There When You Need It SEY, BAR, COWARD, KOEPKE, ROTHSCHILD, SCIADAS Research Article There When You Need It: The Multiple Dimensions of Public Access ICT Uses and Impacts

This article summarizes the ªndings of a study investigating the impacts of public access to information and commu-nication technologies (ICTs). The research was conducted in seven low- and medium-income countries employing a range of survey, ethnographic, and experimental research approaches. The analysis revealed substantial ªrst-order ef-fects in terms of technology access, information access, and ICT skills development. Second-order effects in domains such as health, education, employment, and income varied considerably, although when public access users had a need in any of these areas, they were generally successful in achieving their goals. The study also found beneªts among non-users, a group that includes former users, a largely unexplored dimension of public access. Millions of people around the world rely on public access venues—libraries, telecenters, and cybercafés—for computer and Internet access and services. Broadly deªned as computer and Internet services that are open to the general public, most of these venues are commercial (collectively referred to as cybercafés in this article). Many others, especially in rural and other underserved areas (and typically falling in the category of libraries and telecenters), are supported by governments and development agencies, based on the rationale that hav-ing the skills and means to access computer and Internet technology is essential to development in a world increasingly dependent on online resources. Around the world, however, the public access arena is uneven