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Backgrounder on Public Access to Information in Georgia (Except where noted otherwise, information is from 2008 TASCHA Public Access Landscape Study.)

Library Landscape

TASCHA 2008 and Ministry of Culture: 1396 public libraries, 1218 in rural settlements o Council of Europe 2005 Estimate: 2122 Public libraries (70 Main libraries, 266 city

libraries, 1713 rural libraries)

Most Georgian towns and villages have centrally located, accessible libraries as a result of Soviet planning

o Due to a lack of funding, libraries (especially in rural areas) have lost their status as main information provider

o Lack of new material in libraries yields lack of patrons

High literacy rate (100% of people over age 15 can read and write), since primary education is obligatory

Library network is less developed in rural areas- less funding, lack of scientific and international sources in the regions

Only ten public libraries have computers. Since they have no electronic catalogue/Internet access, often libraries don’t know what to use their computers for.

o 70% of library ICT users are in the 15-35 age group General Information

Soviet library network, with over 8000 libraries, deteriorated after collapse of Soviet Union. o Since libraries are organized within this structure, it is easier/more navigable for

initiatives to be built within them/out of them

Libraries housed under Ministry of Culture, particularly the Department of Book Industry and Libraries (Grzegorz Boguta/Council of Europe)

Libraries suffer from a lack of content overall, but also suffer from a lack of relevant content and are filled with outdated Soviet books

Georgia Library Association – establishes cooperation between libraries, information sharing, and employee training.

o Lack of funds prevents these projects from being implemented on a large scale.

Some libraries lack adequate lighting, heating, and reading equipment (chairs, tables, desks). Many cannot take proper care of their texts.

Libraries rarely offer training courses for patrons.

When surveyed by the Council of Europe, more than 90% of librarians stated that they do not maintain contact with foreign librarians.

Perceptions

Most people find their local libraries out-of-date, lacking information they seek

They generally approve of the National Library, though note it is tough to access since its only branch is located in Tbilisi

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Libraries lack information on civil rights, according to patrons

Libraries do not have enough information in Georgian language National Library

National Library of the Parliament of Georgia – most important info access venue o Serves 2000 readers daily, with 19400 members

Has enjoyed increased funding recently

Offers wide variety of ICT services- free to registered members o “Internet Club” within the building o Electronic catalogue, electronic archive of e-books

Registration has been free of charge since 2008

Offers supplementary trainings for all its employees; all librarians undergo professional on-the-job training courses

o Employees can also attend trainings funded by the UN and administered by the Parliament of Georgia’s Training Center including the Georgian State Language Course, business communications, personnel management,

o About 500 full time employees

Offers all the latest national content as well as some foreign materials, but not usually up-to-date

Language discrepancies: only 11% of material is in Georgian, 82% is Russian (majority of this literature is from Soviet period), and 7% is in foreign languages.

IFLA member

Partnership with UNDP for project: “Improving the Efficiency and Transparency of the Activities of the Parliament of Georgia”

o financed by UNDP, Swedish International Agency for Development, gov’t of Georgia o Resulted in aforementioned e-club within the library

Total budget (2008): $3,850,000 Legal and Budgetary Status of Public Libraries

Legal status o Article 24 of Georgian Constitution guarantees all citizens access to information;

libraries use constitution to justify existence during funding battles o 1994-5 “Law on Library Work” – guarantees rights of librarians and libraries o 1997- “Law on the National Library of the Parliament of Georgia” and “Law on Cultural

Heritage” are the legal normative basis for the functioning of libraries. o Georgian Library Network established by Presidential Decree #246 in 2003. o General Consensus that these laws must be updated to fit the new Georgian system, in

which local libraries are administered by municipalities. o Representative of Tbilisi Municipality Nino Suladze said: "Libraries have had no serious

lobbyist in the governmental structures for the last 15 years. There is no state strategy or clear understanding of who is responsible for what, and which functions different

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organizations have, in general. The result is that the system is not functioning properly."

Budgetary Status o National Library of the Parliament of Georgia receives a lot of funding comparatively,

whereas public libraries receive little to no support and are thus deteriorating. Local library budgets are handled by municipalities, which continue to

consolidate and decrease library funding in order to decrease spending (Grzegorz Boguta/Council of Europe)

Funding for 67 public libraries located in and around the capital (and funded by the Ministry of Culture) was only $979,021 in 2008.

