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The Impact of GOL on Public Libraries:

Findings from a Probe

 

 

Submitted to Edith Core

LibraryNet

Industry Canada

 

by Ulla de Stricker and Associates

8 February 2003

 

 

 

 

 

Contents

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                Page

 

 

Executive Summary                                                                                                                3

 

Background for the Probe                                                                                                       4

 

Probe Methodology                                                                                                                 5

 

Interview Findings                                                                                                                   6

 

Survey Findings                                                                                                                      19

 

 

Appendix A:  Individuals Interviewed                                                                                       21

 

Appendix B:  Libraries Responding to the Survey                                                                  23

 

Appendix C:  Questionnaire Sent                                                                                           30

 

Appendix D:  Response Tally - Canada Total                                                                        36

 

Appendix E:  Response Tally - by Province                                                                           42

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Executive Summary

 

 

An interview probe (16 leading public library representatives) and survey (132 libraries) showed a strong consensus among members of the public library community that there is an urgent need to put on a formal footing the relationship between the federal government's Government On Line (GOL) initiative and public libraries.  Key themes are:

 

 

Ø      GOL is viewed as an admirable undertaking and a role for the public library sector in the delivery of GOL is seen as both desirable and appropriate. Library representatives are knowledgeable about, and in some instances involved in, GOL related initiatives, particularly at the provincial level.

 

Ø      At present, public libraries are involved in GOL through (1) providing Internet access; (2) assisting customers to find and use government information sites; (3) providing computer and information literacy training; and (4) carrying out GOL pilot projects. Libraries welcome a larger role – but can only assume it if the appropriate resources can be made available.

 

Ø      GOL occurred in the absence of consultation with public library community.  In effect, government may have had informal expectations that have resulted in much work for public libraries without the funding needed to enable them to take it on properly.  Appropriate technology resources -- computers and high speed internet access -- and staff training have been identified as major success factors in the delivery of GOL through the public library sector. 

 

Ø      Public library representatives identified many ways in which a partnership with government could be mutually beneficial. The federal government could recognize and take advantage of the existing infrastructure, services, and expertise libraries are already providing in their communities -- an especially important element in communities without visible federal government presence. Libraries received a great deal of feedback from their internet users and could provide invaluable and cost-effective input respecting citizen-friendly web design and plain language.

 

Ø      The federal government could position public libraries as a key player in the "social inclusion" agenda as is the case in the UK, Australia, and the United States. Public librarians propose that Treasury Board and representatives from the public library community work out a formal service agreement spelling out service standards appropriate for each region and formalizing funding support to (1) enable the technical infrastructure needed and (2) establish training programs for library staff. 

 

Ø      Many representatives of public libraries recognize the need to become more active in marketing their role as GOL service providers. They understand the necessity to be more proactive and innovative in approaching partnerships with government, and welcome opportunities for communication.  There is also an acknowledgement that with the exception of some GOL pilots, public libraries do not have systems in place to track the metrics of GOL use.

 

 

 

 

Background for the Probe

 

 

The Canadian Government's Government On Line (GOL) initiative has generated significant progress toward the vision of offering citizens the opportunity to interact online with government in a convenient and efficient manner. 

 

The public library community across Canada has been a key delivery mechanism for GOL and has contributed tremendously to its success.  That said, public libraries have experienced consequences from GOL that were not necessarily anticipated.  Anecdotal evidence suggests there are widespread concerns about the challenges and increased workloads resulting from, for example, misunderstandings regarding government services available at the public library and the difficulty members of the public have in navigating the maze of government sites.

 

Members of the public library community have expressed a desire for dialogue with and direction from Treasury Board regarding their role within the GOL agenda. In order to initiate such a dialogue, it was felt additional light needs to be shed on the challenges arising from GOL.  With the assistance of de Stricker Associates, LibraryNet undertook a probe to discover the nature and extent of the impact GOL is having on Public Libraries, and the views librarians have with respect to strategies for dealing with that impact.

 

The report below summarizes the findings of the project.

 

 

 

Probe Methodology

 

 

The probe had two components:  Interviews with 16 individuals (see Appendix A) in leadership positions in the public library community; and a survey administered to 132 public libraries across Canada (see Appendix B).

 

 

The following set of questions were sent to each interviewee prior to the interview:

 

 

1. We want to be sure we are working from the same definition of “Government On-Line”;  could you please indicate what, in your view, the term means and entails?

 

2. What role are public libraries in your region currently playing in facilitating or responding to GOL? What are their specific activities as they relate to GOL?

 

3. What do you see as the impacts of those activities on public library staff, facilities and technology?

 

4. What are the challenges for public libraries in facilitating or responding to GOL?

 

5. What benefits do you believe public libraries bring to GOL initiatives that should be promoted to Treasury Board?

 

6. Specifically, what kind of support would you like to see from Treasury Board to enable public libraries to be “partners” in delivering GOL?

 

7. Any final comments or suggestions? Any other questions we should ask?

 

 

 

Based on the findings in the interviews, a survey questionnaire was prepared and sent to 150 libraries (see Appendix C) identified as a representative sample by the interviewees

 

 

 

 

 

Findings from the Interviews

 

 

Sample comments from the respondents are grouped with each question posed.  As there was a great deal of consistency in the responses, they have been aggregated and summarized. Overall themes are presented in bold font.

 

 

 

 

1. The definition of GOL

 

Interviewees do not limit their definition of Government On-line (GOL) to federal government initiatives only. Most interviewees include all levels of government in the definition and referred to government online initiatives in their own provinces and local areas. 

 

·              GOL is the provision of government information and transactions from all levels of government down to the county. People don’t care about the level of government just as they don't distinguish between agencies and crown corporations – they just care about getting what they are after.

 

·              GOL, whether federal or provincial, means putting government information or services or programs online, with a goal to improve service to the public.  Eventually GOL will mean distributing government information via cellphone.

 

·              GOL is a project that permits people the opportunity to interact with government information through the use of computers.

 

·              GOL means public access to electronic information, services, and programs. In the case of the federal government only, GOL entails making these materials available to all Canadians by 2005.

 

·              As an example, the Alberta government has pilot projects -- planned collaboration, formal training programs for staff -- that are good illustrations of the best of GOL.

 

 

All interviewees distinguished between access to “information” (content only) and transactions and interactivity capabilities

 

·              GOL in its simplest form is information about government. At its second level it involves interactivity as well (for example, applying for programs, updating CPP, changing address). At its pinnacle it is a vehicle whereby the public can participate fully in government through electronic discussion of proposed legislation; input on government programs, etc.  At that level it raises the question of "what is government?".

 

·              Public libraries have no control over what transactions citizens undertake at a CAP site, at home, or at work.  Inside the public library, GOL translates into “service” as staff members are called upon to assist no matter what the purpose of the client.

 

 

While some interviewees view developments in GOL as “new” and a break from tradition, others reflect the view that GOL is just another format for the government information librarians have always assisted clients in obtaining.

 

·              GOL is a new vehicle that breaks down geographic barriers. Government online is part of e-business and the Internet has transformed the way we do business.

 

·              GOL reflects government myopia in putting information on the Internet and assuming that people can navigate without assistance. For one thing, it is very difficult for customers to understand what level of government is involved and some areas, such as family law, are cross jurisdictional.

 

·              The only new thing is access methodology - a new way to deal with the government.

 

 

 

 

2.  The current role and specific activities of public libraries relating to GOL

 

Public libraries' primary role is to provide computers and (high speed) access to the internet.

 

·              Libraries provide customers with access to computers and high speed access to the Internet; many people have access to the Internet at home but their dial-up service may be too slow.

 

·              There is a difference between access and accessibility.  Librarians attempt to be guides and interpreters as they help clients navigate.

 

·              All Ontario public libraries now provide public access to the Internet, thus providing access to any government website. Many public libraries are also providing access to other levels of government services such as parking tickets payments, municipal pet licenses, and online registrations.

 

·              Newfoundland's 96 libraries all offer public access PCs. With the exception of one or two pilot projects, activities are limited to providing access to the Internet on public PCs.

 

·              In the Yukon all library branches have public access PC’s; 70% of use is for e-mail. While customers do access government websites, that activity would be a small percentage of overall use.

 

 

While libraries’ primary role as it relates to GOL appears to be the provision of access to the Internet, there is evidence of other GOL related activities such as training in basic computer and Internet skills. Basic computer and information literacy is a pre-requisite  to success in interacting with government information. Training help may be offered either on an ad hoc or scheduled, sign-up basis. Other GOL activities less frequently mentioned include reference service to answer questions on government programs and services and the maintenance of links to government websites for ease of access.

 

·              Customers ask for all kinds of assistance in using the equipment, using the web, accessing sites, etc.

 

·              In New Brunswick many libraries have developed workshops to train people in using the Internet. For Library Month, some libraries developed workshops specifically on accessing government information.

 

·              Only 50% of Newfoundland homes have Internet access so computer literacy is an issue. Libraries are providing training in basic computer skills. Seniors in particular are participating in training.

 

·              In New Brunswick a virtual reference library indexes government sites. All staff across the province submit information to the site (in a manner similar to the creation of FAQs).

 

 

Provincial GOL initiatives appear to generate the greatest amount of usage. Several interviewees mentioned such provincial initiatives. Examples include:

 

·              In Nova Scotia the Provincial Librarian’s office is currently involved in GOL more at provincial and local levels than at the federal level. Service Nova Scotia is focused on provincial government service delivery.

 

·              Also in Nova Scotia two pilot projects relate to federal GOL:  Online EI registration, and a business information portal. In the first instance, the partner is HRDC. Policies are in place for both library staff and HRDC staff as to respective roles and responsibilities. The library provides access but not assistance in actual completion of forms, which is the role of HRDC; the library and HRDC do joint promotion. In the second instance, libraries are partnering with LibraryNet, Service Nova Scotia and Industry Canada (CAP) on a pilot Business@YourLibrary project focusing on businessgateway.ca. Government agencies (particularly HRDC) support such initiatives because there is a set of provincial standards for open hours, staffing of libraries, and CAP sites.

 

·              In PEI, public libraries are part of the provincial government. "Access PEI" is the provincial government's online presence; if clients seek provincial information, they know to go to Access PEI. In some branches Access PEI is co-located within the library; in some instances it is Access PEI that delivers library service. Federal GOL is hardly on the radar screen. If it is, it is most likely due to a “crisis” -- for example, last year CCRA directed people to go to public libraries for assistance with income tax filing but neglected to inform libraries of that instruction.

 

·              In Newfoundland, provincial GOL has an emphasis on interactivity. There is a link from all public library desktops to a provincial government services site with a list of interactive functions. Two pilot projects involve public libraries:  A dedicated Fisheries & Oceans kiosk in one library; and trial motor vehicle registration.

 

·              The Yukon government is working on GOL activities, but much is on hold until funding is available.  Business registration and access to the most recent issue of telephone blue pages are examples of efforts to ease access to government information from all levels.

 

·              In Ontario, Oxford County Library, in partnership with the County of Oxford and the two local offices of Human Resources Development Canada undertook a 27 month pilot for "Services Canada" to assist in the delivery of government information and referral.  The federal government provided funding for staff wages, training, promotion, and overhead.  The pilot terminated at the end of March 2002 in spite of it being deemed successful according to established performance measures and winning the Ontario Ministry of Culture's award for innovation.

 

·              Service New Brunswick is focusing on transactional capabilities, for example motor vehicle registration and municipal taxes. The provincial library catalogue is on the Internet.

 

 

Regarding the current role of libraries as it relates to GOL, there was some discussion of what data exists to demonstrate the role. There are few metrics for GOL in public libraries; records of reference questions related to government information, the number of requests for assistance for access to government websites, and the number of hits on government databases are not available.

 

·              There are no statistics concerning the use of government information as public libraries do not question what people do when visiting the library.

 

·              Some statistics result from projects such as the Oxford County Library pilot but in general, there is no comparative data beyond anecdotal evidence.

 

 

 

 

3.  The impact of GOL activities on public libraries

 

While more interviewees volunteered “negative” impacts than “positive” impacts in answer to this question, all agreed that increased activity in GOL is desirable and appropriate. There were some comments about the positive aspects of greater public library involvement in GOL.

 

·              Yes, libraries should be absolutely involved in GOL – it is a way for them to be relevant to their communities. In recent years there has been a change in the attitudes of librarians and a recognition that we must make a highly visible place in the community.

 

 

·              Overall:

 

·              GOL helps position the public library in a new public service delivery environment.

 

·              There are greater demands on services, which results in political opportunities for public support within the community.

 

·              GOL brings new partnership opportunities for the library with all levels of government.

 

·              GOL is a value added component of the public library (to government) in delivery of government information and services.

 

 

·              Staff

 

·              GOL brings new skills and job enrichment.

 

·              It is an opportunity for showcasing knowledge management skills in the community and with government information specialists.

 

·              GOL builds on existing government document management skills.

 

 

·              Technology

 

·              GOL is an opportunity to partner with broadband program development across the province, and an opportunity to upgrade infrastructure, hardware, and software.

 

 

Negative impacts were predicted if there are increased demands without additional resources.  Specific technology and human resources issues were identified.

 

·              If additional resources do not become available we cannot sustain the level of activity.

 

·              Technology

 

·              There is a need to upgrade available technology for multimedia and interactive types of government services.

 

·              Availability of broadband service is limited and without it, "you can't do GOL".

 

·              In some libraries there are sign-up sheets for Internet use and people frequently need to wait. Some libraries have express terminals, but the amount of time allotted may not accommodate transactional activities.

 

·              Technology is the major issue – right now in Newfoundland GOL activities would need to be limited to larger sites where there is high-speed access.

 

·              Reliable high-speed access is critical for the Yukon. Technical support is important as well.  In fact, just having enough computer resources is an issue.

 

·              There is a security challenge when it comes to transactions where there is monetary transfer.

 

 

 

·              Staff

 

·              There is a great need for extra staff time.  Staff must spend more and more time keeping up with myriad changes in government sites and assisting users.

 

·              Librarians feel they were left to fend for themselves when GOL appeared.  They scrambled and learned on the fly when clients came in the door wanting help with something they had heard they could do at the public library.

