Biblionet

Many Romanians lack private access to the internet or a computer, and the country has suffered a significant urban-rural broadband divide (per the Digital Economy and Society Index). Biblionet formed part of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Global Libraries initiative, which concluded globally in 2018.

Biblionet aimed to introduce ICT equipment and internet access into Romanian public libraries, and to develop and diversify library services so that users of all ages and conditions — including vulnerable groups — could access the internet and increase their participation in the digital society.

Over six years, Biblionet equipped more than 2,280 public libraries with computers, printers, scanners, software and internet connections, and established training centres in all 41 of Romania's county library systems plus five regional training centres (RTCs). It trained 4,200 librarians in computer skills and digital-service delivery, with over 300 library staff delivering ICT training courses through the ANBPR national network. Partners included the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Communication, Microsoft and the EOS Foundation; funds were managed by IREX on behalf of the Gates Foundation.

The modernisation reached over 600,000 first-time internet users. A 2012 TNS study found that 16% of the country's population (about 3.2 million people) had used public-access computers in a public-library setting.

An external evaluation by IREX on behalf of the Gates Foundation, and the peer-reviewed Chiranov (2010) study, documented real-life impact. Beneficiaries of library-based digital-skills training included seniors, children and minority-group members who lacked home internet access. The programme ended alongside the wider Global Libraries initiative.