculture and small businesses -Outreach has increased access in target populations, including soldiers, laborers, and indigenous people -More than 3,000 websites have been enhanced with locally-developed content  National and local partnerships to provide access to computers, Internet, and training in all 368 public libraries  BibleoRedes: Abre tu Mundo INVESTMENTOUTCOMES  100% of public libraries have computers, up from 10% in 2001  2.5 million hours of training to 212,444 people  New Chilean administration committed to sustaining investment and upgrading hardware

14 BUILDING ON SUCCESS: MEXICO -In 64% of rural areas, access at public libraries represents area’s only Internet access -Sixty percent of users are youth, women, or students with incomes of USD $250 – 500 per month -Students use computers primarily for homework and school projects INVESTMENTOUTCOMES  Partnerships with national and municipal governments  34% of public libraries will have Internet access by June 2007  15,000 computers installed in 2,728 libraries  Staff and volunteers have received 300,000 hours of computer training  Library users have received 450,000 hours of computer training MEXICO (2002 – 2006)

15 BUILDING ON SUCCESS: ACCESS TO LEARNING AWARD  Annual award to recognize the innovative efforts of libraries or similar organizations outside the U.S. in providing no-cost public access to information technology and training  Past winners: »Rural Education and Development (READ) Nepal, 2006 »Bangladesh's Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha, 2005 »Denmark’s Aarhus Public Libraries, 2004 »China Evergreen Rural Library Service Center, 2004

16 CHALLENGES  Maximizing impact »Country selection: Use need and readiness criteria to identify strong country partners »Evidence of impact: Engage in advocacy that integrates lessons learned from impact assessment »Capacity: Build capacity through training and support of library staff and users  Ensuring Sustainability »Local relevance: Build local support, content, and use of technology »Accurate cost analysis: Identify short, medium, and long-term cost projections (including cost of connectivity) and require country match »Advocacy: Engage in advocacy and build on-the-ground advocacy capacity »Government: Recognize and address challenges of working with governments (sustaining support through government transitions)

17 Increasing opportunities through access to information and learning in partnership with public libraries