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G2S Project Code: 2022-AR-91255
State: Arkansas
Fiscal Year: 2022
Grantee
Arkansas State Library

Project Director
Director Name: Kristen Cooke
Director Phone: 501-682-2863
Director Email: Kristen.Cooke@ade.arkansas.gov
General Information
Title: Information Services
State Project Code: 15
Start Date: 10/01/2022
End Date: 09/30/2023
Abstract: This project provided a variety of information services to government agencies, small businesses, entrepreneurs, independent inventors, libraries, and the public. As the only U.S. Patent and Trademark Resource Center in Arkansas and working in cooperation with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the Manager of Information Services and a Senior Reference Librarian regularly provided patent and trademark assistance to primarily small business owners and independent inventors. These librarians aid the public in navigating the online resources of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Resource Center and provide curated resource guides in response to inquiries from citizens. A Library Support Assistant and a Library Technician provided inter-library loan assistance to state employees with work-related requests. This project also provided services to some small, mostly rural public libraries in Arkansas. In 2022, this included handling OCLC requests on behalf of libraries around the state that did not have OCLC as well as seeking out-of-state resources to resolve requests for intrastate lending through the Mockingbird Statewide Catalog. The Manager of Information Services and a Senior Librarian provided reference services and federal and/or state information to legislative staff and citizens conducting research utilizing primary documents and the Arkansas State Documents collections. In addition to research services, Information Services staff provide referral assistance to Arkansas citizens seeking public library services.
State Goal: Provide Programs and Services to Targeted Audiences
Budget Information
LSTA
MATCH-State
MATCH-Other
Total
$168,210.00
$287,840.00
$0.00
$456,050.00
Intent(s)
Improve users' general knowledge and skills.
Small Business
Outreach & Partnerships
Activities
Activity Details
Title: Inter-library Loan
Narrative: This project provided inter-library loan lending services to support the State Library's mission in serving as the information resource center for state agencies, legislators and legislative staffs along with making State Library's collections available to libraries statewide. This project primarily focused on the lending and borrowing of print and electronic materials through OCLC to assist state employees in meeting their work-related information needs. Inter-library loan services were also provided to small, rural Arkansas libraries that either could not afford OCLC's subscription fees or were not staffed to effectively process inter-library loan requests. For the convenience of all inter-library loan patrons, requests were accepted via telephone, fax, online, or in-person.
Intent: Improve users' general knowledge and skills.

Activity: Content
Mode: Lending
Format: Combined physical & digital


Quantity
Total number of items circulated: 624
Average number of items circulated / month: 52
Total number of ILL transactions: 2,004
Average number of ILL transactions / month: 167


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: No
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: Yes
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: No
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: Yes
Specific Locations: No
Library Types
Public Libraries: 0
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 0
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 0
Other: 0
Activity Details
Title: Reference
Narrative: Reference service was offered through consultation, drop-ins, and referrals utilizing a walk-in service desk, telephone, email, fax, and Arkansas State Library webpage. Reference service was also frequently provided to state employees, independent inventors, small business owners, and citizens. Reference questions varied from federal or state information, intellectual property, to general questions.
Intent: Improve users' general knowledge and skills.

Activity: Instruction
Mode: Consultation/drop-in/referral
Format: Combined in-person & virtual


Quantity
Total number of consultation/reference transactions: 253
Average number of consultation/reference transactions per month: 21


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: Yes
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: Yes
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: No
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: Yes
Specific Locations: No
Library Types
Public Libraries: 0
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 0
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 0
Other: 0
Project Outcomes
Project Outcomes
List any important outcomes or findings not previously reported:
Changes in staffing resulted in an initiative to reassess the current strategy of service delivery within Information Services. Increased statistical tracking of types of reference inquiries and the specific resources utilized to aid in fulfilling research requests has highlighted the evolving information needs and information seeking of legislative staff and state employees. Cross-comparison of these patterns with other available user information challenged anecdotal assumptions of information-seeking behaviors and patterns.
Please briefly describe the importance of these outcomes and findings for future program planning:
Understanding the evolving needs of Arkansas State Library's stakeholders allows Information Services staff to provide more meaningful feedback to collection development staff and inform staff training plans for new Reference Librarians while allowing opportunities to identify areas where the current departmental structure did not meet service needs. Better monitoring of reference requests related to the USPTO has helped identify core information needs and allowed reference staff to reassess training priorities to better align with the information-seeking behaviors of Arkansas citizens.
Explain one or two of the most significant lessons learned for others wanting to adopt any facets of this project:
With projects that are consistent year-over-year, a model of ongoing evaluation and continuous improvement is required to ensure that resources are applied in ways that fulfill the ongoing commitment of the project while also creating a mechanism to ensure the implementation of a static project meet the dynamic needs of information seekers.
Do you anticipate continuing this project after the current reporting period ends:
Yes
Do you anticipate any change in level of effort in managing this project:
No
Explain:

Do you anticipate changing the types of activities and objectives addressed by the project:
No
Explain:

Was an evaluation conducted for this project:
No
Was a final written evaluation report produced:
No
Can the final written evaluation report be shared publicly on the IMLS website:
No
Was the evaluation conducted by project staff (either SLAA or local library) or by a third-party evaluator:
Third-Party
What data collection tools were used for any report outcomes and outputs:
Did you collect any media for the data:
What types of methods were used to analyze collected data:
Other:
How were participants (or items) selected:
What type of research design did you use to compare the value for any reported output or outcome:
Exemplary: No
Exemplary Narrative
Project Tags: Lending, Reference, Government