From a library network to a national public service.

Client context

The client is a national public-library network providing access to books, information and cultural services. The assignment addressed how that network could respond to changing community needs while improving the accessibility and relevance of its public-service offer.

Context

Tunisia already has an extensive public-library network. The strategic question concerned the future role of these libraries in a context shaped by changing cultural practices, digital access, territorial inequalities, youth needs and inclusion.

What we did

PENCILS supported a strategic diagnostic and the design of an integrated transformation framework for the national public-library network.

The work combined quantitative and qualitative evidence across more than 440 libraries.

Evidence base

Network data

Administrative and performance data were consolidated and analysed at network level.

Territorial perspective

Demographic and geographic analysis helped identify differences in access, usage and local context.

Users and practitioners

Field observation, stakeholder consultation and seven focus groups added the experience of practitioners and communities to the evidence base.

International comparison

A benchmark examined how public-library systems elsewhere are responding to digital access, inclusion, learning and changing patterns of cultural participation.

From diagnosis to strategy

The assignment translated the evidence into a national vision for 2026–2032, differentiated library models, strategic priorities, an implementation roadmap, governance arrangements and a monitoring framework.

Outputs

Network diagnostic

Integrated 2026–2032 strategy

Operational roadmap

Pilot framework

Monitoring tools

Capacity-building mechanisms