ICT services encompass only 1.4% of the budget. More than half of the budget pays librarian’s salaries.

o The Council of Europe notes that many Georgian librarians either do not know or fail to understand their library budget

new purchases usually account for zero in the total library annual budget Librarian Training and Development

Georgian Library Association (Founded in 2000) o Unites libraries, archives, museums to work toward accessibility o Coordinates members working on common projects o Establishes normative standards in the sphere o Lobbies to improve the legal framework of the sphere o Georgian Library and Information Consortium (GILISC), a sub group of the GLA,

founded in the same year: works toward introduction and sharing of IT resources.

Training o One university (I. Chavchavadze State University) offers a library science degree,

but it often lacks students. o For the last 15 years, few supplemental post-graduate courses have been offered

for librarians to bolster their qualifications. o The Georgian Library Association and National Scientific Library both offer general

training courses for librarians in: bibliographic standards, classification standards, electronic catalogues, computer classes, interlibrary exchange systems, fundraising, and project writing.

Librarians currently only employed part time, have a $30 salary (per month? Week? Unclear) o Officials argue that if salaries were to be raised, staff sizes would be reduced and

may libraries would have to be closed (“Libraries to be Abolished in Gori”) Info Access Landscape

Primary sources of info: TV and Radio, usually government-sponsored (particularly in remote regions)

o Only broadcast in Georgian, no minority languages

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Those who don’t speak the state language have a lot of difficulty accessing any information- Russian communities listen to foreign news sources and the government fears they are misinformed. Government is trying to increase news coverage in foreign languages, but efforts have not been widespread. (BTKK Policy Paper)

o Little attention paid to local events o Media circuit was liberalized in 2007, but Georgian government is often criticized for

maintaining the controlling share of most large media outlets (ONI)

Only a small percentage of the population (~25%) is ICT literate because there are few computers in schools and other public places

o Older generation is more highly affected by ICT illiteracy because they have never been exposed to it before, and also have less command of the English language, which is important for ICT usage since most programs/sites are not in Georgian

o 1.3 million internet users, ranked 90th in the world (CIA World Factbook) o 28.3% internet penetration in population (UN ITU), 7.9% of population are Internet

users (ONI)

Location has large affect on access- mountainous regions have little access to TV/Radio, and newspapers are rarely distributed in settlements outside Tbilisi

ICT development in Georgia can be categorized as non-systematized and uncoordinated- more like “spontaneous computerization” than a systematic process overseen by a single government agency.

o About 144 companies (generally concentrated in Tbilisi) are involved in building ICT infrastructure. Results in disorganized ICT development process.

o In the absence of a clear regulatory framework for commercial online services, the o potential for development of the market has been limited. (Internews) o Three main mobile phone providers: Geocell ( TeliaSonera), MagtiCom, and Beeline

(VimpelCom) – (ONI) o Caucusus Online (conglomerate formed in 2006) is largest ISP provider (80% of market)

(ONI)

Land lines are scarce, particularly outside of Tbilisi. Only 597,000 total in use, ranked 91st in the world. 3.2 million mobile phones, 118th in world (CIA World Factbook).

o Absence of telephone lines is an obstacle to government computerization programs o 2 main telephone operators in Georgia

Quality of Georgian web pages is very low, particularly there are few specialists in web page construction- there are no logistics or content managers.

Internet Cafes (no count found) o Mainly used for personal reasons (social networking, communication, entertainment,

access to latest foreign materials) o Can be considered a complement to public libraries since most libraries do not offer

internet or computers to patrons. o Not affordable to majority of population – charge about $1.50 an hour

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o Physical access varies significantly from urban to rural environments: Cafes are found in the majority of most cities- Out of 52 small cities, 37 have Internet Cafes. Only 4 out of 667 villages have an Internet Café.

o Privately owned. Not organized into a network or Internet Café chains.

Despite laws restricting it, filtering and blocking of certain material has been observed at Georgian ISPs. (ONI)

Government ICT Policies

2006-2008- “Georgian Governmental Network” Program: aimed to build governmental network between state bodies. Used broadband applications to increase accountability and transparency of government decisions and legislation.

o Program administered by MagtiCom, mobile and ISP o Government officials say that public continue s to lack trust in information provided via

the Internet, and still prefer to go to offices and ask their questions in person.

“National Strategy for ICT Development” creates a single information and communication network with integrated services, expanding the telephone network and transfer to digital systems, converting to digital TV-radio broadcasting, and increasing Internet usage among the population. (ONI)

o Developed and implemented by the Georgian National Communications Commission, UNDP and World Bank

o Plan still being hashed out- no dates set yet (Internews)

Ministry of Economic Development (particularly the Telecommunications and Information Technology Department) sets out the government policy in the electronic communications sector and is responsible for monitoring communications and ICT policy implementation. (ONI)

o Regulator of ICT Sector = Georgian National Communications Commission Commission members are appointed which affects their political independence

in enforcing policy Government Programs ICT Programs

UNDP + Georgian Government collaborated to create 11 e-clubs, conducted preliminary staff trainings, though only two of these clubs survived to be self-functioning internet cafes.