 

·              We need a comprehensive training program on government programs.  One approach might be different levels of training with an emphasis on the transactional side. The “highest” level of service would be having staff who were so knowledgeable about selected government programs that they could offer assistance in filling out forms. Staff training will inspire a level of confidence in staff and customers.

 

·              Another difficulty is that "there is no one to call".  Government offices are in effect causing some service work to shift to the public librarians.  It would be very helpful if the government were to offer a call centre so that difficulties could be resolved (for example, a client inadvertently submits an online form with an error in it at 8pm - now what?).  It is  stressful for librarians that there is no recourse when a snafu occurs.

 

·              It can be uncomfortable for library staff (especially in remote areas where libraries are staffed by non-professionals) when they are called on for assistance they are not in a position to offer, and library staff members are legitimately concerned about liability risks if they are pressed to venture advice.

 

·              In cases where any library staff feel unprepared for the GOL related work, training and assistance from Government would be appropriate.  Librarians cannot refuse to assist clients, but they need the knowledge and experience to do so.

 

 

·              Facilities

 

·              Protecting personal information and having "private space" for users are additional challenges. Customers often need to spread out income tax related materials and most libraries do not have the kind of space or privacy in our computer area to accommodate privacy.

 

·              While one interviewee commented that GOL could result in freeing up some space as a result of a decrease in print materials, most others noted that more space was needed to accommodate extra computers.

 

 

 

 

 

4.  Challenges for public libraries in facilitating or responding to GOL

 

Marketing the role they already play in GOL and the role they are capable of playing is seen as a major challenge for public libraries because they have traditionally had limited experience and expertise in marketing.

 

·              "We do good work but we don’t tell people about it."  Libraries are sometimes viewed as being a “touchy, feely” rather than serious type of service.

 

·              Stereotypes and historical images of libraries need to be overcome. There is a growing cultural shift – libraries traditionally have been seen as passive repositories and we viewed ourselves as being in the business of books, but really we were in the business of recreation and information. We still have a long way to go to complete the shift.

 

·              Libraries must get beyond their traditional conservative views and must be willing to become more innovative and proactive. "I sometimes find that my provincial colleagues are more reluctant to take on the GOL role than government policy makers are."

 

·              Libraries are not on the radar screen of policy makers. Primarily that is the fault of the libraries themselves because they have not marketed themselves aggressively. For example, Statistics Canada is aiming at receiving 25% of Census-2006 responses online, but clearly does not see a role for public libraries as a vehicle to deliver on that goal.  It is always a surprise to government employees when they are made aware of the resources and expertise in the modern public library.

 

 

Related to marketing challenges is the lack of previous involvement with government departments and agencies, with the result that libraries frequently do not have the necessary contacts to proactively promote their involvement in GOL.

 

·              Government is generally unaware of the value of the public infrastructure that has been built over 200 years in Canada.

 

·              The problem is having the right contacts.  We have not been proactive; for example, we were left out of the Early Years program.

 

·              There are instances where partnering has worked effectively: In Ontario, the Ministry of Education and libraries collaborated during the teachers' strike; Business Connects’ most heavily used site is the Nepean Public Library.

 

·              Government policy makers are more comfortable working with other government agencies – not libraries.

 

·              "Working with the province has been a hard slog. We have had to make the moves first. Our experience has been to find the right people and push! Find out and monitor what is happening in government on an on-going basis."

 

 

Some of the responses to question 4 echoed those in question 3 because GOL's  impacts are viewed primarily as challenges.  Preparedness in technology and training are again identified as critical.

 

·              It is a significant challenge to delineate the appropriate role for library staff; they are not tax specialists. Customers look for interpretation of the form as well as a copy of the form.

 

·              Staff and supporting infrastructure are strained. Dial up access to the Internet is not conducive to good service delivery, a situation affecting smaller rural libraries particularly.

 

·              Our existing computers -- from CAP and the Gates Foundation -- are already fully booked; if there is to be more activity we would need more computers.

 

 

Lastly, libraries lack the metrics to back up their claims about service to the public related to government information. While this was not on the list of pre-issued questions, it did come up several times.  Not surprisingly, no library has statistical data for the number of reference requests related to government information, the number of times library staff assist customers seeking government information, or the number of hits on GOL sites.

 

 

 

 

5.  Benefits public libraries bring to GOL

 

This topic elicited the greatest volume of comments of any of the seven questions asked.  No one had any difficulty articulating the benefits they perceive; it is noteworthy that those benefits are not well understood by government.

 

 

A major benefit mentioned by all interviewees is that public libraries have an existing infrastructure.

 

·              Libraries are well established – the infrastructure is in place – buildings, hours of service, well trained staff, high speed Internet access in some places.  Communities have already invested in their public libraries.

 

·              There is a potential dollar savings to government to partner with public libraries.

 

·              Libraries' hours of service (weekends, evenings) exceed anything government has in place. 

 

·              Ironically, small rural communities, First Nations communities, and remote regions have especially urgent need for government service but there are no government offices there. All levels of government pulled out of rural and small town communities.

 

·              In many areas people have to travel significant distances to government offices but public libraries are more easily accessible.

 

·              Public libraries are bringing an important clientele to the government.  Their work is an opportunity for the government to reach every Canadian and address the Digital Divide issue in a cost effective manner (i.e. sustaining and developing existing infrastructure, staff, hardware, and technology).  In short, public libraries can make the government look good.

 

·              However, TB may not have realized that the public library's appearance -- a matter of municipal budgets -- reflects back on the government's image.  Cramped, threadbare facilities with insufficient staff sends an untoward message.  "I know of one library where the client has to rise from the chair if a staff member needs to pass by the public terminal."

 

 

The reputation of libraries in their communities is seen as a significant benefit, allowing governments to be more closely aligned with the communities they serve.

 

·              Public libraries have a good track record in their communities and are trusted institutions; library involvement in GOL legitimizes the activity. That said, the public library should not be the only outlet for government information in the community.

 

·              Libraries are viewed as safe and helpful, neutral environments unlike government offices that are frequently viewed as cold and impersonal.  GOL delivered through the library raises government profile in the community and lets it be seen as a part of, not separate from, the community.

 

·              "The community link is what is missing in existing services such as CBSCs which could be accommodated in libraries."

 

 

Libraries are already in the “information business” with experience and expertise to deliver GOL.

 

·              Libraries have a history of providing government information with a role, not to regulate and control, but to provide service.  Staff are trained and competent in giving assistance.

 

·              GOL is seen as nothing but a logical extension of service; the public library has always had significant holdings in government information.

 

·              Staff can provide a value added component to the electronic GOL materials and services through the supporting print and multi media collections.

 

 

Libraries have a culture of sharing and partnership.

 

·              Public libraries have been successful at engaging in partnerships with local governments and the private sector. Many libraries are already CAP sites.

 

·              Libraries operate in a culture of sharing – with each other. They also operate in a culture of partnerships.

 

 

Partnering with public libraries offers opportunities to government.

 

·              Government can avail itself of the services of trained information specialists in the libraries.

 

·              Public libraries are accustomed to working cooperatively regionally, provincially and nationally through historical resource sharing.

 

·              There is an opportunity for Treasury Board to develop integrated policies and programs across Government departments as opposed to the more expensive individual and "silo" program delivery.

 

 

 

·              Great benefit could be had from coordination of the myriad broadband programs across Canada and use the public libraries as a key partner in that coordination.  'Everybody is busy with some sort of high speed access program but we are not making headway because the efforts are not streamlined to work synergistically."

 

 

 

 

6.  Support needed from Treasury Board

 

Respondents point to the need for addressing the fact that public libraries have become extensions of government and for recognizing them as “official” partners in delivering GOL.  They regret that GOL "happened without planning for the partnership so that we faced added work responsibilities without preparation or a formal definition of the new situation".  They point out that Treasury Board appears to have overlooked the cost of service delivery and suggest now is a good time to consider adequate funding for staff training and equipment under a formal service agreement.

 

·              Public libraries are appropriate partners for GOL, and policy should reflect the value public libraries bring to the table in delivering GOL to citizens.

 

·              Federal government people talk about the value of CAP sites but frequently don’t understand the value added libraries bring.  That is understandable so long as TB does not formally recognize the role libraries play.

 

·              TB could position the public library in the “social inclusion” agenda as other nations are doing in delivery of government services and information resources (UK Online, Australia Melbourne, USA Messenger).

 

·              TB has a great opportunity to work with government departments to showcase how libraries address the “end of the chain” challenge arising from the uncomfortable (and often hushed-up) fact that not all Canadians have computers at home and that not all communities have decent internet access.

 

 

All respondents pointed out the need for funding for human resources and connectivity. 

 

·              We would welcome Treasury Board acknowledgement that the service is not free and that libraries have so far footed the bill. There must be appropriate compensation for and enabling of program delivery.

 

·              Most libraries are financially limited; even $1000 – $2000 per site would assist with such items as licensing software.

 

·              Staffing to provide assistance to customers is more costly than staffing for some other activities such as cataloguing documents.  TB may not realize just how much staff time is consumed by GOL.

 

·              GOL can't succeed without universal high speed access.  Provide it, and we would be a lot closer to the government's stated goals.  "Equal access for all Canadians is not funded to be true -- and by the way, satellites are not the answer."

 

 

Public librarians call for a formal support mechanism -- a call centre -- and collaboration on site content and design.  "Putting material online is only half the job."

 

·              "How can you expect a computer to replace an EI officer?" Representatives from the public library community and government should work together to spell out a standard service definition so as to define clearly what role public libraries play in GOL and what service is expected.  For example, there is a need for guidelines regarding the "boundary line" between helping a client find a form and helping the client fill it out.  Similarly, not all libraries are in a position to offer the same level of service (remote rural areas versus large urban centers), and it should be formalized what library is expected to provide what level of service.

 

·              In order to address the gap arising from the withdrawal of local government offices, we need a call centre, open whenever public libraries are, staffed with experts who can resolve glitches occurring when clients are attempting to complete a transaction.  Clients make mistakes, but there are errors and missing pages on government websites too.  Moreover, a call centre is needed in order to serve those citizens whose only avenue of access is the telephone (particularly the case in remote northern communities).

 

·              Governments need to work toward compatibility in technology and content.  For example, all forms (currently thought of as "Greek") should follow a standard format, and common terminology should be recognized (if a client types "Old Age Pension" there should be an automatic link to "Old Age Assistance").  Some government websites appear to have been designed by individuals who do not take into account how ordinary people think.

 

·              Similarly, it seems wasteful that individual public libraries maintain their own 'popular links' gateways to government information.  Perhaps a specially designated team of people could create and maintain a standard one for all to share and adapt, just as it could work on ensuring better 'findability'.  "In the case of some GOL sites, users would never find them if we weren't standing by to help."

 

·              Design and navigation often leave much to be desired because the site creators have no idea "what it's like up here".  Someone in Ottawa cannot possibly imagine the reality of illiterate clients in a small public library with only dialup access - they seem to be designing for their well educated and well wired peers, not for the 50% of Canadians without computer or internet skills.  A mechanism is needed so that librarians can  advise designers about what ordinary people will understand; before any government website or redesign is made public, it should be assessed by a team of public librarians and pass a "county with a 40% functional illiteracy rate" usability test.  "Spare us the promotional content; give us plain-language information such as you-are-eligible-if-a,b,c".  One interviewee commented that "in my case, I could assemble a team of seniors who, for free, would test new material".  "It is not for Accenture to decide which government websites deserve awards; let John Q. Public be the judge of quality!"

 

·              Government employees working on the GOL should be sent on field expeditions to experience for themselves what goes on in the public libraries across Canada -- one can hope that content and navigability would benefit.

 

·              Communication from government to the public libraries needs improvement.  There should be a systematic program of advance notification so that public libraries need never again experience the "lines around the block to register firearms at the library" scramble.

 

·              Similarly, the government should prepare citizen-friendly versions of important documents.  For example, the Romanow report is not appropriate for most people -- not to mention that downloading it brought computers to their knees.  "Where was the plain language summary on the day of release?"  "When putting out a news release, could the government writer please include the URL where additional information can be had so that we don't have to spend time hunting it down?"

 

·              For the short term, fund innovation projects aggressively.  In the longer term, the federal government must take on part of both capital and operational public library funding (which could be done through provincial agencies).

 

 

In summary, the message from public librarians is that the ideal relationship model would be an ongoing service agreement based on support and deliverables to be negotiated in detail.

 

 

 

 

7.  Additional comments

 

While the lack of a cohesive “library” voice in Canada was not mentioned as a specific challenge (under question 4), there were comments about what organizations or groups should be working to promote a partnership between public libraries and federal GOL.

 

·              Potential partners are ASTED (Association pour l'avancement des sciences et techniques de la documentation), CLA (Canadian Library Association), and the National Library.

 

·              LibraryNet is viewed as the appropriate group to make partnerships happen.

 

·              CLA could champion the effort.  That said, the problem with CLA is that it is an advocacy group on behalf of all types of libraries around “global” issues such as electronic licensing and information literacy. But CLA could take a role in marketing this to the media which the Advisory Board cannot do because they are government employees

 

·              LibraryNet is an appropriate body to be undertaking this activity in part because the majority of its members are policy makers themselves. The advisory board is looking to involve other relevant departments.

 

 

Other comments:

 

·              The UK Blair government has made libraries true partners. The Canadian federal government has made good moves to date but now it is time to move to the next level. The Internet is generally accessible to the people (although only to half the people) – now make government truly accessible to the people.

 

·              There are long-term conservation issues that all libraries will need to address, such as  the archiving and conservation of information on the web that may not exist elsewhere in print format.

 

·              The library profession needs an influx of advocacy oriented activist public librarians who can "carry the GOL agenda".  It would be helpful if a special recruiting project could be undertaken to promote the public library career to, say, students of sociology or social work.

 

 

 

 

Findings from the Survey

 

While the survey responses reflect predictable differences between small and larger libraries' concerns, they support the themes emerging from the interviews.  The appendices show the tallied responses by size and province and the verbatim write-in comments. Key observations include:

 

Services offered

 

§         Approximately 90% of respondents indicate they offer high speed access, assistance with navigation, internet training, and general reference assistance with government information.

