The Academic Librarian in the Digital Age by Tom Diamond;

Author:Tom Diamond;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: McFarland & Company, Inc.
Published: 2020-08-13T00:00:00+00:00

Documents ­De-Emphasized?

The Shifting Roles of Government Information Professionals

Kenya Flash and Dominique Hallett

Introduction

In recent years, members of the public displayed greater concern about government information. The government shutdown in early 2019 severely impacted investors’, farmers’, researchers’, and journalists’ access to critical government information (DeSilver 2019). Researchers frustrated with this turn of events suggested the need for free, public repositories, and even mentioned the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). James Jacobs called on libraries to make the next government information access crisis impossible (Jacobs 2019). In earlier times, the visible loss of access to government data would be minimal, not so immediate, or raise such an outcry. However, with the available technological advances, the public expects government information to be easily accessible and always available. Government information professionals are champions in the fight to make government documents accessible; however, technology is now drastically challenging, changing, and impacting how these information professionals engage in their work.

Government shutdowns and loss of access to government information are examples of how access to government information is indispensable in our current society. It is also important to note the important definition of government information and the important roles played by government information professionals. U.S. government information, and related products, is information that is “published, compiled or created by the government, at government expense or as required by law” (University of Louisiana at Lafayette University Libraries 2019). Government information professionals are those who have a formal role that is heavily influenced by the production, dissemination, and/or use of government information. These professionals include, but are not limited to, professionals, paraprofessionals, vendors, public librarians, and academic librarians. This essay will focus primarily on the roles played by librarians.

Changing Roles

Changes in perception and use of government information are impacting society and librarians. A primary reason for this change is technology’s influence on the way society accesses and utilizes government information. Historically, those looking for access to government information would trek to their local government deposit library or a regional deposit library to locate needed materials. These libraries housed materials such as executive, congressional, or agency documents shared through the FDLP, which is operated by the Government Publishing Office (GPO). Currently, most government agencies publish and disseminate a variety of products through the Internet, and even depository libraries highlight web resources. The shift to easily accessible information for patrons has meant changes for the FDLP, GPO, and for the roles of government information professional.

From the patron’s standpoint, the changing roles of the FDLP and GPO are important as they ensure materials reach libraries, but why explore that of the government information professional? The government information librarian is highly focused on ensuring continuing access to government information. This includes finding, ensuring usability, and preserving the materials in the same manner as most librarians. These ideas are like the stewardship role of librarians in taking care of their collections. While all librarians focus on information stewardship, government information librarians’ stewardship has unique societal responsibilities. These societal responsibilities infuse these professionals with the drive to make this information as widely and easily accessible as possible.

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