E-government and public libraries : a study of the information ecology of a rural New Zealand district library system

Abstract

As the New Zealand government promotes its e-government strategy the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa (LIANZA) and the National Library of New Zealand, in line with professional library organisations in other countries, have been lobbying for the recognition of public libraries as the ideal environment to provide access to e-government on the strength of their focus on equity of access to information, their profile in the community as well as their commitment to user education. In this study interviews were conducted with frontline library staff of the Far North District Libraries to investigate their awareness and use of e-government resources and the extent to which their relationship with their communities confirmed the credibility of small public libraries as a primary access point for e-government. The study found that the climate of continuous change in which the Far North District Libraries were operating provided a receptive environment for the promotion of the public library as a primary access point for e-government, in terms not only of the evolving ICT platform but also of the engagement of frontline staff with the challenges of providing adequate library services to their widely scattered and in many cases disadvantaged population. Library qualifications held by participants did not appear to have prepared them for providing government information service and they did not consider themselves proficient in that field. They were nevertheless comfortable and reasonably fearless in the Internet environment and were already accessing some e-government resources. Participants generally did not think the libraries were regarded by their communities as a primary source of government information but there was considerable variation amongst the communities. In the case of one branch library where more enquiries for government information were received, the involvement of library staff with community groups setting up information services may have contributed to the higher profile of the library staff as a "keystone species" in the development of the information ecology of that community. Clearly promotion is needed to improve the image of the libraries as providers of information services generally and e-government in particular. Provision of user education and even sufficient staff support will be difficult with the tiny number of staff available, however well trained they are.