 

§         78% indicate they offer general computer training.

 

§         Such percentages support the theme that public libraries are continuing a long tradition of rendering service to clients according to their needs.

 

 

Are needs for specific GOL services increasing?

 

§         Among larger libraries (serving populations over 50,000) about 30% report increasing needs for the GOL related services noted in the questionnaire.

 

§         Among smaller libraries, roughly as many indicate a stable or "same" need as indicate an increased need.  Such a result could be a reflection of the overall situation in smaller communities.

 

 

What is the priority of the services libraries should provide?

 

§         The highest priorities are offering general government information reference service (in whatever way), assisting with navigation, training in the use of the internet, and organizing links to government services.  Very few larger libraries assigned a low priority to any service while more small libraries did.

 

 

What are the benefits of GOL service in libraries?

 

§         Reflecting the pattern of the above question, most libraries assigned a "definite" rating to the suggested benefits while a small minority assigned a "less likely".

 

 

 

What are the greatest challenges?

 

 

§         Having enough staff time and expertise available are the top two challenges across the board while marketing and forming partnerships range midway between greatest to least.  High speed internet access appears to be a challenge that has largely been addressed.

General Observations:

 

 

The questionnaire was designed to measure public librarians' overall perceptions of the impact GOL is having, and the responses echo the comments made by interviewees.  One difficulty should be noted, however, in the context of gauging that impact:  Libraries as a rule do not keep the statistics needed to obtain a clear distinction between GOL related work and "other" work performed in client service and the support thereof.

 

If, indeed, government at all levels wishes to use public libraries as a major conduit for service delivery to citizens, two things appear to be needed: 

 

First, better collaboration between government entities and libraries in order to enhance the required planning and preparation appropriate for each town or city.  Librarians are more than willing to enter into a service partnership with government and see many benefits from doing so; their primary source of discomfort is a feeling that they haven't had an opportunity to "sit at the table" when the plans are made. 

 

Second, a uniform methodology for measuring impact without causing undue strain on already strained staff resources.  Given that public libraries traditionally defend citizen privacy extremely vigorously, care should of course be taken that the measuring methodology not compromise such privacy.

 

A logical next step would be an in-depth onsite study at selected libraries to observe "in the field" what GOL related activities take place, and to assess the overall effect on work loads and skill requirements.  In addition, special attention should be paid to events pointing to opportunities for better coordination and collaboration between government service offices and the libraries.

 

The study confirmed that GOL has had a noticeable impact on public libraries and suggests that additional investigation would be well worth the effort.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix A

The following individuals were interviewed:

 

Name/Title	Contact Info
Elizabeth Armstrong Director Nova Scotia Provincial Library	armstreh@gov.ns.ca   902 424 2455
Joylene Campbell Provincial Librarian Saskatchewan Provincial Library	campbell@prov.lib.sk.ca   306 787 2972
Sam Coghlan Chief Librarian Oxford County Library, Ontario	sam@ocl.net   519 485 7394 x277
Madame Claire Dionne Russell Township Public Library (Representing ASTED)	claire.dionne@post.library.on.ca   613 443 3636
Allan Groen Provincial Librarian PEI Provincial Library Service	ajgroen@gov.pe.ca   902 961 7320
Punch Jackson Branch Director Strategic Information & Libraries Alberta Community Development	punch.jackson@gov.ab.ca   780 415 0284
Jim Looney Manager of Technology & Information Services Public Library Services Branch, B.C. Ministry of Community, Aboriginal & Women’s Services	jlooney@hq.marh.gov.bc.ca   604 660 7346
Ken Kuryliw Acting Director Public Library Services Manitoba Dept. of Culture, Heritage & Tourism	KKuryliw@gov.mb.ca   204 726 6864
A. J. MacDonald Territorial Librarian NWT Public Library Services	Sandy.macdonald@gov.nt.ca   867 874 6531
Sylvie Nadeau Executive Director New Brunswick Public Library Service	sylvie.nadeau@gnb.ca   506 453 7141
Wendy Newman CEO, Brantford Public Library President, CLA	wnewman@brantford.library.on.ca
Julie Ourom Libraries & Archives Division Yukon Dept. of Education	Jourom@gov.yk.ca   867 667 5447
Steve Salmons Windsor Public Library, Ontario	ssalmons@city.windsor.on.ca   519 255 6770  x4425
Stan Squires Public Library Network Specialist Heritage & Libraries Branch Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Recreation	stan.squires@mczcr.gov.on.ca   416 314 7632
Eric Stackhouse Chief Librarian Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library, Nova Scotia	estackho@nsngp.library.ns.ca   902 755 6031
Shawn Tetford Director Provincial Information and Library Resources Board Stephenville, Newfoundland	shawntetford@publib.nf.ca   709 643 0902

 

 

 

Appendix B:  Libraries Responding to the Survey

 

132 Questionnaires sent out; 91 Returned  (68.9%)

 

Note:  Two questionnaires could not be scored due to formatting or data errors; the tables below reflect a total of 89.

 

 

NOTE on QUEBEC:  Subsequent to input from a Quebec librarian indicating very low awareness of GOL among librarians in Quebec, it was determined that it would not be productive to send questionnaires to Quebec libraries at this time.

 

 

 

Province	Sent Out	Returned  (by size of population served)
		Type 1: Under 50,000	Type 2: 50,000-250,000	Type 3: Over 250,000	Total Returns
AB	16	6	4	1	11
BC	12	7		3	10
MB	6	4			4
NB	3	1	2		3
NL	5	4			4
NWT	2	1			1
NS	5	3	1		4
NU	1	1			1
ON	61	13	15	7	35
PE	2	1			1
SK	17	12	1		13
YT	2	2			2
Totals	132	55	23	11	89

 

 

 

LIBRARY APPROACHED	CONTACT PERSON	E-MAIL	RESPONSE RECEIVED
ALBERTA
Airdrie Municipal Library	Vivyan Oneil	v.oneil@shaw.ca	a
Calgary Public Library	Gerry Meek	gerry.meek@public-library.calgary.ab.ca
Camrose Public Library - Parkland	Cheryl Hamel	cpl@library.camrose.ab.ca	a
Canmore  Public Library - Marigold	Michelle Preston	jluthy@canmorelibrary.ab.ca
Drayton Valley Municipal Library	Nesen Naidoo	dvml@incentre.net	a
Edmonton Public Library	Yvonne Footz	yfootz@epl.ca	a
Fort McMurray Public Library	Carol Cooley	carolc@woodbuffalo.ab.ca
Grande Prairie Public Library	Pam Chislett	gplib@gppl.peacelibrarysystem.ab.ca	a
Hinton Municipal Library	Hetty Wilderdijk	hettwild@hintonlibrary.org	a
Leduc Public Library	Jill Parker	jparker@library.leduc.ab.ca	a
Lethbridge Public Library	Linda McElravy	lmcelravy@chinookarch.ab.ca	a
Medicine Hat Public Library	Rachel Sarjeant-Jenkins	racsar@city.medicine-hat.ab.ca	a
Red Deer Public Library	Dean Frey	dfrey@rdpl.red-deer.ab.ca	a
St. Albert Public Library	Pam Forsyth	sapl@sapl.ab.ca
St. Paul Municipal Library	Connie Forst	astp@telusplanet.net
Strathcona County Library	Rita Doll	rdoll@sclibrary.ab.ca	a
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Coquitlam Public Library	Karen Harrison	kharrison@library.coquitlam.bc.ca
Creston Public Library	Gina Rawson	gina.rawson@crestonlibrary.com	a
Houston Public Library	Janet Marren	hlibrary@telus.net	a
Lillooet Area Public Library	Sheila Pfeifer	library@webside.ca	a
Nelson Mun Public Library	Deborah Thomas	dthomas@city.nelson.bc.ca	a
Okanagan Regional Public Library	Debbie Geoffrey	geoffrey@mail.orl.bc.ca	a
Prince George Public Library	M. Edel Toner-Regala	erogala@lib.pg.bc.ca
Sechelt Public Library	Iris Loewen	iris.loewen@secpl.scrd.bc.ca	a
Surrey Public Library	Wendy Caywood	wdcaywood@city.surrey.bc.ca	a
Trail & District Public Library	Joy Huebert	jhuebert@traillibrary.com	a
Vancouver Public Library	Michele Pye	michepye@vpl.ca	a
West Vancouver Memorial Public Library	Roy Hunter	rhunter@westvanlib.org	a
MANITOBA
Portage La Prairie Public Library	Percy Gregoire-Voskamp	pvoskamp@portagelibrary.com
Selkirk and St. Andrews Public Library	Linda Pleskach	lpleskac@ssarl.org
Bibliotheque Ste Anne	Monica Ball	steannelib@mb.sympatico.ca	a
South Central Regional	Mary Toma	scrlheadlib@valleycable.com	a
The Pas	Carol Ham	books@cancom.net	a
Winnipeg	Gail Doherty	gdoherty@city.winnipeg.mb.ca	a
NEW BRUNSWICK
Fredericton Public Library	Jean Cunningham	jean.cunningham@gnb.ca	a
Moncton Public Library	Jeanne Maddix	Jeanne.maddix@gnb.ca	a
Saint John Free Public Library	Diane Buhay	Diane.buhay@cityofsaintjohn.com	a
NEWFOUNDLAND
Codroy Valley Public Library	Judy Gillis	jgillis@publib.nf.ca	a
Gander Public Library	Glenda Peddle	gpeddle@publib.nf.ca	a
Lewisporte Public Library	Judy Snow	jmsnow@publib.nf.ca	a
Placentia Public Library	Doris Bowering	dorisbowering@publib.nf.ca	a
Provincial Resource Library	Michelle Walters	michellewalters@publib.nf.ca
NORTH WEST TERRITORIES
Yellowknife Public Library	Eileen Murdoch, Manager	Yk_library@gov.nt.ca
Inuvik Centennial Library	Beverly Garven	Inuvik_library@gov.nt.ca	a
NOVA SCOTIA
Cape Breton Regional Library	Ian MacIntosh	imacinto@nssc.library.ns.ca	a
Cumberland Regional Library	Frances Newman	fnewman@rs6000.nshpl.library.ns.ca	a
Halifax Regional Library	Judith Hare	agjh3@nsh.library.ns.ca
South Shore Regional Library	Cheryl Stenstrom	cstenst@nsbs.library.ns.ca	a
Western Counties Regional Library	Trudy Amirault	tamiraul@nsy.library.ns.ca	a
NUNAVUT
Iqaluit Centennial Library	Tori-Lynne Evans	tlevans@gov.nu.ca	a
ONTARIO
Ajax Public Library	Jill Nicholson	Jill.nicholson@townofajax.com	a
Alfred-Plantagenet Township Public Library	Carole Mainville	cmbibliocurran@gosympatico.ca
Barrie Public Library	Joy Martin	jmartin@city.barrie.on.ca	a
Brampton Public Library	Adele Kostiak	akostiak@bramlib.on.ca	a
Brampton Branch	Gary Baumbach	gbaumbach@bramlib.on.ca	a
Bruce County Public Library	Marzio Apolloni	Bruce1@bmts.com	a
Burlington Public Library	Wendy Schick	schickw@bpl.on.ca
Caledon Public Library	Mojgan Schmalenbgerg	mschmalel@caledon.library.on.ca	a
Cambridge Public Library	Greg Hayton	ghayton@library.cambridge.on.ca
Cornwall Public Library	Bill Manson	bmanson@library.cornwall.on.ca	a
Dryden Public Library	Bryan Buffet	bbuffett@dryden.lakeheadu.ca
Elgin County Public Library	Christina Mayhew	chris@atlas.library.elgin-county.on.ca	a
Elgin Branch	Dianne Palmer	Fax 519 631 9202	a
Grimsby	Laura Kmety	lkmety@town.grimsby.on.ca	a
Kingston and Frontenac County	Barb Love	blove@kfpl.library.on.ca	a
Guelph Public Library	Linda Kearns	lkearns@library.guelph.on.ca	a
Hamilton Public Library	Ken Roberts	kroberts@hpl.ca	a
Hanover Public Library	Linda E. Manchester	lem@hanovercanada.com	a
Hawkesbury Public Library	Benoît Ferland	hawbib@hawk.igs.net
Huntsville Public Library	Marguerite Urban	murban@huntsville.library.on.ca
Huron Public Library	Sharon Cox	scox@huroncap.org	a
Kenora Public Library	Erin Roussin	library@kenora.com
Kirkland Lake Public Library	Heather Moodie	library@tkl.ca
Kitchener Public Library	Mary Monteith	mmonteith@kpl.org	a
Lambton County	Robert Krieg	bob.krieg@county-lambton.on.ca
London Public Library	Margaret Wilkinson	margaret.wilkinson@lpl.london.on.ca	a
Manitouwadge Public Library	Sheila Durand	library@manitouwadge.lakeheadu.ca
Marathon Township Public Library	Lynn Banks	lynnbanks@canoemail.com	a
Markham Public Library
Middlesex County Public Library	Margaret Rule	mrule@county.middlesex.on.ca	a
Mississauga Public Library	Donald M. Mills	don.mills@city.mississauga.on
Newmarket Public Library	Partricia G. Wilson	npl@newmarketpl.ca
Niagara Falls Public Library	Jan Leak	jlmleak@niagarafalls.library.on.ca	a
Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library	Gerda Molson	gmolson@niagaraotlake.library	a
North Bay Public Library	Paul Walker	paulw@mbox.city.north-bay.on.ca
Oakville Public Library	Eleanor James	jamese@opl.on.ca	a
Orillia Public Library	Lynne Gibbon	lgibbon@orilliapubliclibrary.ca	a
Oshawa Public Library	Joseph Sansalone	jsansalone@oshawalibrary.on.ca	a
Ottawa Public Library	Joan Cavanaugh	joan.cavanaugh@library.ottawa.on.ca	a
Owen Sound and North Grey Union Public Library	Judy Armstrong	jbarms@owensound.library.on.ca	a
Peterborough Public Library	Ken Doherty	kdoherty@city.peterborough.on.ca
Pickering Public Library	Cynthia Mearns	cynthiam@picnet.org	a
Prince Edward County Public Library	Barbara Sweet	picbrch@peclibrary.org	a
Port Colborne Public Library	Cecil Vincent	port_lib@becon.org
Richmond Hill Public Library	Jane Horrocks	horrocks@richmondhill.library.on.ca
St. Catharines Public Library	Lalita Stripnieks	Istripnieks@stcatharines.library.on.ca
Scugog Township Public Library	Tom Bonanno	tom@speedline.ca
Simcoe County Public Library	Dianne Augustson	daugustson@county.simcoe.on.ca	a
Sioux Lookout Public Library	Wendy MacDonald	siouxlib@sl.lakeheadu.ca
Smiths Falls Public Library	Karen Schecter	kschecter@post.library.on.ca
Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry County Public Library	Rudi Denham	rdenham@sdglibrary.ca	a
Greater Sudbury Public Library	Ron Henderson	ron.henderson@city.greatersudbury.on.ca
Thunder Bay Public Library	Barry Holmes	bholmes@tbpl.thunder-bay.on.ca
Tillsonburg Public Library	Mathew G. Scholtz	Mscholtz@ocl.net	a
Timmins Public Library	Judith Heinzen	Tpl_4@city.timmins.on.ca	a
Toronto Public Library	Josephine Bryant	jbryant@tpl.toronto.on.ca
Wainfleet Public Library	Mary Podolyak	mpodolyak@post.library.on.ca
Waterloo Public Library	Lynda Gale	lgale@wpl.ca	a
Waterloo Regional	Gloria Van Eek-Meijers	gvaneek@region.waterloo.on.ca	a
Welland Public Library	Janet C. Booth	ref@welland.library.on.ca	a
Wellington County Public Library	Janice Hindley	janiceh@county.wellington.on.ca
Whitby Public Library	Ian Ross	iross@whtibylibrary.on.ca
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
Cornwall Public Library	Pam Wheatley	cornwall@gov.pe.ca	a
Montague Public Library	Jane Harris	montague@gov.pe.ca	a
QUEBEC - See Note at top of table
SASKATCHEWAN
Battleford Branch Library	Iris Fritz	battleford.library@sk.sympatico.ca	a
Humboldt Reid-Thompson Public Library	Rose Ward	humcirc@sk.sympatico.ca	a
Kindersley Branch Library	Marilyn Shea	kindersley.library@sasktel.net	a
La Ronge Public Library	Rosemary Loeffler	R.Loeffler.SLA@pnls.lib.sk.ca	a
Leader Branch Library	Marcia Huber	leader.library@sk.sympatico.ca
Lloydminster Public Library	Ron Gillies	rgillies@lloydminster.lib.sk.ca
Melfort Public Library	Penny Markland	melfortlib@sk.sympatico.ca	a
Moose Jaw Public Library	Karon Selzer	librarian.smj@sk.sympatico.ca	a
North Battleford Public Library	Annmarie  Hillson	eah@lakeland.lib.sk.ca	a
Prince Albert - John M. Cuelenaere Public Library	Alex Juorio	juorio@touch.panet.pa.sk.ca	a
Regina Public Library	A. A. (Sandy) Cameron	scameron@rpl.regina.sk.ca	a
Saskatoon Public Library – Cliff Wright Branch	Wenda McArthur	wenda@publib.saskatoon.sk.ca	a
Saskatoon Public Library - Frances Morrison Branch	Patricia Caldwell	patriciac@publib.saskatoon.sk.ca	a
Saskatoon Public Library - Rusty Macdonald Branch	Bryan Foran	bryan@publib.saskatoon.sk.ca	a
Swift Current Branch Library	Aidan Megan	a.meegan@sasktel.net	a
Tisdale Public Library	Isabel Hankins-Wilk	Fax 306 873 4078	a
Willow Bunch	Chris Lemieux, Branch	wb.library@sk.sympatico.ca
YUKON
Watson Lake Community Library	Ursula Fedora	wlcapsit@yknet.yk.ca	a
Whitehorse Public Library	Jennifer Stephens	jennifer.stephens@gov.yk.ca	a

