MSL Home > About MSL > Long range plan > Library and Information Services Department (LISD)
Library and Information Services Department (LISD)
The Library and Information Services Department is the "library" component of the Montana State Library (MSL) and serves the work-related information needs of state government employees, provides backup reference assistance to librarians throughout the state, and provides public access to state publications for Montana citizens.
Issue 1
State of Montana officials and employees need timely access to comprehensive and authoritative information to conduct research and form good public policy.
Needs Assessment Summary
Decisions are based on the information at hand at the time the decision must be made. In 2003, state employees need and expect that information to be available at their desktops. Many use the Internet. Not all information is available on the Internet and it is not adequately organized or comprehensive to provide easy access to the best information available. Many employees do not have the skills to search for information efficiently.
LISD is changing the way in which it delivers services to this target patron population by making pertinent, current information available from our web pages and by offering workshops. LISD will continue to encourage clients to use the services of the reference librarians, who are information specialists and can quickly locate other pertinent and authoritative resources, as well as teach the skills necessary to navigate the information wilderness effectively.
LISD must continue to develop new business practices, to evaluate the best mix of resources and services, to promote these services, to train employees in their use, and to measure their use and value to patrons.
Goal #19
State employees have the information that they need to make good public policy recommendations and decisions.
LSTA Purpose
No LSTA funds are used for this department.
Key Output Targets
- The number of state employees using LISD services will increase from 400 to 1000 by FY 2007.
Key Outcome target: State employees report that they rely on LISD services to obtain valuable information that help them make recommendations and decisions.
Programs
Expand LISD web pages for state employees. Include links to selected resources specific to agency areas of interest and the current hot topics of state policy and governance; monitor use, survey web page viewers with a online survey and improve as patron feedback suggests. Time frame: Ongoing.
Add or modify services and collections to meet state employee needs. Survey non-users to determine services needs. Convene a focus group(s) consisting of employees who are in positions that need information resources that do not use our services. Analyze results and identify needed changes. Time frame: Report to program manager by Summer 2003.
Continue to survey existing collection to see if it meets employee needs. Discard outdated or non-essential materials. Make decisions upon journal back issues. Improve the acquisition of cataloging, managing, and publicizing electronic journal subscriptions. Time frame: Ongoing.
Continue to improve public services and collection areas of the library. Discard outdated or non-essential materials. Consolidate collections and eliminate empty shelves. Time frame: Discarding monographs complete by October 2002. Discarding federal documents completed by January 2004. Initial collection shifting completed by November 2002
Continue to market the services of the department. Outreach to agencies attending department staff meetings. Monthly postings to database of users promoting services and monthly postings to Wired-MT. E-mail promotions to new state employees. Brochure for state publications center to area libraries and for Find-it Montana. Investigate self-subscribe mailing lists for library updates. Evaluate the success of marketing efforts. Time frame: Ongoing.
Continue to train state employees on the use of certain products. Evaluate effects of training on the use of resources. Two days of three workshops planned Jan-June, Sept-Dec Time frame: Ongoing.
Review the use of monographs and printed journals. By December 2002, provide detailed report to program manager on the use of journals and monographs and suggestions for possible resource realignment.
Review the use of federal government publications. By January 2004, report to program manager and supervisor on the use of the collection and the impacts of changing MSL's selective depository status.
Plan for the development of a computer-training lab at the State Library. By May 2002, make recommendations to program managers regarding resources needed for a lab for possible inclusion in 2004-5 budget.
Continue to find new methods and improve current methods to accurately measure remote use of the library's resources and to document the value of library services and resources. During 2002, continue to monitor use with current tools; work with ITSD and Nehring to develop better methods. Explore a professional survey of patron populations and using the Special Library Association survey of patrons. Time frame: Ongoing.
Issue 2
LISD must serve the professional information needs of Montana local library staff through a professional literature collection. LISD also serves as a reference backup to the state's libraries.
Needs Assessment Summary
Because Montana lacks a library school, MSL, through its library department, has traditionally offered Montana librarians access to professional journals and materials that are too expensive for most librarians to purchase. Because many libraries have inadequate collections or library staff members lack the necessary knowledge to answer some information queries, MSL has also traditionally provided reference services to library staff. The use of this service has decreased due to the availability of information through the Internet and the increased skills of library staff.
Goal #20
The staff of Montana libraries know about and have access to the professional literature that they need. They obtain assistance from the MSL reference staff for patron questions they are unable to answer via their own resources, Internet resources, and listservs.
LSTA Purpose
No LSTA funds are used for this department.
Key Output Targets
- Increase the use of the professional collection each year by 10%.
- Increase the proportion of Montana libraries using MSL reference and collection resources by 20% by end of FY03.
- Increase the visits to LISD web page for librarians by 5% each year.
- By 2007, 50% of Montana libraries report that they use Find-It Montana to locate information for patrons.
Key Outcome Target
By having access to the LISD collection and reference staff, Montana library staff will improve services to their patrons.
