Building E-governmerit into the Library and Information Science Curriculum: The Future of Government Information and Services

摘要

The provision of e-government access, services, and training is an area of rapidly growing significance within the profession of public librarianship, yet education in library and information science (LIS) has so far paid scant attention to preparing future public librarians to fulfill the e-government expectations of individual patrons, communities, and government agencies. A significant portion of the United States population relies on the access provided by and trusts the assistance available in public libraries to use e-government Web sites. Many federal, state, and local government agencies now direct citizens to the nearest public library for access and help in filing taxes, welfare requests, immigration documents, and numerous other essential government functions. E-government is a very significant area of service for public libraries that will continue to grow in importance; as such, LIS programs must begin to put more emphasis on e-government in their educational programs and research projects.