Government Information Going Digital

Royalty-free mobile eGovernment image from Piqsels

You might have heard that the government is moving its resources online (FTC). Going digital would save tons on printing and distributing papers to the correct offices, including public libraries. All one has to do is turn on the computer, connect to WiFi, and then visit the correct website. See the problem?

Well, government information is not stable online. Data sometimes disappear online. Formal citations require adding the dates on websites because the webpages are subject to change, and changes incur loss or transformation of data. News stories are proving the loss of such information. Such losses were reports from the Animal and Plant Health Inspections (New on The Hill), climate change reports (Rocheleau on The Boston Globe), and even coronavirus reports (Feuer on CNBC). Loss of relevant information should not be taken lightly, but creating and maintaining internet archives can be troublesome.

Konerding at the Wesleyan Libraries going through government publications.

It is unsurprising why the primary depositories of government information were public libraries. According to the American Library Association, the public has the right to access government information in digital format (ALA). This pressures public librarians to know how to navigate websites that patrons need. It would be unethical to send patrons the website link and not explain the features as well. Like an ethical reference librarian, public librarians must walk users through the website to fulfill their information needs, whether it is submitting a FOIA, finding education data, or questions about a bill. This puts public librarians in a unique position to know which websites to access and then keep up with all the website changes to deliver the best government service. No longer do libraries act as government directories for government information requests.

However, providing government information is necessary due to the digital divide. The digital divide reference the patrons who may not have the digital literacy or financial means to operate technologies associated with accessing digital information. Ironically, the government going digital requires the purchases of internet-capable devices and internet service, and public libraries must offer these for free according to the Library Bill of Rights. The future of government information online may be hectic, but as long as we can compile our resources, we can deliver the best service.

• The go-to website for all things government in the U.S. can be found in USA.gov. Their index of government websites can be found here.

• For an interesting and extensive article on the disappearance and distortion of government data, check out Subramanian's story, "Data Disappeared," on the HuffPost. [FLASH WARNING]