The University of Colorado at Boulder's Norlin Library has been awarded $264,000 to help librarians in five states make better use of public government information available online.
By law, more than 1,250 libraries around the country -- including Norlin Library -- receive all or some federal government publications, such as congressional, census and health reports. Known as depository libraries, they are responsible for ensuring that government information is readily available for public use.
Over the past decade and a half, more than 90 percent of government publications have gone from paper-only to also being available in electronic formats such as the Internet, according to CU-Boulder Senior Instructor Tim Byrne, the project's principal investigator.
"The Internet has given the government a way to distribute public information much more efficiently than in the past," said Byrne. "The problem is, the library system hasn't kept up with the shift."
The project is funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services in Washington, D.C., and is led by CU-Boulder in partnership with Utah State University Library and libraries in Arizona, New Mexico and Wyoming.
Currently, visitors to nondepository libraries who are looking for government reports often are referred to a depository library for help. It would make more sense for these people to go online where the same information is readily available, according to Byrne.
"We'd like to transition from being custodians of information to training others to help the public access the information on their own whenever possible," said Byrne.
The project's first step is to create a continuing education program to train librarians. In spring 2007, about 55 librarians from depository libraries in the region will come to CU-Boulder to learn about Web-based government information and how to train others to help the public find and use the information.
CU-Boulder's Norlin Library has more than 2 million federal government documents dating back to the 1700s stored on the Boulder campus and in other facilities.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's libraries and museums.