Summary of the Discussion Group on E-Government

GODORT Education Committee
ALA 2007 Annual Meeting
Sunday, June 24 1:30-3:30 PM
Beacon Hotel Ballroom

Education Committee devoted the first hour of its business meeting slot to an inaugural discussion group on e-government. The hour started with short presentations by three speakers, Linda Spiro on university libraries; Suzanne Sears for public libraries; and Kathy Brazee on definitions of E-Government. A short bibliography of related articles and websites will be posted to Education Committee’s website after the conference.

Opening Presentations:

Linda Spiro’s institution is a depository for both federal and patent collections which provide both similar and different service challenges. Her institution is reaching out “beyond the hedges” to the non-university community and has been actively adding e-resources, hosts two informational blogs (one for federal information, one for patents and trademarks), organizes e-government resources into online categories, and creates online subject-specific guides to government resources. At issue are patrons who want help in filling out forms and asking legal questions. Librarians can only help in searching for information and finding the forms. Also, computer illiterate patrons are having trouble locating mail-in forms if they are unable to fill out on-line forms. Some government websites could be more user-friendly, especially regarding the need to download special software in order to view images and print pages.

She provided specific examples of service from the academic and public library experience based on the Hurricane Katrina event which brought a large number of displaced victims to the area. The university library immediately assembled handouts of needed resources in print and electronic format. The public library opened a temporary branch at the convention center with librarians, staff and 20 computers to help the evacuees. They also eased the guest user policy and procedures.

Suzanne Sears, representing public libraries, has long been involved in government access issues through her experience in public libraries. She discussed the reduction in availability of printed forms, resulting in a drastic change in the long-standing practice of public libraries providing print versions of government forms (tax, voter registration, and FAFSA are examples). The patron has a high expectation and need for help in completing these forms which the librarian is prohibited from providing. When the patron is referred to a computer for the forms, the time limits most patrons are given on public access computers does not meet the time needed to fill out government forms. Another side to the coin is the increased need for computers, the technical support to keep them running and the network access.

Her library is proactive in advising staff of tools and local resources, including a list of community agencies (community non-profits) that will help in filling out forms. She creates email alerts or special web pages with related links when something is seen as increasing demand, either a disaster such as Katrina, a local news story, or certain seasons of the year (April 15.)

Kathy Brazee offered a definition of e-government drawn from the Office of Management and Budget’s description of the E-Government Act of 2002. “It is a government’s use of information technologies to exchange information and services with citizens, businesses, and other arms of government with the goal of streamlining or otherwise improving the interactions by users, or the general populace.” Another definition from RAND Europe indicates that “e-government … calls for rethinking the way government functions are carried out to improve some processes, to introduce new ones, and to replace those that require it.” She reminded the group of ALA’s recent resolution in January 2007 on e-government asking for expanded support of libraries that provide support to users of e-government during emergencies. In a review of the literature, some have called moving government services to the electronic environment an unfunded mandate. E-Government is fundamentally changing the structure of Government at all levels and has the potential for enhancing citizen-government interactions. It may be increasing the frequency of online contact with Government, but the phone also still matters.

Group Discussion:
Thanks to Jennie Burroughs for organizing this program.

The first question to start the discussion was, "How will the e-government resolution affect libraries?" The University of Florida is conducting a study to examine the impacts. In many cases, this mandate has been characterized as a public library issue, but it is affecting academic institutions as well. The ALA resolution is under discussion, and ALA may use this to push Congress for funding. The reality is that libraries will most likely have to cope with increasing demand in the face of static or reduced funding. Public access to computers is being reduced at many academic libraries, regardless of the public-access aspect of being a depository. Libraries will need to refer patrons to non-profits for help in filling out forms. The nonprofits seem to welcome this as it is what they are charged with providing. We need to offer something to nonprofits in return for directing more work towards them. We need to take the initiative to know our local service agencies. Sometimes the best information about government agencies is available from NGOs, and it might be time to create an NGO task force.

The power of being a depository does not have the same force with university administration as it did five years ago. Additionally, CALEA, a new mandate from Homeland Security, is creating problems with public log-on and libraries are struggling to interpret the directive. Some institutions are not bothering to struggle with interpretation, but simply closing access to those who are not primary patrons. Some private universities now have a private log-on to prevent CALEA problems with Internet access. There is a provision that might exempt public libraries. Some public libraries use a library card for computer access and make a private log-on available with an application using personal identifying information.

Public libraries do a lot of staff training. Some public libraries require a card to use a computer for varying time periods from 30 minutes to 2 hours, but also have a computer (usually in a more private area) that staff can use to log on patrons who need more time and privacy to fill out government forms that requires highly sensitive information such as social security numbers, etc. Library staff members monitor computer usage and ask patrons to leave the computer when their government-related business is finished. They also advise patrons that the information transmitted may not be secure.

In the end, it seems regardless of patron base and type of institution, there are similarities that can be leveraged to help us work together in this now-established environment. The challenge is meeting needs, laws and costs.

A short summary will be presented at Membership by the Chair.
Links for CALEA and related information will be added to the bibliography posted on the web.
E-government Bibliography/MS Word Version

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e-government discussion
Summary of e-government discussion that preceded the business part of the 2007 Annual GODORT Education Committee Meeting.