April 29, 2021
ICT training and employability: Integrated service delivery in United States workforce development networks
This study investigates how community-based organizations that provide basic technology training integrate it with other services and tap a network of service providers to improve employability prospects for lower-wage, lower-skill populations in the United States. Research focused on organizations that provide basic computer training and for whom employability is either a primary or main goal.
Deconstructing ICT Skills and Employability
Economic empowerment for marginalized people is one of the core interests driving ICTD practice and scholarship. Many non-governmental organizations state that improving the economic livelihood of their communities is one of their most important missions. Many training programs, from those which are donor- and public-supported to those which are privately operated, have been built with…
Bringing the benefits of information technology to underserved populations: An introduction to ICTD for the library community
Information and communication technologies and development (ICTD) is a field that has grown largely outside the purview of public libraries. In bringing information access and services to communities with fewer economic and social resources, the organizations and innovations emanating from the ICTD community have much to offer libraries. While libraries, too, offer a largely untapped…
Introducing the Essays of the Harvard Forum II
This special edition contains reports from the Harvard Forum II, a two-day event held September 2009 at Harvard University. Sponsored by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and hosted by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, the Forum assembled a prominent group of thinkers and practitioners from around the globe, including…
Libraries, Telecentres & Cybercafes: an international study of public access information venues: Performance Measurement and Metrics
This paper aims to offer early insight into ongoing research comparing public access venues such as libraries, cybercafe´s and telecenters in 25 countries around the world. The authors studied information needs and uses of information and communication technologies (ICT) in these public access venues, with a particular focus on underserved populations. Understanding trends, differences and…
Using Open Data to Inform Public Library Branch Services
November 9, 2020
This article describes the curation and use of open demographic data to inform public library services. A case study of census data curated for the Seattle Public Library (SPL) system is described. To understand the information needs of library branches, a set of SPL regional managers were interviewed, a set of use cases were created,…
