By Andrea J. Cook, Journal Staff Writer - RAPID CITY
RAPID CITY -- Head librarians from more than 40 states traded information Monday on collecting digital information at the fall conference of the Chief Officers of State Librarians Association, or COSLA, at the Radisson Hotel.
COSLA has a business meeting today at Crazy Horse Memorial. The conference concludes Wednesday.
As digital technology grows and replaces paper and ink with electronic documents, state libraries are responsible for gathering the countless documents government agencies produce and permanently preserving them, according to GladysAnn Wells, COSLA president and the director of the Arizona State Library at Phoenix.
Anyone looking for reference materials had to ask librarians for help finding resources because the library's electronic card catalog was unavailable.
"Almost every state library is responsible for state publications and figuring out how to harvest, download, print and microfilm them for permanence," Wells said.
State libraries are also responsible for preserving digital information in forms that will survive successive changes in software and still remain accessible, she said. "It's a big, big business."
"Digital government will continue to expand," South Dakota state librarian Dorothy Liegl said.
Three years ago, South Dakota's Legislature authorized $200,000 to create SoDak LIVE, the state library's government information-location service. SoDak LIVE has been up and running for about 18 months, Liegl said.
A link on the state library's Web site takes users to SoDak LIVE. The site saves researchers valuable time by indexing information from materials published by all state agencies, Liegl said.
Rather than systematically checking each agency's Web site for information on a specific topic, people can type in a topic to see related items printed by the various agencies listed.
"It saves a lot of time," she said.
Libraries are an increasingly popular place to access digital information because they provide faster broadband services that not every household can afford, according to Missouri state librarian Sara Parker of Jefferson City.
"Libraries spend money well," Parker said.
Using state libraries to collect and catalog government documents ensures that those documents are accessible to more people, Parker said. Libraries bridge the digital divide for the community, she said.
"More people are coming through the door," she said, to fill out government forms, apply for documents or look for digital information.
An unexpected benefit of electronic documents is that libraries need less storage space for printed materials that opens areas of the library for community gathering places and as education centers, Parker said.
"Libraries have been most successful in telling the technology story," she said.
Mary Chute, the deputy director of the national Institute of Museum and Library Services, attended the conference to hear first-hand the state librarians' discussions. IMLS oversees the distribution of federal library funds to the states.
"Libraries are all the same in that they have no desire to turn away patrons," she said. The challenges they face are replacing old technology with new and training staff and the public to use that technology with the limited funding they receive.
More people are turning to libraries to provide access to information, she said. Those who provide funds for libraries need to realize how relevant libraries are in people's daily lives and the role they play in building stronger communities, Chute said.
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