 

 

 

Appendix C:  Questionnaire Sent

 

 

 

The attached questionnaire contains five questions, each in the form of a table. For each table you are asked to select from relevant options or to rank options. Your additional comments will be welcome.

 

For the purposes of responding to this questionnaire, please refer to the following definition of Government On-Line:

 

GOL is the provision of government information and services on the Internet, with the goal to provide enhanced access to “citizen-centred, integrated services, anytime, anywhere and in the official language of choice.”

 

Note that the definition encompasses both content (“information”) and transactions (“services”) and that “transactions” refers to activities such as income tax filing, registering a small business, or applying for EI.

 

While this study is sponsored by Industry Canada’s LibraryNet and is focused primarily on Federal Government On-Line (GOL) initiatives, you may find that the questions and your responses equally relate to online initiatives at all levels of government.

 

Please also note that "library" can refer to an individual library or one with multiple branches, as appropriate in your case.

 

 

 

Respondent Information:

 

 

Name of Respondent
Title of Respondent
Size of population served (please place an X in the appropriate cell):	Under 50,000	50,000-250,000	Over 250,000

 

Question 1

 

What services related to GOL is your library currently providing to customers? Please enter an X for those offered by your library.

 

GOL Related Library Service	Service Currently Provided
Provision of dial-up access to the Internet
Provision of high speed access to the Internet
Assistance to customers in accessing and navigating government sites for the purpose of obtaining information
Assistance to customers in performing government transactions online
General Computer skills training
General Internet skills training
Topical training which includes the extensive use of government websites
The  use of online government resources as part of your reference service to customers
Creation of pathfinders or guides for accessing and using government online
Selection and organization of links to government online sites from the library’s home page to assist customers in accessing government information
Other: Please identify and describe here other services related to GOL that your library offers.

Question 2

 

What are your observations and measurements in the most recent 18 months

 of customers’ requirements for your library’s services related to GOL?

Please enter an X beside relevant selections.

 

GOL Related Library Service	Increased Need	Decreased Need	About the Same	N/A or  Unsure
Assistance to customers in accessing or navigating government web sites for the purposes of obtaining information
Assistance to customers in performing government transactions online.
The use of online government resources as part of your reference service to customers
Training for customers in general computer and/or internet use
Topical training for customers that includes the extensive use of government online sites
Use of print collections of government information catalogued and maintained in the library’s collections

 

Question 3

 

What GOL related services do you believe public libraries should provide to their customers if appropriate resources (technology, connectivity, staffing, training) are in place? In other words, what aspects of, and in what degree, should public libraries make GOL a priority?

 

Please enter an X for the priority level you believe to be most appropriate.

 

GOL Related Customer Service	Low Priority	Medium Priority	High Priority
Assistance in accessing and navigating government sites for the purpose of obtaining information
Assistance in performing government transactions online
Computer skills training
Internet skills training
Training on the specific use of government websites
The use of online government resources as part of your reference service to customers
Making input to government agencies on the design of government online sites and services
Partnering with government agencies to offer joint GOL services such as training and reference/referral
Creation of pathfinders or guides for accessing and using government online
Provision of commercial databases with significant government content.
Selection and organization of links to government online sites from public access computers to assist customers in accessing government information
Enhancements of links to government online sites such as annotations and the categorization of sites according to local customer needs
Other: Please identify and  describe here other services related to GOL that you believe public libraries should offer

 

Question 4

 

If public libraries were to deliver more GOL services in the future, (assuming that  appropriate resources being in place), what benefits do you believe would be realized? Please enter an X beside relevant selections.

 

Benefit to Public Libraries as Partners of Government in GOL	Definite Benefit	Likely Benefit	Less Likely Benefit
Provides a way for public libraries to be more relevant to their communities
Brings a larger and more varied clientele to the public library
Helps to position the public library in a new public service delivery environment
Provides new partnership opportunities for public libraries with all levels of government
Offers new skills and job enrichment opportunities for library staff
Provides potential opportunities to upgrade infrastructure – hardware, software, broadband development
Other: Please identify other benefits to public libraries of partnering with government in GOL delivery

 

Question 5

 

What challenges stand in the way of provision of GOL related services in your library? Rank the following from 1 to 7, with #1 being the greatest challenge and #7 the least challenging item. Assign one number to each item.

 

 

Challenges in the Provision of GOL Related Services	Ranking  #1 high to #7 low
Having enough computer hardware to support customers’ information needs related to GOL
Having the high speed access to the Internet that is particularly necessary for GOL transactional activities
Having enough appropriate space for customers to work on GOL related activities, particularly those involving transactions
Staff expertise and level of comfort in the provision of services related to GOL
Having enough staff to spend time on GOL related activities
Marketing our role as providers of GOL to our customers and potential customers
Developing our role as partners in delivering GOL to government offices in our community
Other: please identify and describe other challenges your library might experience in delivering GOL services.

 

 

Please use this space to contribute additional comments related to GOL:

 

 

 

Appendix D:  Response Tally - Canada Total

 

 

 

Type 1:  Population under 50,000               55 returned

 

Type 2:  Population 50,000 – 250,000         23 returned

 

Type 3:  Population over 250,000               11 returned

 

Total                                                               89

 

 

 

Question 1 - Services related to GOL that are currently provided.

 

Question 1	Type 1	Type 2	Type 3	Total
Dial-up	9	6	5	20
High speed	48	24	12	84
Assistance navig.	51	23	12	86
Assistance trans	35	12	7	54
Computer training.	42	20	8	70
Internet training	48	24	11	83
Training gov sites	8	8	5	21
Use gov res for ref	50	20	11	81
Create guides for gv	8	10	5	23
Organize links	27	19	11	57

 

 

Question 2 - Need for specific library services related to GOL

 

 

Question 2	Type 1				Type 2				Type 3
	Inc	Decr	Same	?	Incr	Decr	Same	?	Incr	Decr	Same	?
Assist navig.	30		23	2	15		8	1	9		2
Assist trans.	22	1	19	13	13	1	3	7	7			4
Reference	29		25	1	15		7	1	11
Instruction computer/internet	33	6	13	3	19		5		7	1	3
Instruction GOL	17	1	16	21	12		6	7	5	1	4	1
Instruction use print	1	8	38	8	3	7	13	1		9	2

 

 

Question 2	Totals
	Inc	Decr	Same	Unsure
Assist w/ navigation	54		33	3
Assist w/ transactions	42	2	22	24
Reference	55		32	2
Instruction computer/internet	59	7	21	3
Instruction GOL	34	2	24	29
Instruction use print	4	24	53	9

 

 

 

Question 3 – Priority of services that libraries should provide

 

Question 3	Type 1			Type 2				Type3
	L	M	H	L	M	H	L		M	H
Assist navig		13	41		6	18			1	10
Assist trans	10	23	22	2	13	8	3		4	4
Computer training	8	18	29	4	8	11	2		5	4
Internet training	1	18	34	1	7	17	2		2	7
Training gov sites	14	26	15	1	13	10	1		8	2
Gov ref service		10	45			23			2	9
Input to govt	28	14	12	9	6	9	2		4	5
Partnering	10	21	24	2	9	13	1		3	6
Create guides	16	19	19	2	10	12	3		4	4
Provide Com gov	20	20	14	10	7	7	5		3	3
Organize gov links	4	21	30		3	21	1		2	8
Annotate/categorize	13	25	17	1	9	13	2		2	7

 

 

 

Question 3	Totals
	L	M	H
Assist navig		20	69
Assist trans	15	40	34
Computer training	14	31	44
Internet training	4	28	57
Training gov sites	16	47	27
Gov ref service		12	77
Input to govt	39	24	26
Partnering	13	34	42
Create guides	21	33	35
Provide Com gov	35	30	24
Organize gov links	5	25	59
Annotate/categorize	16	36	37

 

Question 4 – Potential benefits of providing GOL services to the libraries

 

Question 4	Type 1			Type 2			Type 3
	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less
Relevance	41	12	1	21	3		7	3	1
Larger clientele	34	18	2	15	8	1	5	4	2
Position	39	13	2	16	8		6	5
Partnership	36	15	3	18	6		5	5	1
Skills	26	19	9	9	12	3	3	6	2
Upgrade infrastr.	36	13	5	18	6		6	3	2

 

 

Question 4	Totals
	Def	Poss	Less
Relevance	69	18	2
Larger clientele	54	30	5
Position	61	26	2
Partnership	59	26	4
Skills	38	37	14
Upgrade infrastr.	60	22	7

 

 

Question 5 – Ranking of challenges

 

Question 5 asks the participants to rank seven challenges on a scale of 1 (greatest) to 7 (least). Some respondents, as asked, ranked the items in order from 1 to 7 to indicate their relative importance. Others gave each challenge a ranking between 1 and 7 to indicate its importance. Yet others appeared to be confused by the concept of ranking and only gave some challenges any rank.

 

Therefore, the number of responses for each rank have been tallied, grouped by size of library.  For example, among Type 1 libraries, there were 34 "votes" that having enough staff time is the number one challenge while there were 24 "votes" that high speed access is the least challenge.

