Public Information Service for the Disadvantaged in China's Towns: Case Study of Two Chinese Towns

This study uses the methods of questionnaire and group discussion to conduct field research in A and B towns, which are located in the eastern developed region and the western undeveloped region of China, respectively. According to comparative study on the status of providing public information service for the disadvantaged between A and B towns, the author finds that the public in A town are superior to the ones in B in terms of information literacy, public information service expenditure, and satisfaction rate of public information service. Similarities exist in terms of differences in accessing public information service between town and village, among social groups, and the causes resulting in imbalance of public information service and features of the information-poor’s group distribution. The author discusses the differences in development policies between city and village, as well as differences in financial investment of public information service, education, and individual’s income level between A and B towns.