LOCAL GOVERNMENT BEST PRACTICE SUGGESTION OUTLINE
PLA Definition of Service Response
A library that offers local Government Information helps meet the need for citizen involvement, and the support of commerce to interested people and organizations.
Brief Description of Library and Service Population
The Wake County Public Library serves county citizens in the county from 17 branches, 2 bookmobiles and a outreach department. A core of standard services is offered in every location (including, for example, collections focused on the community served, basic reference service, readers' advisory service, and children's programming ). Additional specialized services are offered at larger regional libraries, the Local History Library, and the Electronic Information center. The Library serves a diverse population with varied informational and recreational reading needs.
The Library hosts the Wake County Government Web Program. This program enables citizens of Wake County access to County Government services and information. The Web Program allows county departments to expand its service base to the public and each other, on a 7 day, 24 hour basis.
Community needs addressed by "Best Practice" including target audience(s).
It is our goal to meet the LOCAL GOVERNMENT INFORMATION needs of our customers quickly and accurately. We would like our customers to see the WCPL as the principal provider of LOCAL GOVERNMENT INFORMATION in the county.
Within that purpose, the Web Program was designed to provide the public with easy and convenient access to the many services offered, not only, by Wake County Public Libraries, but also, to include the many services of the other County departments.
Description of Services and Activities
The Web Program's online access includes many of the departments in Wake County. Their combined content includes several gigabytes of information in thousands of pages. Each department maintains their own content which includes the Wake County Public Library Online Catalog, the County mainframe with its real estate and tax records, the planning databases, interactive databases, Human Services' programs, and more.
The library’s local history branch serves as an archive of older county government materials.
Resources allocated to Service:
Staffing
Web Program is staffed by one Webmaster who oversees the entire project and maintains the common web site pages. In addition, he develops many of the new web databases and applications.
Facilities
The Web Program is housed the Electronic Information Center. The departments are trained in the classroom there. The departments can maintain their pages there in the web lab, or using the County network, they can maintain their pages at their desks.
Equipment and Technology
The Web Program utilizes two production servers, one for Lotus Notes Domino database pages, the other for our more static standard web pages. The web laboratory includes six stations for development use, and a development server.
Funding and Support Resources
All funding and support comes from County Government
Service Measures/Recent Outcomes
The Web Program was measured when it was begun as a web program and is continually be refined by the Web Steering Committee which either meets via an online discussion or a "formal" in person meeting in the web laboratory. The public is able to continually give us feedback via our online feedback database. Many of the smaller additions and enhancements are directly a result of public feedback.