 

 

 

Type 1 Libraries - Population under 50,000  (55 returns)

 

Challenge rankà	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Hardware	10	4	15	10	3	8	4
High Speed	8	3	4	5	8	6	24
Space	13	7	9	8	5	2	3
Expertise	10	18	9	6	5	2	4
Staff time	34	12	4		3		1
Marketing	5	4	9	9	13	10	3
Partnerships	4	7	12	17	5	4	2

 

 

 

 

Type 2 Libraries - Population 50,000 - 250,000  (23 returns)

 

Challenge rankà	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Hardware	5	2	4	2	1	6	3
High Speed	7	1	1		3	2	8
Space	4	4	3	4	2	3
Expertise	9	9	1	2	1	1	1
Staff time	11	9				2	1
Marketing	1	4	9	4	2	1	2
Partnerships	1	1	10	4	5		2

 

 

 

 

Type 3 Libraries - Population over 250,000  (11 returns)

 

Challenge rankà	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Hardware	2	2			3	4	2
High Speed			4	1	1	1	6
Space	1	2	1	1	2	1	4
Expertise	2	1	4	2	2	2
Staff time	5	5	1			1	1
Marketing		1	1	4	4	3
Partnerships	1	2	4	1	1	1	2

 

 

 

Appendix E:  Response Tally and Comments - by Province

 

 

Alberta                         16 sent

 

Type 1:  Under 50,000            6 returned

Type 2   50,000 – 250,000      4 returned

Type 3:  over 250,000             1 returned

                                                11 returned total

 

Question 1	Type 1	Type 2	Type 3	Total
Dial-up				0
High speed	5	4	1	9
Assistance navig.	6	4	1	9
Assistance trans	3	2		5
Computer training.	3	4		6
Internet training	6	4		8
Training gov sites				0
Use gov res for ref	6	4	1	9
Create guides for gv	1	2	1	3
Organize links	4	4	1	8

 

Leduc Public Library is a Human Resources and Development Canada site for a Job Bank Kiosk

 

We are a selective depository so I have a limited selection of hard-copy government documents.

 

One on one assistance with any internet or web page queries

 

The level of assistance to customers varies depending on questions asked and how busy the staff member is. While government resources are certainly used when appropriate for reference services, assistance in navigating sites is provided on an as-requested and as-available basis.

 

 

 

Question 2	Type 1				Type 2				Type 3
	Inc	Decr	Same	?	Incr	Decr	Same	?	Incr	Decr	Same	?
Assist navig.	3		3		3		1				1
Assist trans.	2		1	3	3		1
Reference	2		4		3		1		1
Instruction computer/internet	2	1	3		2		2
Instruction GOL	1	1	3	1	2		1	1
Instruction use print		2	3	2	2	1	2				1

 

 

Question 3		Type 1			Type 2			Type3
	L		M	H	L	M	H	L	M	H
Assist navig			2	4		1	3			1
Assist trans	2		2	2		3	1	1
Computer training	1		4	1	1	1	2	1
Internet training			3	3			4	1
Training gov sites	2		1	3		2	2		1
Gov ref service			1	5			4			1
Input to govt	3			3	2	1	1		1
Partnering	1		2	3		3	1		1
Create guides	2		1	3		3	1			1
Provide Com gov	2		2	2	1	1	2		1
Organize gov links			3	3			4			1
Annotate/categorize	3			3	1		3			1

 

The increase in demand for help with government online transactions relates directly to the gun registry.  As people were finding the wait times on the phone transactions to be unbearable, they would try the public access stations at the library.  These patrons were typically older gentleman who did not know how to type or use the internet and never would use the service again.  We helped them as the situation was so impossible.  However we found that the internet transactions with the gun registry took much longer than our ½ hour limit provided for.  All in all, it was a bit of a mess.

 

 

Question 4	Type 1			Type 2			Type 3
	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less
Relevance	3	3		4			1
Larger clientele	2	3	1	2	2			1
Position	3	3		3	1		1
Partnership	3	3		3	1			1
Skills	2	4		2	2				1
Upgrade infrastr.	4		2	4					1

 

 

 

Question 5	Type 1							Type 2							Type 3
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Enough h'ware	2	1	2			1		1	1				1	1	1
High speed			1			2	3					2		1							1
Space		4					1		1
Expertise		1		1		2	2	1			2						1
Staff time	3	2			1			1	3							1
Marketing prov.				1	4			1	1	1		1								1
Develop part.			1	2	2	1		1		3
Write-in other

 

The biggest challenge would be dividing our limited human, physical and budgetary resources to allow us to make the provision of GOL services a priority.

 

No enough demand for government materials and services, therefore difficult to keep up skill level for staff.

 

As you can tell from my answers I believe that Canada’s Public Libraries are the best possible places for all Governments to communicate with, and inform the public they serve. Libraries are re-discovered by so many individuals who are stuck with frustrating Internet searches or inability to find a phone number, for those who need answers and information on whatever affects them. Marketing this service might very well result in: “What took them so long”.

 

Computer technical support to ensure that public computers are up-to-date and maintained.

 

 

 

 

 

British Columbia        12 sent

 

Type 1:  Under 50,000            7 returned

Type 2   50,000 - 250,000

Type 3:  over 250,000             3 returned

                                                10 returned total

 

 

Question 1	Type 1	Type 2	Type 3	Total
Dial-up			2	2
High speed	6		3	9
Assistance navig.	7		3	10
Assistance trans	5		1	6
Computer training.	7		2	9
Internet training	6		3	9
Training gov sites	3			3
Use gov res for ref	7		3	10
Create guides for gv	1		1	2
Organize links	3		2	5

 

We have not to my knowledge been asked to assist patrons in government transactions online but would willingly assist if asked.

 

Our website is in the process of being designed and some links to government sites, both federal and provincial are planned.

 

Our staff time is limited and we only offer very basic help performing govt transactions. It would be easy to give misinformation if you were in a hurry and that would be worse than no information.

 

We have 29 branches.  The larger the branch the more services are provided

 

OUR WIRELESS ACCESS IS NOT RELIABLE

 

For people about to write the Citizenship Test, we provide information about government officials who are their representatives at the local, provincial and federal levels

 

 

 

Question 2	Type 1				Type 2				Type 3
	Inc	Decr	Same	?	Incr	Decr	Same	?	Incr	Decr	Same	?
Assist navig.	6		1						3
Assist trans.	5			2					2			1
Reference	5		2						3
Instruction computer/internet	3	2	2						2		1
Instruction GOL	4			3					2		1
Instruction use print		1	5	1						2	1

 

 

Question 3		Type 1			Type 2			Type3
	L		M	H	L	M	H	L	M	H
Assist navig				7						3
Assist trans	1		4	2				1	1	1
Computer training	1		4	2				1	1	1
Internet training			3	4				1		2
Training gov sites	1		3	4					1	2
Gov ref service			1	6						3
Input to govt	3		2	2						3
Partnering	1		2	4						3
Create guides	1		5	1				1	1	1
Provide Com gov	3		3	1				1		2
Organize gov links			2	5					1	2
Annotate/categorize	1		6						2	1

 

I believe many of the above issues are important and needed; unfortunately, libraries often lack the staffing and resources to be able to provide the level of attention we would like. I believe this is especially true of small rural libraries that are often remote and where demand is highest for help as there are not easily accessible government offices. Many small libraries also have staff lacking training; I would like to see more accessible training available for library staff in this area as I believe that access to government information is essential.

 

Advertise that government info is available

 

1.      Free printing – many cannot afford to print.

2.      Dedicated PC and printer with free printing.

 

PROVISION OF HIGH SPEED ACCESS -  *** STABLE CONNECTION

 

Question 4	Type 1			Type 2			Type 3
	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less
Relevance	6	1					2	1
Larger clientele	3	4					1	2
Position	5	2					2	1
Partnership	5	2					2	1
Skills	3	3	1				1	2
Upgrade infrastr.	4	2	1				2	1
Write-in other

 

 

I firmly believe that the public is frustrated with automated telephone systems and want more individualized attention. Library staff offers that assistance and thereby ease the frustration; we help them maneuver the databases and in doing so probably reduce the demand on government staff. I believe government benefits from our services as well as the public.

 

Makes govt info more accessible to the public

 

EASY ACCESS AND NEUTRAL LOCATION FOR FIRST NATIONS - 50% OF POPULATION

 

 

Question 5	Type 1							Type 2							Type 3
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Enough h'ware		1	2	2	1	1													1	2
High speed	1	1	1		1		2											1	1		1
Space	3	1	1	1			1										1		1		1
Expertise	2	2		1	2										1	1		1
Staff time	2	3	1		1										1	1	1
Marketing prov.		1	1	1	1	3										1		1		1
Develop part.	1		2	1		1	2								1		1				1
Write-in other

 

Varying levels of expertise of our customers

 

Printing cost is a big barrier to those on EI or social assistance

 

NEED STABLE HIGH SPEED ACCESS PROVIDER

 

It is difficult to assist patrons who have little or no computer skills when information is only available online.

 

 

Please use this space to contribute additional comments related to GOL:

 

I would strongly recommend library input into design of government information online. We often find that government sites are not intuitive and easy to use for the lay person trying to do their own research.

 

We are a very busy small library – and recent cuts to public funding federally and provincially do not give us hope for additional funding from our primary funder – the City of Nelson. So, if governments want us to be the front end providers of the government information online, and I believe we are ideally situated to do so, we are going to need financial assistance – for staffing, staff training, and maintenance and upgrading of hardware.

 

I believe that federal and provincial levels of government need to work together in this area. Many patrons we deal with are not sure whether the issue or information they require is provincial or federal. Also, in BC we have Government Agents in almost all communities and I believe these should be located in public libraries. Often we can provide the answer thereby reducing the demand on the agent’s time and our hours of service are much more accessible. If  we can’t provide the needed service or information, we could at least conduct a reference interview and pass the request on to the agent.

 

The GOL is a big improvement to previous govt websites.  It is user friendly.

 

Govt sponsored literacy and computer literacy courses are necessary so people can access govt and other info.

 

The library is always here to help people but those without basic literacy skills are always at a disadvantage.

 

We loved the Services Canada program that was a pilot project in our Vernon Branch.  It gave us staff training, staff time, and a dedicated, free PC and printer.  It gave us easy access to brochures we could give to customers who are uneasy with reading a computer screen.  We were able to take more time with each customer so we could ensure they got exactly the information and help they needed.  It was well used by Vernon customers, and built on pre-existing staff skills.

 

This library has been asked to provide space, staff resource time and expertise for a CAT terminal - provincial govt.  The Govt has also requested we host an online hydraulics course as a pilot, and access to Queens printer "QP Legaleze" online legislation package.

HELP!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Manitoba                     6 sent

 

Type 1:  Under 50,000            3 returned

Type 2   50,000 - 250,000

Type 3:  over 250,000             1 returned

                                                4 returned total

 

Question 1	Type 1	Type 2	Type 3	Total
Dial-up	1			1
High speed	3		1	4
Assistance navig.	3		1	4
Assistance trans	2			2
Computer training.	3			3
Internet training	3		1	4
Training gov sites	1			1
Use gov res for ref	3		1	4
Create guides for gv	1		1	2
Organize links	2		1	3

 

Currently, training or assistance offered is done upon request, on an individual basis.  With the recent addition of an employment counseling service onsite, we expect an increased use of government sites, particularly the Job bank. 

 

 

 

Question 2	Type 1				Type 2				Type 3
	Inc	Decr	Same	?	Incr	Decr	Same	?	Incr	Decr	Same	?
Assist navig.	1		2								1
Assist trans.			2	1								1
Reference	1		2						1
Instruction computer/internet	2		1						1
Instruction GOL			2	1					1
Instruction use print	1		1	1							1

 

 

Question 3		Type 1			Type 2			Type3
	L		M	H	L	M	H	L	M	H
Assist navig				3						1
Assist trans			2	1					1
Computer training			1	2					1
Internet training			1	2						1
Training gov sites				3					1
Gov ref service				3						1
Input to govt	1		2							1
Partnering			2	1					1
Create guides			2	1						1
Provide Com gov	1		2					1
Organize gov links			1	2						1
Annotate/categorize			1	2						1

 

Choices presented reflect the necessary services.

 

 

Question 4	Type 1			Type 2			Type 3
	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less
Relevance	3						1
Larger clientele	3							1
Position	3							1
Partnership	3								1
Skills	1	1	1					1
Upgrade infrastr.	2	1							1

 

 

 

Question 5	Type 1							Type 2							Type 3
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Enough h'ware		1	1	1																1
High speed							2														1
Space	1	1		1															1
Expertise	2			1													1
Staff time	3														1
Marketing prov.		1		1		1												1
Develop part.		1		1	1											1

 

 

 

Please use this space to contribute additional comments related to GOL:

 

Given the current debate regarding the “Job Kiosks”, an improvement in the cooperation between libraries and the government in order to facilitate access to government services is essential.  Our library had a kiosk for a brief time, but requested it be removed once we had an Community Access Site as patrons could use the computers to access the Job Bank and other services.

 

As your questions reflect, the short term obstacle is staff time and training.  The fear that the government wants to offload this provision of information and reference service and training onto already stretched librarians is very real.  The long term challenge of upgrading computer hardware is one we all face – particularly in view of the increased demands being placed on shrinking budgets.

 

A government partnership would address these needs – and make the delivery of and access to these government services feasible.

 

Thank you for studying these important questions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Brunswick                   3 Sent

 

Type 1:  Under 50,000            1 returned

Type 2:  50,000 - 250,000       2returned

Type 3:  over 250,000

                                                3 returned total

 

Question 1	Type 1	Type 2	Type 3	Total
Dial-up		1
High speed	1	2		2
Assistance navig.	1	2		2
Assistance trans		1
Computer training.		2		1
Internet training		2		1
Training gov sites		1		1
Use gov res for ref	1	1		1
Create guides for gv		1		1
Organize links

 

 

 

 

Question 2	Type 1				Type 2				Type 3
	Inc	Decr	Same	?	Incr	Decr	Same	?	Incr	Decr	Same	?
Assist navig.			1				2
Assist trans.			1		1	1
Reference			1		1		1
Instruction computer/internet	1				1		1
Instruction GOL			1				1	1
Instruction use print			1				2

 

 

Question 3		Type 1			Type 2			Type3
	L		M	H	L	M	H	L	M	H
Assist navig			1				2
Assist trans	1				1		1
Computer training				1		2
Internet training				1		2
Training gov sites	1					1	1
Gov ref service			1				2
Input to govt	1				2
Partnering	1					1
Create guides	1					1	1
Provide Com gov	1					1
Organize gov links			1				2
Annotate/categorize			1			1	1

 

 

Question 4	Type 1			Type 2			Type 3
	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less
Relevance		1		1					1
Larger clientele		1		1					1
Position		1			1				1
Partnership			1	1					1
Skills			1		1			1
Upgrade infrastr.			1	1					1

 

 

 

Question 5	Type 1							Type 2							Type 3
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Enough h'ware					1					1			1
High speed							1							2
Space									1			1	1
Expertise			1					1					1
Staff time	1							1	1
Marketing prov.											1	1
Develop part.										1	1

 

 

 

Newfoundland            5 sent

 

Type 1:  Under 50,000            4 returned

Type 2   50,000 - 250,000

Type 3:  over 250,000

 

Question 1	Type 1	Type 2	Type 3
Dial-up	1
High speed	3
Assistance navig.	4
Assistance trans	2
Computer training.	3
Internet training	3
Training gov sites
Use gov res for ref	3
Create guides for gv
Organize links	3

 

Lack of staff main barrier to providing other than basic service to GOL  or Internet

 

 

Question 2

Type 1

Type 2

Type 3

Inc

Decr

Same

?

