Information Institute publishes "E-Govt Service Roles for Public Librarians"

Posted by Robert Branciforte on

Bradley Wade Bishop, PhD, a SLIS alumnus formerly at the Information Institute and now at the University of Kentucky; Charles R. McClure, PhD and Director; and Lauren H. Mandel, Research Coordinator, recently published “E-Government Service Roles for Public Librarians,” in Public Libraries, vol. 50 no. 3 (May-June 2011): pp. 32-37. The research is based on work the Information Institute completed for the Florida Department of Library & Information Services and other related work.

After reviewing the importance and use of E-Government services in public libraries, the authors identify four different levels of E-government activities for public libraries:

  • Basic Services;
  • Library-Driven Services;
  • Agency-Driven Services; and
  • Collaborative Services.

The level of time and resources needed to provide these increases are significant as the library moves from providing basic to collaborative services.

McClure noted that in the current economic environment, the off-loading of E-Government services onto public libraries from local, state, and federal governments has significantly increased the demand for public libraries to provide a range of E-government services. But for many public libraries there is no or only limited capacity to continue to meet this demand.

The paper recommends a number of strategies by which public libraries can share resources and services to leverage the available resources to best meet the demand for E-Government services.