Public Information Center (PIC)

What is the Public Information Center?

The World Bank Public Information Center (PIC) is the focal point for providing access to World Bank publications, reports and other development-related materials. These centers support of the World Bank's Bank's policy of disclosure to be open about its activities and to explain its work to the widest possible audience.

What is the Development Information & Resource Center?

The Development Information and Resource Center (DIRC) launched on July 28, 2004 is a joint partnership initiative of the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office, the World Bank Resident Representative Office, the Asian Development Bank’s Resident Mission, and a local non-governmental organization - Open Society Forum.

The DIRC aims to operate as a one-stop public access point for information on a wide range of socio-economic and development issues and a gathering place for public discussions on development topics.

The DIRC has an extensive collection of survey reports, studies and policy documents on economic development and policy issues that are elaborated by the Government, multilateral and bilateral organizations, development projects funded by those agencies, as well as civil society organizations. These resources in print and electronic form will be continuously updated and available free of charge.

The collection of the resource center is being expanded with new acquisitions such as new publications of the World Bank, ADB and UN agencies and statistical data from the National Statistics Office.

DIRC intends to provide the following services to government officials, researchers, journalists, students and to everybody who is interested in obtaining information on the issues relevant to Mongolia’s development.

Access to Online Resources

Online Catalog

As all DIRC research papers, print materials and books are registered with an easy-to-use on-line catalogue Lib4U they can be viewed by browsing www.forum.mn from anywhere.

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Outdoor and Indoor Reading

Those interested in reading can have a reader card for outdoor and indoor reading of resources.

The DIRC’s collection consists of the following resources:

• Policy and research papers, assessment reports related to social, economic and political development of Mongolia
• Books in English and Mongolian on governance, socio-economic and development issues
• Mongolian daily newspapers, foreign and Mongolian periodicals such as “Time”, “Business Week”, “Harvard Business Review”, “The Economist” (available for reading indoors).
• Newspaper clips on significant topics of Mongolian socio-economic life (available for indoor reading).

Information Dissemination and Public Events

DIRC supports civil society organizations, policy makers and consultants in getting feedback from the public on their publications, studies and reports. For this purpose the DIRC organizes press launch events, meetings and public discussions on a regular basis.

Photos on the left and below: Press launch event on the new studies and reports done by the World Bank experts. October 2004

Hours of Operation:
Monday - Friday
9:00 am - 6:00 pm
Location:
Open Society Forum
Jamiyan gun Street - 5/1
Ulaanbaatar - 48
Mongolia
Contact Person:
Ms. D. Bayarmaa
Telephone: 976 – 11 – 313207 ext. 135
E-mail: dircassist@soros.org.mn
Ms. Baljid Dashdeleg
Telephone: 976 – 11 – 313207 ext. 133
Fax: 976 – 11 – 334857
E-mail: baljid@soros.org.mn

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Who Can Use the DIRC?

The Development Information and Resource Center (DIRC) is open to the public. No fee is required to use the center. Users can access information through the Internet and thousands of World Bank publications and other development-related materials. Note: due to size constraints, users should contact the PIC to ensure proper access before visiting.

What Services are Offered?

The Development Information and Resource Center's services include:

• online access to World Bank project documents, publications, and other development-related publications;
• access to a special collection of CDs and videotapes on development;
• access to development sites on the Internet;
• online access to World Bank projects, documents and reports; and
• an extensive cataloguing system (Global Jolis) that allows users to see the collection of around 60 World Bank PICs around the world.

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What Reports and Documents are Available?

Among the Reports and Documents available at the Public Information Center are:

  Project Information Documents (PIDs): These are documents that give brief summaries of evolving projects. These are updated and expanded as the project preparation proceeds.
  Project Appraisal Documents (PADs): These contain descriptions of a project and the plan for its implementation, including procurement procedures. These are made available to the public after presentation to the Board.
  Economic Sector Reports: These include macroeconomic analysis of the economy, analyses of major economic sectors and other reports on specified issues, such as poverty assessment, etc. Environmental Assessments (EAs). EAs are detailed studies required for projects likely to have significant impact on the environment. Such studies are available before the final appraisal of the viability of the project.
  Loan (or Development Credit) Agreements: These are records of loan amounts and terms and conditions on which the loan is made. It also records the borrower's general commitment to the project objectives. It is made available to the public after the loan agreement is signed and declared effective or ready for disbursement.
  Bidding and consultant documents: These provide guidelines for borrowers and their implementing agencies in the procurement of goods, works and consulting services.
  UN Development Business: A United Nations publication that publishes general procurement notices for goods, works, and services to be procured through international competitive bidding for each Bank-financed project.

Additional Information Sources

Free access to World Bank publications is also available through the depository library program. Studies and reports are also available for sale through local distributors.
  Depository Libraries
  Local Book Distributors

More Information:
  JOLIS: A searchable repository of online materials.
  Publications and Reports available at the Public Information Center.

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