Incr

Decr

Same

?

Incr

Decr

Same

?

Assist navig.

2

2

Assist trans.

1

3

Reference

2

2

Instruction computer/internet

4

Instruction GOL

4

Instruction use print

3

1

 

 

Question 3		Type 1			Type 2			Type3
	L		M	H	L	M	H	L	M	H
Assist navig			1	3
Assist trans			2	2
Computer training			1	3
Internet training				4
Training gov sites			2	2
Gov ref service			1	3
Input to govt	1		2	1
Partnering	1			3
Create guides			2	2
Provide Com gov			3	1
Organize gov links	1		1	2
Annotate/categorize	1		1	2

 

 

Question 4	Type 1			Type 2			Type 3
	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less
Relevance	4
Larger clientele	4
Position	4
Partnership	4
Skills	3	1
Upgrade infrastr.	4

 

 

 

Question 5	Type 1							Type 2							Type 3
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Enough h'ware	1	1		1			1
High speed	1					2	1
Space				2	1		1
Expertise	1	2			1
Staff time	3				1
Marketing prov.	1	1		2
Develop part.	1	1	2

 

Most libraries in this province have one person on staff, working part-time. The library would need extra staff or additional hours to provide GOL services.

 

Having enough opening hours for patrons to avail of services, which also hinges on staff

levels

 

Our library is not responsible for links to GOL, however, our provincial library website provides links to a variety of these services. 

 

With limited funding keeping up with technology can be problematic. However, if we were able to have, ideally, connectivity, staff training, appropriate hours of opening we could only get better than we already are.  We are in the information services business and always have been, therefore, without a doubt I believe that public libraries are the ideal location for all information services.  I also believe that there are many duplication of services throughout the government.  Given budgetary restraints I believe that why not take advantage of what is already in place through public libraries which have a solid reputation, public trust with a trained and competent staff.  Public libraries are the ideal spot for any public information and services both provincially and federally. 

 

 

 

North West Territories       2 sent

 

 

Type 1:  Under 50,000                        1 returned

Type 2   50,000 – 250,000

Type 3:  over 250,000

 

 

 

Question 1	Type 1	Type 2	Type 3
Dial-up
High speed	1
Assistance navig.	1
Assistance trans
Computer training.	1
Internet training	1
Training gov sites
Use gov res for ref	1
Create guides for gv
Organize links	1

 

 

 

 

Question 2

Type 1

Type 2

Type 3

Inc

Decr

Same

?

Incr

Decr

Same

?

Incr

Decr

Same

?

Assist navig.

1

Assist trans.

1

Reference

1

Instruction computer/internet

1

Instruction GOL

1

Instruction use print

1

 

 

Question 3		Type 1			Type 2			Type3
	L		M	H	L	M	H	L	M	H
Assist navig				1
Assist trans			1
Computer training				1
Internet training				1
Training gov sites			1
Gov ref service				1
Input to govt			1
Partnering				1
Create guides			1
Provide Com gov	1
Organize gov links			1
Annotate/categorize			1

 

 

Question 4	Type 1			Type 2			Type 3
	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less
Relevance		1
Larger clientele		1
Position		1
Partnership	1
Skills	1
Upgrade infrastr.	1

 

 

 

Question 5	Type 1							Type 2							Type 3
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Enough h'ware			1
High speed	1
Space				1
Expertise							1
Staff time							1
Marketing prov.			1
Develop part.		1

 

 

Nova Scotia                5 sent

 

Type 1:  Under 50,000            3 returned

Type 2   50,000 - 250,000       1 returned

Type 3:  over 250,000

                                                4 total

 

Question 1	Type 1	Type 2	Type 3
Dial-up
High speed	4
Assistance navig.	4
Assistance trans	2
Computer training.	4
Internet training	4
Training gov sites	1
Use gov res for ref	3
Create guides for gv	1
Organize links	2

 

 

 

 

Question 2	Type 1				Type 2				Type 3
	Inc	Decr	Same	?	Incr	Decr	Same	?	Incr	Decr	Same	?
Assist navig.	2		1		1
Assist trans.	2			1				1
Reference	3				1
Instruction computer/internet	2		1		1
Instruction GOL	1			2			1
Instruction use print	1		2			1

 

 

Question 3		Type 1			Type 2			Type3
	L		M	H	L	M	H	L	M	H
Assist navig			1	2			1
Assist trans	2			1		1
Computer training				2			1
Internet training			1				1
Training gov sites	2		1				1
Gov ref service			2	1			1
Input to govt	2			1		1
Partnering			2	1			1
Create guides	1		1	1			1
Provide Com gov	1			2	1
Organize gov links				3			1
Annotate/categorize			3			1

 

 

Advice to designers of government sites in order to assist them in making sites user-friendly

 

In my experience visiting various government agenies (and their partners), public library staff continues to demonstrate superior reference skills.  With training, library reference staff would be the most effective navigators of govt information such as job search, tax regulations, service referral, etc.  Additionally, staff has already been involved in assisting the public with technical issues like completing and submittin gonline forms.  However, our limited staff numbers and budget have not yet allowed for sufficient online training.

 

 

 

 

 

Question 4	Type 1			Type 2			Type 3
	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less
Relevance	3			1
Larger clientele	2	1		1
Position	1	2		1
Partnership	1	1	1	1
Skills		2	1	1
Upgrade infrastr.		2	1	1

 

Has the potential to showcase the skills and resources of public libraries to all levels of government and, as a result, to raise the profile of libraries.

 

 

 

Question 5	Type 1							Type 2							Type 3
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Enough h'ware			1			1	1			1
High speed		1			1		1							1
Space	1			1	1						1
Expertise		1	1	1				1
Staff time	3												1
Marketing prov.			2		1				1
Develop part.		1	1			1						1

 

 

We are very interested in pursuing GOL initiatives as well as other referral activities such as health and social services agency referral. We would hope to see our role as relevant community information providers strengthened as well as our financial situation from GOL partnerships.  As with any initiative, staff training would be our biggest challenge.
Nunavut                       1 sent

 

Type 1:  Under 50,000            1 returned

Type 2   50,000 - 250,000

Type 3:  over 250,000

 

Question 1	Type 1	Type 2	Type 3
Dial-up
High speed	1
Assistance navig.	1
Assistance trans	1
Computer training.	1
Internet training	1
Training gov sites
Use gov res for ref
Create guides for gv
Organize links

 

 

Question 2

Type 1

Type 2

Type 3

Inc

Decr

Same

?

Incr

Decr

Same

?

Incr

Decr

Same

?

Assist navig.

1

Assist trans.

1

Reference

1

Instruction computer/internet

1

Instruction GOL

1

Instruction use print

1

 

 

Question 3		Type 1			Type 2			Type3
	L		M	H	L	M	H	L	M	H
Assist navig				1
Assist trans			1
Computer training				1
Internet training				1
Training gov sites			1
Gov ref service			1
Input to govt	1
Partnering	1
Create guides			1
Provide Com gov			1
Organize gov links			1
Annotate/categorize			1

 

 

Question 4	Type 1			Type 2			Type 3
	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less
Relevance	1
Larger clientele	1
Position	1
Partnership	1
Skills	1
Upgrade infrastr.	1

 

 

 

Question 5	Type 1							Type 2							Type 3
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Enough h'ware				1
High speed			1
Space					1
Expertise		1
Staff time	1
Marketing prov.							1
Develop part.						1

 

 

 

 

Ontario                         61 sent

 

Type 1:  Under 50,000            13 returned

Type 2   50,000 - 250,000       15 returned

Type 3:  over 250,000             7 returned

                                                35 returned total

 

 

Question 1	Type 1	Type 2	Type 3	Total
Dial-up	3	5	3	11
High speed	11	16	7	34
Assistance navig.	13	15	7	35
Assistance trans	12	9	6	27
Computer training.	10	12	6	28
Internet training	12	16	7	35
Training gov sites	1	7	5	13
Use gov res for ref	12	14	7	33
Create guides for gv	3	6	3	11
Organize links	7	14	7	27

 

Due to a grant we will only be providing the training until March 21/03

 

 

Access to local government documents, forms etc..

 

We assist other organizations (specifically the City of Pickering) with training in the access and use of government information, specifically Stats Canada information.

 

www.MyCommunityInfo.ca - we are part of this initiative

 

Due to our small population base (14,000), it is not often that we are called upon to assist people directly.

They seem to be able to find their own way around the Internet.

There was a flurry of help needed for the recent gun registrations deadline, however.

 

Take a look at the Hamilton Public Library’s website (hpl.ca) You will see a link to the pichamilton.net (Public Information Centre Hamilton) website that is maintained by the library and its community partners.  Government information is a strong part of the site. Business information (including information that is provided by HRDC) is also a strong part of the portion of the site.

We try to present a local presence to government, bringing resources together.

 

*Training for the public is available when CAP students are available (Community Access Program through Industry Canada).  When students are not available – staff try to assist but have very little time to provide this service.

 

While KPL does not  offer formal sessions on assistance to customers in performing government transactions online, individuals would be helped to perform transactions on an ad hoc basis.

 

KPL staff often do the initial search groundwork necessary for customers who are unfamiliar with the Internet or with government sites, e.g., customers searching for a particular statute or regulation; we will find them the exact reference they are looking for to expedite their search.  Many customers have indicated that if they had to find the information themselves, that they would not necessarily have been able to do that in an acceptable time frame.

 

Staff also spend time educating the public with regard to the availability of government information online; the public at large has low awareness of the resources available.  As a depository library, we also serve as a gateway to documents that would otherwise be unavailable to the public, which are only available online – here I’m thinking of Statistics Canada documents which are only available through the DSP online.

 

1. London Public Library operates 6 HRDC supported Employment Resource Centres (ERC) in 5 different Branches and in our Central Library. These support job search needs of clients, including the ability to file EI claims online and referral services to other HRDC programs.

2. LPL is a partner in the MyCommunityInfo project (City of London, Middlesex County Library System, LPL) whose goal is to provide improved online access to government and community information and services.

3. LPL is a depository library for both Federal and Provincial Government Publications.

 

Training for the public is available when CAP students are available (Community Access Program through Industry Canada).  When students are not available – staff try to assist but have very little time to provide this service.

 

The unanswered questions are situations that really do not apply at the present time to any significant extent.

 

We offer a Resume and Job search volunteer program which matches a volunteer with a customer – this program tends to involve instruction in government related job and career Internet resources, such as Industry Canada’s Strategis and HRDC’s Job Bank and other sites

 

We offer a similar volunteer program called “Tech Tutor” which focuses instruction on computer and Internet skills.  Often the customer will want “one on one” instruction with government-type information such as immigration forms, etc.

 

This past summer we were a host site for the SEPWR program, a YMCA/government settlement program for refugees and new Canadians.  Much of the settlement help offered involved government services.

 

Our staff have been trained in computer troubleshooting techniques (to ensure we can offer GOL at all times), and advanced Internet searching (to ensure they are expert Information Navigators).  Most completed  “The Internet Guide” training offered through LibraryNet – a wonderful program, that unfortunately is no longer available for our recently hired employees.

 

A dedicated Govt Info workstation is available at the Main library where high-demand govt information is organized and readily accessible. One branch hosts an Ontario Connects workstation and provides service and support for entrepreneurs registering their businesses.  The library has created and maintained an in-house index to municipal bylaws to assist clients in their research needs.

 

 

 

 

Question 2	Type 1				Type 2					Type 3
	Inc	Decr	Same	?	Incr	Decr	Same	?	Incr		Decr	Same	?
Assist navig.	5		8		10		5	1	6			1
Assist trans.	6	1	4	2	8		2	6	5				2
Reference	8		5		10		5	1	6				1
Instruction computer/internet	9	1	3		14		2		4		1	2
Instruction GOL	5		2	6	8		3	5			1	4	1
Instruction use print		2	10	1	3	4	8	1			7

 

The public have the same or a growing need for govt information as always, but as more becomes unavailable from the source in printed form the less the public expects to find it in that format in the first place.

 

 

 

Question 3		Type 1			Type 2			Type3
	L		M	H	L	M	H	L	M	H
Assist navig			3	10		4	12		1	6
Assist trans	1		5	7		10	5	1	2	4
Computer training	1		5	7	4	5	7		3	4
Internet training	1		3	9		4	12		2	5
Training gov sites	4		6	3	1	9	6	1	5	1
Gov ref service			2	11		1	15		2	5
Input to govt	8		4	1	5	3	8	2	3	2
Partnering			9	4	1	5	10	1	2	4
Create guides	3		6	4	2	5	9	2	3	2
Provide Com gov	6		3	4	7	4	5	3	2	2
Organize gov links	3		5	5		2	14	1	1	5
Annotate/categorize	4		4	5		7	9	2		5

 

All high priority - we need to provide help to people in accessing by provision of computers, direction and help

 

Provision of promotional materials to let the users know the library is a source of Government Information on line

 

High speed interactive access

 

A note about item #2: the “larger and varied clientele” can be a significant challenge in a small branch.  Patrons who are new to both the Internet and the public library setting are a significant demand on scarce resources.  This might be more accurately called an “opportunity” than a “benefit”.

 

Of those items marked as ‘”low priority”, they have been done as such to avoid duplication in our community or because staffing resources are such that we cannot provide an additional level in this area of service without increased capacity.

 

An integrated approach so that the customer does not have to know what level of government is providing the information they need.  This approach is being taken by the www.mycommunityinfo.ca project that Middlesex County Library is a partner in.

