Good practice

BiblioRedes – National Public Library Digital Inclusion Network

Chile · Santiago · See the Chile profile

BiblioRedes connects all 450+ public libraries in Chile with free internet and digital training, having served 1.86 million users, recorded 38 million internet sessions, and conducted 856,514 training actions across 323 of 346 municipalities since 2002.

450+

Public libraries connected

1.86 million

Users served

856,514

Training actions conducted

BiblioRedes – National Public Library Digital Inclusion Network

Details

Maturity: Established
Promoter: Servicio Nacional del Patrimonio Cultural (SERPAT)
Period: 2002-present
Keywords: general public, rural communities, low-income households, prisoners, digital access, library services

Context

Chile's BiblioRedes connects all public libraries with free internet and digital training, reaching communities across most municipalities since 2002.

Results

Since 2002 it has connected all 450+ public libraries, served 1.86 million users, recorded 38 million internet sessions and conducted 856,514 training actions across 323 of 346 municipalities.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-06-21
Servicio Nacional del Patrimonio Cultural (SERPAT) — accessed 2026-06-21
Gates Foundation – Chile's Library Network grant — accessed 2026-06-21
Emerald Publishing – Global Libraries impact planning and assessment progress — accessed 2026-06-21

Attachments

Source image

Quality score: 88/100

How is this calculated?

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported

Top 18% in this catalogue (573 scored practices)

Scores cluster high, so position within the catalogue is often more telling than the number alone.

Evaluation

Evaluated by C-NAPSE

Score profile — the dimensions behind the score — how it's computed

Innovation level2/5

The national scale, full-country coverage (including remote islands and prisons), and the multi-service model (connectivity + training + coding + local content) elevate this above a standard library Wi-Fi rollout.

Sustainability (ongoing)1/1

Running continuously for 22+ years; now fully embedded within Chile's national cultural heritage institution (SERPAT).

Evaluation evidence1/1

Multiple independent evaluations commissioned by the Gates Foundation and peer-reviewed articles in Emerald's Performance Measurement and Metrics confirm impact.

Demonstrated reach1/1

1,865,121 users and 38 million internet sessions documented; covers 93% of Chilean municipalities and 69 penitentiaries.

Documented learning1/1

Peer-reviewed articles, Gates Foundation reports and a UNESCO award citation collectively document replicable lessons for library-as-digital-inclusion-hub models.

Cite this

Evidoria. BiblioRedes – National Public Library Digital Inclusion Network. Persistent ID: 53e749bf-6d9c-4740-8f86-088ece408828.

Export as decision brief (PDF)

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