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This paper aims to explain how the Global Libraries (GL) Initiative of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation plans for and assesses the impact of its programs on libraries and communities as part of their commitment to improving lives by increasing public access to computers and the internet in public libraries.

GL encourages libraries to design programs and services that address local and national priorities. Impact assessment processes assist libraries in collecting, analyzing and reporting on evidence to show: whether activities are conducted effectively to enable learning and improve processes; whether the program makes a difference to users and communities; and what impact evidence to use in advocacy for continued support and funding. GL's process and philosophy are described and case studies from two grantee programs in two countries are provided.

The Polish‐American Freedom Foundation (PAFF) adopted innovative methods developed for them by the Information Society Development Foundation to determine baseline library usage in rural public libraries in Poland. Rather than counting borrowers, which was the approach facilitated by the available data, they conducted random sampling in target areas. This allowed them to count users who do not borrow books, and to gauge scale of repeat usage and user demographics. In so doing, the team found that libraries have a substantially higher reach than book‐lending data alone suggested. The International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) assessed community information needs and determined that education, health, and employment are the issues about which Romanians want more information. Libraries in Romania will design services based on a careful understanding of those needs.

The research findings reported are drawn from systematic quantitative and qualitative evidence gathering undertaken as part of the impact‐planning and assessment programs being implemented in the two countries.

The paper presents a current view of the GL approach to impact assessment and service sustainability as well as two early reports, one on the results of baseline evidence collection and the other on community needs assessment in the two participating countries.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the current status of the Global Libraries Initiative program in Poland.

This paper lists the preliminary results and conclusions from the early phases of the progam.

Among the conclusions so far gathered for developing actions are: developing support for libraries for three new types of services: assistance in job seeking (because while many users make use of computers in libraries for that purpose, but only a few libraries offer relevant special activities); healthy lifestyles (some libraries have already introduced such activities, but it is hoped to develop them in a more systematic way – this area is also consistent with the overall priorities of the Global Libraries Initiative) and e‐banking for senior citizens; and improving the advocacy and outreach capabilities of libraries through additional training, as this was diagnosed as one of the weaknesses after the first round of the programme.

A wide range of improvement examples are provided that can be easily transferred to other countries.

The purpose of this paper is to report on performance measurement and impact assessment progress made in 14 countries as part of the Global Libraries initiative, starting with the early country grants in Mexico and Chile. For the mature grants in Bulgaria, Botswana, Poland, Romania, Ukraine and Viet Nam which were recently completed or are approaching completion, the nature of the country program is outlined, before the impact assessment work is described and some recent results and conclusions are reported. A similar approach is adopted with pilot and new grants in Colombia, Indonesia, South Africa, Turkey and Lithuania.

The country reports are presented as a series of case studies, in some cases supplementing those in an earlier special issue of this journal.

Where appropriate, recent country-specific survey findings are reported.

This paper shares Global Libraries IPA learning at country level with people in other countries who may be contemplating public library evaluation at regional, national or local level or who are interested in performance measurement and impact evaluation.

These cases studies reflect concentrated impact assessment and performance measurement work at country level across a range of countries over more than 12 years.

This paper aims to draw together the evidence‐based advocacy experience of five national programs focused on developing public access information and communications technologies (ICT) via public libraries as grantees of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Global Libraries Initiative.

The authors describe a common approach to strategic advocacy and to impact planning and assessment. They then outline the experience of each program in using a range of evidence to help meet specific advocacy objectives. They give particular attention to how each program is using specific evidence to convince key players of the importance of public access ICT provided by public libraries in meeting the objectives of the key players.

This collective experience shows that when advocating at the national level, statistical data and empirical evidence can demonstrate that public libraries contribute to stakeholders' goals. Such data can include technology skills that users have gained as well as how users improve their businesses, become better educated, and access government services. Common denominators from the programs include a disproportionate positive impact achieved (or anticipated) in rural communities and on relatively disadvantaged groups such as older workers, old people and unemployed people.

Both the general approach to evidence‐based advocacy described and the specific messages about targeting advocacy efforts on key players and on the service users who are most likely to benefit from public access ICT are of potential value to anyone planning a national, regional or local advocacy program focused on public libraries and their services.

As the paper deals with global library advocacy issues, and impact planning, it is hoped it is a step towards more measurable social impact for libraries.

This is the first full public report of the Global Libraries approach to evidence‐based advocacy as conducted in the five countries represented in the paper. It is part of a steadily growing body of knowledge being amassed by Global Libraries about effective provision of public access ICT via public libraries in a range of countries.

The purpose of this paper is to describe a range of innovative (for public library performance measurement and impact assessment) methods and tools developed by country teams as part of the Global Libraries (GL) initiative. Short reports are provided on: a return on investment study, a simplified data processing system for library managers and an online reporting system for public libraries in Ukraine; a study of the public image of Polish libraries in print mass media, two approaches to sustainability of performance measurement and impact assessment in Romania, through tools to conduct pop-up surveys and use of agricultural subsidies support data, assessments of changes in public library managers’ planning efforts in Poland and of their perceptions of libraries and their own role, using Modified Delphi forecasting, in Lithuania, two ways of focussing on the world of public library users by engaging non-profit organizations in library research in Poland and conducting impact studies in virtual environments in Chile.

A range of methods and tools and their uses are described.

No specific research findings are reported.

All of these tools and methods have been (or are being) trialed in national public library contexts; some have been developed over several years.

Useful for people in other (non-GL) countries who may be contemplating public library evaluation at regional, national or local level or who are interested in performance measurement and impact evaluation.

This paper is part of a GL effort to share what participants have learnt about impact planning and assessment in public libraries with the wider international libraries community.

The impact planning and assessment program of GL has been the largest sustained international public library evaluation program so far attempted. This paper reports on the more innovative evaluation activities undertaken at country level through this program.