 

Generally, with the passage of time, people seem to be able to use the Internet without our assistance.  Usually, people without any computer access require our help, and in that case, there is a lot of staff time needed.

 

I think there are two primary issues.  1) Last mile issues: Electronic information provides an excellent means of distributing accurate information quickly to all areas of the country. Many of the people who may be told to get that information from their local public library do not want to use a computer or be shown how to use an electronic service. They merely want the tax form or the gun registration form or the service they have been told is available at their library and they want it in print, free, now. We need a means for libraries to deliver paper products to customers. For example, a federal agency may say (and some have) that people should go to their local library to get a gun registration form.  One small library in Alberta had a line-up around the block. Nobody gave a d---- about an Internet connection.  They just wanted the form – free – since their government had sent them.  The same thing happened to many libraries last year at tax time. People became made at their library staff because they didn’t have the forms on the desk, waiting.

 

2) Access – Right now our main problem is not training or indexing sites or the provision of good reference staff; it is limited access to public computers.  People want to drop by the library and conduct their government business.  They don’t want to book a machine for 10:30 am next Tuesday and then return at the appointed time. We need a better way of providing people with faster access to government services (a machine). Use will increase when people are successful, as they define success. They define success as getting a machine or getting the needed form right away.  This may mean fast access machines (short time limits) or it may mean that the provision of on-line government services receive a priority (when announced) that provides people with access to staff time and machines.  There are options and possibilities but if they mean providing government with a “fast lane” then there may be a cost.

 

One of the primary problems we face is that government departments seem to announce that public libraries will be able to do things that are not possible within the patron-desired expectations. There is no central government negotiating body with which these issues can be raised. LibraryNet is not about these issues. It is a granting body and little more – right now.

 

Catalogue records identifying and linking to electronic government publications; accessible in-library and remotely.

 

For the future: Print-on-Demand for electronic documents - in partnership with government agencies

 

Access to forms/applications online; printing forms for public (Government should pay for printing service if no longer providing forms in hard copy)

 

Most library catalogues offer the ability to provide URLs from a record to the on-line document. The difficulty is that government URLs change so rapidly that we do not do this as we cannot keep up with the changes. An example of this….when we first began this we had a total of 300 records in our database that had URLs, we entered them all and then ran a link-checker only to find out that we had to delete 2/3 of the records as the URL was no longer accurate

 

We’re not really sure what is meant by “provision of commercial databases with significant government content, and so did not respond to this question.

We think that it might be more helpful to our customers to remove some of the user fees or password-protected sites. These are barriers to public access.

 

Computer and Internet training might be high priorities for some libraries:  it depends if there are other affordable, accessible (nearby) options for people in the community. 

 

Tax payers should have access to Govt info at no additional charge - they have paid for it already.

 

 

 

Public Libraries need to work together with the corresponding Libraries of Parliament and Archives (provincial and national) to develop a comprehensive plan to provide the proper technical infrastructure to ensure comprehensive access to Government Documents over the Web via a Z39.50 gateway.  The following concept was discussed in 1999 at a meeting, sponsored by the OLA, among the Ontario Archives, the Ontario Legislative Library and representatives of the library community through the OLA.  The group reached a consensus on the following points…

 

1. That we need to define and enforce a deposit program for e-documents and databases so that a master copy of the many documents, reports, databases, etc. gets stored in a secure spot within the appropriate library/archive agencies themselves with a permanent URL structure. That way the various departments that create them can't delete them or change their directory and URL structures on a regular frequency.

2. That the various provincial libraries and the NL already catalogue these items anyway and have good MARC records with 856 fields that could point to the permanent copies stored in the separate repository databases and that would never need to be changed or revisited.

3. That the catalogues of those provincial and federal libraries are - or must be - Z39.50 compliant targets.

 

With these assumptions in place public libraries could then ensure that their own local catalogues are capable of doing broadcast Z39.50 searches and have them permanently set to automatically conduct a Z39.50 search against those databases.  That way, none of our libraries will have to clutter our local catalogues by importing MARC records that point to these external documents in the first place.  Furthermore, the public and staff user will gain access to the most current records automatically through the federal and provincial catalogues without local library staff having to do anything about updating their catalogues.

 

This is all technically doable now.  The outstanding challenges remain:

1. the legislation to force the government agencies to send the e-documents to a particular collection point,

2. the design for the storage facility and comprehensive directory and file naming conventions that would be required to store these e-documents securely, and

3. the ability for:

a) our local catalogues to conduct these broadcast searches and

b) the ability for their central Z target server to handle the load from that many searches - several mirror servers might need to be set up hosted at larger (possibly academic?) computing centres around the province to handle load balancing issues.

 

The benefits would be enormous for all partners and end users.

 

 

 

 

Question 4	Type 1			Type 2			Type 3
	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less
Relevance	11	2		14	2		4	2	1
Larger clientele	10	3		10	5	1	4	1	2
Position	12	1		11	5		4	3
Partnership	9	4		12	4		3	4
Skills	9	3	1	6	7	3	2	3	2
Upgrade infrastr.	10	3		10	6		4	2	1

 

Continuous funding would have to be available to make this work.

 

Tthere is a definite benefit to patrons and potential patrons as well.  The do not necessarily have to own expensive computer equipment and they get help with an area they have very little understanding of.  The benefit to libraries they can access up to the minute information in a way that requires the use of little additional space.

 

Increased efficiency in providing the distribution of government information

 

Information is accessible outside normal government office hours free to the public, especially if the user does not have their own home computer.

 

A much needed benefit would be some compensation for being the delivery agent(s) for government information!

 

Would recognize what libraries are already doing, performing the federal government’s job in providing access to information and programs. If a more defined relationship will be the result I will assume that some kind of compensation would follow…funding.

 

Financial assistance in upgrading equipment

To meet such needs certainly would be helpful.

 

A note about item #2: the “larger and varied clientele” can be a significant challenge in a small branch.  Patrons who are new to both the Internet and the public library setting are a significant demand on scarce resources.  This might be more accurately called an “opportunity” than a “benefit”.

 

Enables the public to become better educated with regard to government information in general; increases awareness of government resources and services. 

 

Increases general staff awareness and education around government resources

Helps public to realize the interconnectedness of government information with other queries they may have, with regard to day-to-day life.

 

Increases levels of access to government information; makes government information less formidable and intimidating.

 

I can only respond somewhat cynically when we see the phrase “assuming that appropriate resources being in place”.  Public libraries are municipally funded and neither the Federal or Provincial governments have track records of providing funds to libraries to support the delivery of services that they formerly did.  However, they do have a history of downloading work and expenses to these municipally funded agencies with no warning or assistance – Example 1. the Teacher strike a number of years ago when the Ministry of Education in Ontario announced that emergency curriculum support material would be available over the Internet at public libraries the next day – where libraries had to bear the burden of managing the access, printing and parent concerns about the material.  Example 2 – The move away from printed to internet based documents reduces the cost of printing and distribution at the government end (federally and provincially) but libraries are not compensated for the expensive network, workstations and printing costs to provide access to the same content. Example 3 – a general policy of charging for subscription to a variety of government produced data such GIS and Statistical databases places the information out of reach of the budgets of many libraries and individual searchers.

 

If the government (at all levels) wants to use the public library as a means of extending service to citizens, it should be willing to help libraries (and their municipal funders) to defray the cost.  For the library’s part we would be very willing to partner with them to deliver access to federal, provincial and municipal information and services if we are adequately resourced to do so.

 

In my experience, members of the public seek information - of all sorts - from the public library first because the library is non-threatening, veiwed as being less bureaucratic, having less "red tape", and is open much longer hours each week than any government office. Basically, we are doing all of this now, though with less time, training, staff than ideal.  WE often feel rushed and can't do as thorough a job with each patron as we would like to.  It would be ideal to have the govt recognize this (inform the public that libraries are the place to go for this …) and provide public libraries with enhanced resources, training and FUNDS to continue to do this even better than we do now.

 

 

 

Question 5	Type 1							Type 2							Type 3
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Enough h'ware	3		4	2	1	1	2	4	1	2	2	1	4	2	1	1			2	1	2
High speed	3	1	1	2	1	1	4	7	1	1		1	2	4			3			1	3
Space	1	1	5	1	4	1		4	2	3	3	1	2		1	2		1		1	2
Expertise	2	4	3	2	2			6	9	1		1			1		2		2	2
Staff time	8	3	2					9	5				1	1	2	3				1	1
Marketing prov.	1		4	2	2	4			2	8	3		1	2			1	2	3	1
Develop part.	1		2	4	4		1		1	6	3	4		2		1	3	1	1		1

 

Funding at this time is very uncertain from year to year. Paperwork involved in funding grants is overwhelming. I am still waiting to hear about my CAP grant that was supposed to be to me on January 1^st and supposed to be spent by March 31^st !

 

Internal I.T. Department policies and control

 

Committing staff resources without proper funding would be a very big challenge, if not impossible.

 

As always budget constraints are an issue. Demand continues to grow in these areas and we constantly require more money to maintain our infrastructure, provide the hardware, provide staff who are well trained and knowledgeable. 

 

Another challenge is maintaining the balance between providing the GOL services while not reducing our commitment to other library services, such as literacy, children’s programs and services, basic reference and others.

 

Changing government department structures and on-going website changes create barriers to access.  The links between the old and the new are not always there.

 

Demand for on-line HRDC access is increasing.  These clients often require more online and staff time, putting an additional demand on our existing services.  More dedicated hardware and specifically trained staff would be of assistance.

 

Our branches are all single-staff, which limits our ability to provide in-depth public assistance.

 

Most government sites are not user friendly, and experienced help is often required.

 

The provision of GOL services is a role that our library and staff currently do their best to support.  A further expansion or enhancement of services would most likely require sustained funding for additional staff, initial and on-going training and other budget requirements.  With capital funding alone (for computers, connectivity), it would be difficult for our organization to increase its capacity in this area.

 

Answers to this question may vary considerably, depending on the size of the library system and whether it is rural or urban. For large libraries, the primary issue is too many people for too few machines (under CAP, each library branch was treated as a single CAP location despite the fact that many library branches serve huge populations. In Hamilton, for example, we have a 160,000 square foot library branch that is a single CAP site eligible, under the urban formula used in Ontario, for about $3,500 – with no funds set aside for 2002/2003.  What can we do with this? Very little.

 

I think there are a lot of frustrated libraries that are ready to pull down the CAP sign and basically say to government, you can’t promise us as service providers in the same manner you have done in the past. E-government can save you a lot of money but you need to spend some (on an on-going basis) on a last mile delivery system. We’re it.  We’ve been around for a hundred years and are loved in our communities.  But you do need to come as partners and not as an agency that occasionally decides to grace us with some “grant” money. If we are partners, let’s be partners.

 

An obstacle is the continuous learning curve in knowing what is available and how to access it since every site is different in design – plus finding time to train / support staff in its use.

 

Local government information offices are not aware of the number of government resources offered by public libraries, or for that matter other government collections such as those at local academic libraries.  Whereas local government information offices operate by strict business hours, the public library is available to the public evenings and weekends, with many of the same resources.  Local government office staff and public library staff should be aware of each other’s resources and be willing to refer back and forth as appropriate.

 

Staff education will be crucial to effective and consistent delivery of GOL services; varying levels of knowledge, or knowledge only in limited subject areas will impact the public’s perception of libraries’ position as information providers.

 

London Public Library does not provide services in French. Staff are not bilingual.

 

It would be difficult to provide privacy for individuals requiring this for private transactions. Our space limitations are considerable.

 

A huge frustration that we have is with “the moveable” and disappearing URLs”. What is there one week is gone the next, even from going to the links from your index pages. There needs to be a central archive of online govdocs with permanent URLs

 

An obstacle is the continuous learning curve in knowing what is available and how to access it since every site is different in design – plus finding time to train / support staff in its use

 

Where GOL services and/or transactions require an assessment of eligibility, an understanding of legislative or regulatory requirements, or other specialized knowledge or interpretation (e.g. when assisting those applying for unemployment benefits), a system for speedy access to govt staff experts would be beneficial so clients can be confident that the transaction has been filed properly.

 

Need for additional funding to support increased library staff's role in assisting clients with GOL transaction.

 

It seems like such a waste of duplication in service to have a well-staffed provincial government information office centre in our community, along with a wide range of federal government offices, when the under-staffed and under-paid public library staff already do so much of the "government information" work with the public.  There is no point having fully-staffed government offices being underutilized because the public prefer to come to the public library, thereby leaving higher-paid govt workers twiddling their thumbs.
Please use this space to contribute additional comments related to GOL:

 

Government sites offer a great source of information to all Canadians. They are very valuable and a great tool to find information about government services.  Equitable access to government resources and services for all Canadians must be one of the primary goals of the Government of Canada.  Partnership with public libraries would create an excellent opportunity for government resources to be made available to everyone from various access points. 

On going staff training and government support should be one of the primary goals in the provision of GOL in public libraries.  Government funding and support is also vital to ensure the provision of adequate hardware and broadband services in public libraries mainly in the rural areas. 

 

The history of libraries includes being taken for granted by various agencies, including the government. Government seems to labor under the assumption that libraries will ‘do what it takes’. The problem with that idea is that it also takes money.

 

It has been our contention that a vast information network already exists in Canada. Something that all levels of government could tap into, to disseminate information and provide access to services. This could be seen as an obvious extension of the e-government idea where the government goes to the people instead of the other way around.

 

It is my belief that where you live should not determine the value of your citizenship. But in fact, it does. Citizens cannot participate fully in society when access to information is limited. In limiting this access citizens are effectively disenfranchised, demeaning the whole idea of democracy, particularly when the new currency is information.  It is critical in rural and remote areas of Canada to have equity of access and is perhaps more keenly felt in those areas when that access is not available. Equitable access can be a great democratizer . Broadband would have an incredible impact.

 

So my suggestion is to develop the network that already exists, get funding in place, give libraries the tools and let them do it. We know how. We’ve been doing it for over 100 years.