Programs
Improve LISD web pages for librarians. Monitor use, survey web page viewers with an on page survey, and improve as patron feedback suggests. Coach librarians on resources by posting monthly-annotated descriptions of selected resources on Wired-MT. Time frame: Ongoing.
Coach librarians on reference skills when responding to reference assist calls. Time frame: Ongoing.
Promote current awareness services from library journal subscriptions to Montana librarians. Time frame: Ongoing.
Evaluate the current use of the library science collection and align collection with needs. Solicit Wired-MT librarians for needed professional materials. Work with other libraries to adopt cooperative collection development agreements regarding library science collections. Time frame: By August 2003.
Promote the library science collection. Continue to highlight monographs in monthly updates to Wired-Mt. Investigate the use of Table-of-Contents and other services to promote the collections. Time frame: By January 2003 and ongoing.
Issue 3
Montana citizens need and have the right to easy access to information by and about its state government. MSL is mandated to serve as the repository and public access point to state agency publications.
Needs Assessment Summary
Citizens frequently do not understand how state government is organized, nor which subdivision of which agency has responsibility for the functions or activities in which they are interested. Therefore, it is difficult for them to access the information they seek even if it is on the Internet. There is no subject catalog to web-based publications.
The move to posting state agency publications on-line has also led to problems of capture and preservation by MSL. Information on an agency web page today may be gone tomorrow and defeat our role of preserving important information for future users and researchers. MSL has an incomplete understanding of who uses the current collection, why they use it, how they use it, their future needs, and who needs to use it that does not know about it. MSL's state publication distribution center is not always capturing, cataloging, and preserving important print and web-based publications. The needs of depository libraries in this new environment are unknown. The program may be missing opportunities to promote information by and about state government to citizens through their local libraries.
Goal #21
Montana citizens have easy access to a comprehensive collection of state publications.
LSTA Purpose
No LSTA funds are used for this department.
Key Output Targets
- By 2004, the proportion of state publications received and cataloged will increase from 40% to 90% of the estimated appropriate publications available.
- By 2007, the monthly average number of visits to the state publication center web pages will increase by 25 over 2001's baseline.
- The fulfillment rate for request for legacy print publications will increase to 98% over a baseline established in FY 03.
- By the end of the Find-it pilot project, June 2003, the project will provide: Internet access to at least 2000 records; provide Internet access to a subject catalog indexing 50 key agency web publications from at least five agencies; and include web publications from at least 15 agencies.
- By 2007, a minimum of 10 agencies will participate in Find-it Montana and more than 20,000 records will be included in the catalog.
- The number of searched conducted in Find-it Montana will increase by 2000% over the average of the three months following the official launch of the project.
- By 2007, a plan for preserving electronic publication has been approved.
Key Outcome Targets
- Libraries in the depositary program report satisfaction with the program.
- Users of the state publications program report satisfaction with their access to the publications.
Programs
Increase the number of publications received. Contact appropriate agency personnel about the print depository program and the value of placing their publications in the SPC. Consider changes in statute pertinent to needed changes in the center by February 2004. Time frame: Ongoing.
Increase the use of the collection. Improve web-access for users. Revise state and federal documents web pages, monitor use, survey web page users with on-line survey, and improve as patron feedback suggests. Continue posting notable new state agency publications to Wired-MT. Identify other potential email recipients of shipping list and notable new publications. Time frame: Ongoing.
Implement a GILS pilot project, Findit Montana, to increase access to and use of web-based agency publications. Promote to Montana library community, state government officials and employees, and the public. Identify appropriate agency personnel and contact them relative to their significant web-based publications for inclusion in the Find-it Montana subject index. Time frame: Ongoing.
Use state of the art and best practices in managing state library publications collections, both electronic and print. Identify and survey state libraries with mandates relative to state documents similar to our mandate. Time frame: Ongoing.
Continue to review the resources needed to catalog state documents. Currently, LISD contracts with BCR for original cataloging of state documents. This new contract will be evaluated by the end of 2002.
Continue to coordinate the state's involvement in the Name Authority Cooperative Program Funnel Project from the Library of Congress. Complete initial training in 2002 and continue involvement. Time frame: Ongoing.
Make necessary changes in the depository program to reflect members' needs. Survey depository members and implement identified changes. Time frame: 2003.
Issue 4
The users of the State Library need to have reliable and complete access to the collections of the State Library and access to other information resources held by other libraries or published on the web.
Needs Assessment Summary
Currently, users do not have complete or accurate access to all local holdings, the holdings of other libraries, and comprehensive guides to online resources.
Goal #22
Users have easy and comprehensive access to information through the library.
LSTA Purpose
No LSTA funds are used for this purpose.
Key Output Targets
We are collecting data to create benchmarks to measure use of the catalog and the use of "click-throughs". At the end of 2002, we will create specific targets.
Key Outcome Target
Users of the catalog find it easy to locate the information sought.
Programs
Convert to new integrated library system. Prepare data and collection for transition. Train staff and work with IT staff to ensure a smooth transition by June 2004.
Make the catalog the easy-to-use, content-rich, portal to LISD resources and services. Time frame: Ongoing.
