Indiana State Library Makes Award to the Information Institute to Study Public Library E-Government Costs and Broadband

Access to and use and delivery of government materials and services through the public library continues to expand at a rapid rate and public libraries are developing a range of service roles related to e-government.  The Indiana State Library (http://www.in.gov/library) will fund a study (September 2011 – May 2012) that the Florida State University Information Use Management and Policy Institute (Information Institute; http://ii.fsu.edu) will complete whose purpose is to better describe and understand the costs, services, and benefits related to public library provision of e-government services in Indiana.  The study is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the provision of the Library Servicesand Technology Act (LSTA). 

The project will be directed by Charles R. McClure, Francis Eppes Professor and Director of the Information Institute and has the following goals:

• Identify and define the range of “costs” public libraries incur in their provision of e-government services;
• Identify and describe the range of e-government services that public libraries currently provide to Indiana residents;
• Identify and describe the benefits that result to Indiana residents and to the Indiana state government as a result of public library provision of e-government services;
• Evaluate the extent to which Indiana public libraries have, or are planning to have in the future, adequate high-speed broadband to access and deliver a range of e-government resources and services;
• Offer recommendations for how public libraries in Indiana can better leverage their knowledge of e-government to improve e-government services and better manage e-government costs.
• Ultimately the project will result in outcomes that assist the Indiana State Library and public libraries to develop and implement strategies for improved e-government services and to leverage and better manage associated costs of public librarye-government service provision.

The study team includes McClure, Information Institute staff, and Wendy Knapp, Supervisor in the Indiana State Library Professional Development Office.  McClure noted that this study will build on previous e-government research that the Information Institute has completed which are available at the Information Institute website http://www.ii.fsu.edu.   Roberta Brooker, the Indiana State Librarian, commented that the study should be of interest to other state libraries since it will address e-government issues that affect all of the states.  Additional information about the study will be posted on the Information Institute website as the study proceeds.