 

 

The system serves 60,000 people overall, but each branch serves fewer than 4000. With 19 branches, services offered, demands on staff and needs differ among the branches. The answers are based what would be true for most branches.

 

The answer to “need for adequate hardware” is misleading. We are not in need now because the $100,000 grant from CAP last year replaced half our units. In a few years our hardware will be out of date, and we’ll be desperate again

 

Some services, like general internet /computer training is only provided when we have funding for CAP trainers.

 

I’d done a bit of a rant. I love the concept of government and libraries working as partners.  Look what we are trying to do through pichamilton.net

 

We are in the early days. So far, government is not bringing enough to the discussion.

 

The developments that have taken place with regard to the provision of government information in the past several years have had a heavy impact on library collections; libraries who wish to offer their customers access to a print version of an electronic document must shoulder the costs of computer time, equipment, paper, ink, binding, etc. in order to make that document available.    As a result, many items that would have been acquired for the collection, had they been available via the DSP in print, are not part of the library’s collection, because the libraries do not have the time, equipment and staff necessary to “acquire” these items.  In some cases, it is simply a practical concern; the printers available do not have enough memory to process and print a 300 page Adobe Acrobat file.  The end result is a deficit to the library’s physical collection. 

 

Some libraries are able to create catalogue records for electronic government publications; this increases access and awareness around documents that is very much needed.    For libraries that cannot provide this service, the public’s access to government information is diminished.

 

The recent reorganization of the DSP, which moved it from PWGSC to Communication Canada, nearly caused panic as depository libraries contemplated the need to update thousands of catalogue and web links to electronic publications as a result of the domain change.  This underlines the need for governments and libraries to work together in order to provide the best possible avenue for information provision to the public.

 

Disparity among various government departments means that there are no consistent guidelines in place regarding the level of information that will be offered.  Some departments offer far many more publications online than others.  There is no guarantee, until a site is searched, that the user will find a particular publication.  Some sites provide much greater depth of information than others; or provide links to one or two recent documents, but not to others. 

 

I would like to see government actively consulting with libraries to determine the public’s patterns of use, types of resources necessary, and to come up with better ways to ensure that the public has efficient access to the information it is entitled to have.

 

1. Inconsistencies from one site to another; can result in difficulties with searching and finding information

2. Need to continue to provide print publications, especially for current topical reports (too many printing costs are being pushed on to libraries)

3. Need a commitment to archive documents electronically

4. Need to make new and revised documents available online faster (e.g. Statutes)

5. Critical that information is up-to-date and available right away

 

We would welcome clear direction vis a vis shifting from print to on-line Government information sources in areas such as

·       depository retention requirements

·       the need to keep print statutes and legislation for legal/judicial purposes – is this really true? 

·       Clear pathfinders for tracing bills and statutes, etc. etc.

 

Train the trainer (library reference/Information Services staff) courses for everyday practical GOL questions !!!  We would attend in droves!!

 

For rural areas such as ours, GOL via public libraries makes wonderful sense. Library hours are different from government office hours – focused on the afternoons, evenings and Saturdays – perfect for the commuter workers who increasingly live in our rural communities.

The success of Service Canada in Ontario’s Oxford County is an example of  how easily GOL could be rolled out via libraries.

Without staff assistance of some sort, GOL initiatives will not reach their target, i.e. ordinary citizens, especially those on the disadvantaged side of the Digital Divide, arguably those who need the benefits of GOL the most.

 

Our survey replies were compiled by polling staff in our ten branches, in communities ranging from 280 to 8000 population.

 

 

There has been a significant increase in the availability of transaction-based GOL services.  For many of our shared clients this means greater convenience and faster processing.  Where transactions are more complex however, or have mitigating factors, library staff lack the expertise and policy knowledge to enable them to provide an adequate level of assistance.  Collaboration in development of effective "triage" options would be useful.

 

 

Public library information services staff are trained professionals who, as a matter of course, now provide much information on govt services to the public.  A far better, more effective and efficient utilization of govt funds would be to charge public libraries with this mandate and TO TRAIN AND PAY LIBRARY ATAFF AND FUND PUBLI LIBRARIES ACCORDINGLY.
Prince Edward Island                  2 sent

 

Type 1:  Under 50,000                        1 returned

Type 2   50,000 - 250,000

Type 3:  over 250,000

 

Question 1	Type 1	Type 2	Type 3
Dial-up
High speed	1
Assistance navig.	1
Assistance trans
Computer training.	1
Internet training	1
Training gov sites
Use gov res for ref	1
Create guides for gv
Organize links	1

 

 

 

 

Question 2

Type 1

Type 2

Type 3

Inc

Decr

Same

?

Incr

Decr

Same

?

Incr

Decr

Same

?

Assist navig.

1

Assist trans.

1

Reference

1

Instruction computer/internet

1

Instruction GOL

1

Instruction use print

1

 

 

Question 3		Type 1			Type 2			Type3
	L		M	H	L	M	H	L	M	H
Assist navig			1
Assist trans			1
Computer training			1
Internet training			1
Training gov sites	1
Gov ref service			1
Input to govt	1
Partnering			1
Create guides	1
Provide Com gov	1
Organize gov links			1
Annotate/categorize	1
Write-in other

 

 

Question 4	Type 1			Type 2			Type 3
	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less
Relevance	1
Larger clientele	1
Position	1
Partnership		1
Skills		1
Upgrade infrastr.	1

 

 

 

Question 5	Type 1							Type 2							Type 3
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Enough h'ware				1
High speed						1
Space	1
Expertise							1
Staff time		1
Marketing prov.					1
Develop part.			1

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saskatchewan           17 sent     

         

Type 1:  Under 50,000            12 returned

Type 2   50,000 - 250,000       1 returned

Type 3:  over 250,000

                                                13 returned total

 

Question 1	Type 1	Type 2	Type 3
Dial-up	3
High speed	11	1
Assistance navig.	11	1
Assistance trans	7
Computer training.	8	1
Internet training	10	1
Training gov sites	1
Use gov res for ref	11	1
Create guides for gv		1
Organize links	3	1

 

Job Bank Kiosk. Promotion of links to government online sites in our publication Library News.  Some programming for the public on accessing government on-line.  Highlight government websites on our own website from time to time given a particular issue, event, or public interest ie. Elections Canada highlighted during last Federal election.  Have done programs/training for staff development to increase their knowledge of government resources including internet sites and enhance our reference service to the public.  On our resource page under Government & Statistics we have a pathfinder/guide “What have you done for me lately? “ to guide local citizens in finding information related to their elected officials. 

 

We have recently moved to a web based information delivery model.  With this system, patrons see the same series of web pages inside the library as well as outside the library.  We hope this will allow us to teach patrons to use the OPAC in the building, and then use the same web pages from home to search the catalogue, access full text databases, etc.  We have allowed limited Internet Access from our OPAC workstations inside the library to allow patrons to see Federal, Provincial, and municipal government documents.  This way, patrons may view and print government information without signing up for an appointment to use a public Internet computer.

 

At this time we are still trying to learn the use of GOL ourselves.

 

 

Question 2	Type 1				Type 2				Type 3
	Inc	Decr	Same	?	Incr	Decr	Same	?	Incr	Decr	Same	?
Assist navig.	8		3	1	1
Assist trans.	4		5	3				1
Reference	5		6	1	1
Instruction computer/internet	6	2	1	3	1
Instruction GOL	4		2	6	1
Instruction use print		3	8	1		1

 

 

Question 3		Type 1			Type 2			Type3
	L		M	H	L	M	H	L	M	H
Assist navig	1		3	8		1
Assist trans	3		4	5	1
Computer training	4		1	7		1
Internet training			5	7		1
Training gov sites	2		10			1
Gov ref service			1	11			1
Input to govt	6		2	4		1
Partnering	4		2	6		1
Create guides	5		2	5		1
Provide Com gov	3		5	4		1
Organize gov links			4	8		1
Annotate/categorize	3		6	3		1

 

This is one of many services provided by the public library and is accorded its priority in relation to those.

Where will the means come from in order to provide a commercial database to the public?  Statistics Canada is inaccessible to most of our public due to their fee structure.  Government information should be freely accessible whatever its format.  An electronic resource should be made available freely to a library through the DSP program.

 

 

Public Libraries should provide one stop access to all levels of government information. This information should all be online.

 

I think the Govt of Canada office should offer these services

 

We are experiencing an increase in patrons asking about genealogy, which is in the GOL, but again more staff training is required for us to be able to help our patrons adequately.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Question 4	Type 1			Type 2			Type 3
	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less
Relevance	8	3	1		1
Larger clientele	7	4	1		1
Position	7	3	2		1
Partnership	8	3	1		1
Skills	5	3	4		1
Upgrade infrastr.	8	4		1

 

 

Information will increase the likelihood of a patron finding something they need.

 

I would like to know what you mean by "appropriate resources". The Region's start pay scale is $7.96/hr with no promotions possible.  We pay the computer tech $95/hr to "fiddle with Industry Canada computers".

The public ONLY want free email.

This is a branch (1 of 40) the largest in Lakeland Library Region.  We have no access to money for staff or to partnerships.

 

* I will never accept a "free' computer again unless a person comes with it.

 

 

 

Question 5	Type 1							Type 2							Type 3
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Enough h'ware	4		2	3		3										1
High speed	2				3		7										1
Space	1	3	3	3		1	1														1
Expertise	3	5	4															1
Staff time	7	3	1		1										1
Marketing prov.	3			2	4	2	1												1
Develop part.	1		2	3	4	2														1

 

We cannot presume to advise the public on how or what they should do, fill in, or file when performing government transactions on-line.  Our role is to provide the access.  The other is best left to the civil service or other professionals.

 

Who will pay for all this?  How? 

 

What guarantees exist that the government information available online today will be around for posterity?  No one is currently archiving GOL information in a systematic way.  Libraries have no way of knowing what will be available to them in terms of historical information from one year to the next.

 

Many government organizations burn their trail.  When political parties merge, the web pages containing the platforms of the old entities disappear.  Government websites generally only show recent press releases and delete the older ones.  GOL information is very volatile.  It is difficult to trust volatile information.

 

Many libraries are reluctant to relinquish print collections because they cannot “own” an online copy of something the way they can own the paper copy.  Some sort of policy commitment from all levels of government assuring Libraries that the information contained in GOL sites will

remain the way it is for historical purposes would be confidence building.

 

Finding staff & time to provide the library services people can get ONLY from us.

 

The only added challenge that I can see at this time is not enough open hours for public use.  Our library is open Mon – Fri, from 1 to 6pm.  This might cause a problem for some people to use our library as an access site.

 

 

Please use this space to contribute additional comments related to GOL:

 

As less government information is being published in print, there is of course a diminished use of government print collections.  Our concern is accessibility to government information.  It is also the preservation and conservation of information in the electronic format for future access.

 

GOL information is a wonderful development.  When we can trust that the GOL information will remain available, libraries will be able to make more use of the vast amount of information available.

 

GOL information needs to have more content that helps users negotiate the information they seek.  This could be achieved by designing a portal page that assisted users to find information at all levels of government.  Many users are not aware that they first need to establish what level of government they are dealing with, a portal where all these questions were answered and the information at various levels of government were arranged would be quite useful.  Something like the Canada.gc.ca pages, but more helpful, and dealing with all levels of government.  There are not enough pages explaining the structure of government in the context of meeting government information needs in existence.  First time users trying to find something relatively straightforward like information on federal expenses need to know that the public accounts and the estimates changed to a performance based model in the mid 1990’s.

 

Vast amounts of historical information are not online yet.  It is just as important to digitize old information as it is to place new information online.

 

It is hard to develop a coherent Government Documents collections policy in the current environment.  Some web based information about government documents information for librarians would be very helpful.  Standards for government document collections would be nice too, a library of a specific size should be expected to provide access to certain things. It would be nice if guidelines like this existed and were documented centrally.  Help pages for people new at the job would be useful as well, where to order things, what pages to link to, and so on.

 

Libraries need help providing secure places to apply for things like EI online.  There is no time or money available to design secure computers for these purposes. I would not feel very comfortable knowing that my income tax information or whatever was sitting in the cache of a public library computer for some little hacker to exploit.  What is expected from libraries in terms of providing secure workstations for patrons to access highly personal government services?

 

This questionnaire is a good start, I’m encouraged to see that at least questions are being asked of these problems.

 

Govt has cut back on our grants and placed restrictions on how they can be used.  My materials budget has been slashed from 71,000 to 50,000. We will have to buy more selectively, shop around for best prices - which takes more time. We were busy anyway before govt agencies thought up things for us to do.

 

 

 

 

 

Yukon                          2 sent

 

Type 1:  Under 50,000            2 returned

Type 2   50,000 – 250,000

Type 3:  over 250,000

 

Question 1	Type 1	Type 2	Type 3
Dial-up	1
High speed	2
Assistance navig.	1
Assistance trans	1
Computer training.	2
Internet training	2
Training gov sites	1
Use gov res for ref	2
Create guides for gv	1
Organize links	1

 

 

 

 

Question 2

Type 1

Type 2

Type 3

Inc

Decr

Same

?

Incr

Decr

Same

?

Incr

Decr

Same

?

Assist navig.

1

1

Assist trans.

1

1

Reference

1

1

Instruction computer/internet

1

1

Instruction GOL

1

1

Instruction use print

2

 

 

Question 3		Type 1			Type 2			Type3
	L		M	H	L	M	H	L	M	H
Assist navig			1	1
Assist trans	1			1
Computer training			1	1
Internet training			1	1
Training gov sites	1		1
Gov ref service				2
Input to govt	2
Partnering	1		1
Create guides	1			1
Provide Com gov	1		1
Organize gov links			1	1
Annotate/categorize	1			1

 

 

Question 4	Type 1			Type 2			Type 3
	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less	Def	Poss	Less
Relevance	1	1
Larger clientele	1	1
Position	1	1
Partnership	1	1
Skills	1	1
Upgrade infrastr.	1	1

 

 

 

Question 5	Type 1							Type 2							Type 3
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Enough h'ware			1			1
High speed							2
Space	1	1
Expertise		2
Staff time	2
Marketing prov.		1	1
Develop part.		1		1