Civil Integration Fund and Caucasian Institute collaborated on Local Media Development project to ensure access to media in local languages and outside of Tbilisi

Member of the Open Government Partnership o Spearheaded by the Anti-Corruption Council of Georgia o Plan focuses on improving public service, transparency in public and private sectors as

well as the administration of justice

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Under the Georgian Governmental Network framework, Internet Provider Magti signed a contract with the government to connect all public schools and educational resource centers (2280 facilities) to the Internet by the end of 2011 (ICT in Georgia)

o Connected 600 schools/centers in 2009 (MagtiCom press release) Library Programs

Ministry of Culture and National Library are conducting research to make recommendations on how to improve the status of libraries in the country

Ministry of Culture renews book funds and hopes to equip libraries with computers o Equpping prison libraries with books (http://www.mcs.gov.ge/topicdetals-

11.179.html) o 1000 books presented to Batumi central library (http://www.mcs.gov.ge/topicdetals-

11.113.html) o Hosted a Festival of Books in 2010 (http://www.mcs.gov.ge/topicdetals-11.199.html)

Public Access Partners + Trends

Trends o Some NGOs/International Orgs provide hotline services with information on a specific

issue, but these projects often do not last long o Private publishing houses and authors often gift newly edited books to libraries to

combat the low supply of materials and lack of funding that libraries face.

Caucusus Institute o Civil Society for Development Project establishes libraries and web-based resource

centers for organizations working toward decentralization, local development and participation

Mount Holyoke College o Brought 15 Georgian librarians (6 from Tbilisi, 9 from outside the capital) to US for a 3

week program to learn how libraries can help build a stronger democracy through serving as active players in the building of civil society

Funded with a $150,000 grant from the State Department's Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs

o Also helped organize the first international library conference in Georgia after the collapse of Communism. Conference took place in 1995.

o Donates books to Georgian Libraries. Questions for further research

How many Internet cafes are in Georgia?

Are individual municipal budgets (including library budgets) available for public access?

Is the CIF/CI Local Media Development Project still going on?

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Sources: CIA World Factbook, Georgia:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gg.html TASCHA Public Access Landscape Report, Georgia:

http://faculty.washington.edu/rgomez/projects/landscape/country-reports/Georgia/Report_Georgia.pdf

Ministry of Culture http://mcs.gov.ge “Library to be Abolished in Gori,” Human Rights.ge, 2006 http://www.humanrights.ge/index.php?a=main&pid=6240&lang=eng “Georgia,” Internet World Stats, Usage and Population Statistics, 2010 http://www.internetworldstats.com/asia/ge.htm “POLICY ANALYSIS OF CIVIL INTEGRATION OF ETHNIC MINORITIES IN GEORGIA,” BTKK Policy Research Group, 2008

http://www.btkk.ge/files/files/DFID_Policy_Paper_Eng.pdf “Georgia,” OpenNet Initiative, 2010 http://opennet.net/sites/opennet.net/files/ONI_Georgia_2010.pdf Caucusus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development: Civil Society for Development Project http://cipdd.org/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=3&info_id=520 OGP Georgia http://www.opengovpartnership.org/countries/georgia http://www.justice.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=796&info_id=4068 “Librarians From Republic Of Georgia Visit U.S. To Study Role Of Libraries In Democratic Societies,” Mount Holyoke College, 2003

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/news/channels/20/stories/5683370 ICT in Georgia

https://sites.google.com/site/countryofgeorgia/information-and-communications-technologies

MagtiCom (Internet Provider) http://www.magticom.ge/index.php?section=128&lang=eng “A Strategy for Libraries in Georgia,” Grzegorz Boguta, Cultural Policy and Action Department Directorate General IV – Education, Culture and Heritage, Youth and Sport, Council of Europe, 2005.

http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/Completed/STAGE/DGIV_CULT_STAGE(2005)3_en.PDF

“Georgian ICT Development” – Internews/Political Intelligence http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/internationalrel/docs/pi_study_rus_ukr_arm_azerb_bel_geor_kaz_mold/7_georgia.pdf

These backgrounders was prepared as a part of the Beyond Access Initiative and attempt to provide an accurate picture of the state of access to libraries, ICT venues, and other sources of information in the states they profile. After establishing the historical background of these venues, special attention is paid to innovative library and ICT programs and partnerships that seek to break down the unique barriers to access faced by each country. The backgrounders used the

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most recent information available, encompassing academic and government reports, news articles, and commentary from bloggers and other online resources.