E-Government Today From a government librarian’s perspective June 26, 2010 Richard Huffine, President Federal and Armed Forces Libraries Round Table

Mandate is Changing E-Gov Act of 2002 was never reauthorized –Some of the proscribed actions are still going on despite the legislative status –Some aspects of the law were never enforced Current administration has “rebranded” E- Government efforts around Open and Transparent Government Federal Agencies are continuing to migrate their operations online, changing the way they interact with citizens

Challenges Still Persist Funding for E-Government is still not available as an explicit line of support Agencies and Departments are still cutting back on traditional services: –Front line support staff –Travel to provide training and outreach –Physical materials that explain their programs and services These cutbacks are impacting public, school, and academic libraries where citizens seek help in interacting with their government

Models of Cooperation New models for cooperation between Agencies and libraries are needed –Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor endorsed the role libraries are playing with job seekers –Health and Human Services has acknowledged the role libraries played with the Prescription Drug Benefit Program These acknowledgements didn’t come with funding to support the activity Models of cooperation from the local and state level might provide ideas for federal Agencies in the future

Supporting Libraries Direct funding support could be sought through the appropriations process –Block grants and formula-based models could be used to support Health Care, citizenship, tax filing and other universal e-government functions Other augmentations could be provided to fund specific needs including: –Infrastructure: broadband, VOIP, etc. –Equipment refresh –Staffing for local and regional centers –Training and education of front-line staff Improvements are needed of Agency Websites to make the librarians job easier

Creating Partnerships Both Agencies and Libraries need to view their roles as pieces of a partnership Effective engagement will improve the relationship library users have both with their government and their library Providing effective support for e-government services demonstrates the importance of the library in communities These partnerships are different but important at every level: municipal, state, and federal

Definition is Changing E-Government now encompasses participation, interaction, and engagement Implementations have included: –Commenting –“Voting” –Idea Banks –Contests Use of social media tools is now expected and official functions are competing with unofficial information about government issues and actions

Opportunities With the expanding definition of e-government, libraries have a great opportunity Engaging library users and encouraging their involvement in shaping government means giving library supporters a voice There is a lot of experimentation in this arena today Librarians can support these experiments and help prove their worth In the long run, even our library users will be largely virtual, much like the users of e-government services are to Agencies today

Questions and Discussion Where do you see E-government services going in the future? How can libraries be ready to usher our users into that environment? Can we make it easier on all of us to be virtual citizens?

Richard Huffine, President ALA Federal and Armed Forces Libraries Twitter: rlhuffine Facebook: Richard Huffine