Information Today Article Examines "The State of Federal Libraries"

DGI member and professor emerita at the Georgia Institute of Technology Library, Miriam Drake, surveys “The State of Federal Libraries” in her October Information Today article.  She underscores the diversity among federal libraries’ missions and structures, and some of their unique systems, such as federal procurement and the outsourcing of their operations.  She highlights significant issues and trends including the impact of digitization, and the embedding of librarians in agencies’ work groups -- along the National Institutes of Health model.

As agencies digitize more internal content and purchase more digital commercial content, Professor Drake predicts that the need for:

• Traditional space will decline;
• Archiving and preservation will continue;
• Information professionals will grow as government operations, research, and other activities increase in complexity.

Observations by DGI members Richard Huffine and Donna Scheeder are also featured in this article.