FLICC/FEDLINK BUSINESS PLAN

Whether they are academic, public, special interest, or governmental, libraries of all types are experiencing a major transformation in the way they do business. As a result of the rapid growth in digital technology for viewing, listening to, and reading all types of information; the increasing pervasiveness of high-bandwidth, digital telecommunications pipelines to the home; and the skyrocketing popularity of the “free Internet,” users have and are continuing to alter the way in which they search for and receive virtually every type of information.

According to FLICC/FEDLINK Executive Director Roberta Shaffer, the change underway is so dramatic, it is having a revolutionary – as opposed to evolutionary – impact on library and information centers.

Shaffer believes that in addition to these broad trends, federal libraries face another wave of changes that are affecting their role in providing information services to government officials and the public. The war in Iraq, budget deficits, and possible tax code revision impact funding; the growth in outsourcing of federal workers affects staffing; the increased need for security and control over sensitive information has led to a narrower user base for libraries as a place, while a spiraling amount of information is disseminated via the Internet.

At the same time, Shaffer says, federal librarians and information professionals are playing a crucial role in providing unique and much-needed value-added services to their clientele, giving them an opportunity to be not only the “heart” (via the traditional library as place and information pipeline), but the “brain” (via analyzing and packaging information, and ensuring it is disseminated to all stakeholders) of the federal government. Thus, federal libraries are in the midst of a sea-change of events and trends that will change not only the way in which they provide services, but will transform the very role of the library and information center as a place.

As a consortium for federal libraries and information centers, FLICC/FEDLINK’s role is fourfold, Shaffer explains: to procure books, serials and online digital information resources at advantageous and convenient terms on the libraries’ behalf; to advocate the role of federal libraries within the federal government and to the public; to advise federal libraries and information centers on issues of importance to them; and to train and educate federal librarians through in-person and on-line training seminars and courses.

This project will provide information that will help FLICC/FEDLINK formulate the best strategy for its ongoing success by contributing information that will allow FLICC/FEDLINK to articulate its mission and strategy for the 2007-2012 timeframe.

The environmental scan will help FLICC/FEDLINK delineate the most important trends affecting FLICC/FEDLINK members. Based on the findings of the environmental scan, the FLICC/FEDLINK surveys, and other evidence-based information, FLICC/FEDLINK’s leaders will be able to design their business plan.