THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

27

THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THAT THE HAWAII STATE PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM CONVENE A TASK FORCE TO IDENTIFY AND RECOMMEND STANDARDS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ALL-ELECTRONIC PROCESS FOR MAINTAINING GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS CREATED BY STATE AGENCIES.

 

 


     WHEREAS, state government agencies of Hawaii produce thousands of publications each year to inform policy makers and the public of projects, programs, research, and other governmental information; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature is dedicated to finding new ways to create less waste by decreasing the number of paper copies of government publications produced and encouraging more electronic access to government publications; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Hawaii State Public Library System is responsible for ensuring public access to government publications, not only as a means of transparency, but also to document the discussions, reports, and work of government agencies for future generations; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Hawaii State Public Library System currently requires two printed copies and one digital copy of each state government publication to fulfill its mission; and

 

     WHEREAS, the reports and publications produced by governmental agencies are produced in a wide range of formats, from memos and simple documents to multi-set bound documents to maps; and sometimes documents contain a mix of formats, in which the digital format of these publications is not always the preferable method for readability or use by the public; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Hawaii State Public Library System will need to periodically explore new electronic applications and incur additional costs to keep up with constantly changing technology to ensure that digital files of government publications can be opened and used in the future; and

 

     WHEREAS, there are currently no standards used by all state agencies in the creation of electronic government publications to ensure accessibility and the protection of the integrity of electronic publications from alteration; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2020, that the Hawaii State Public Library System is requested to convene a task force to identify and recommend standards for the development of an all-electronic process for maintaining government publications created by Hawaii state agencies, which includes, but is not limited to:

 

(1)  Identifying methods for securing the digital documents so that they cannot be tampered with after the report is issued;

 

(2)  Identifying accessibility standards for the creation of digital documents for individuals who cannot read standard print;

 

(3)  Determining standards for creating metadata for all documents so that digital documents are searchable; and

 

(4)  Ascertaining the best format for digital files and be accessible in the future; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to include the following members:

 

     (1)  The State Librarian, or the State Librarian's designee, who is requested to serve as the chairperson of the task force;

 

     (2)  The State Archivist, or State Archivist's designee;

 

     (3)  The Director of the Legislative Research Bureau, or Director's designee;

 

     (4)  The University Librarian of the University of Hawaii Manoa, or Librarian's designee; and

 

     (5)  The Director of the Disability and Communication Access Board, or Director's designee; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force may invite additional, interested organizations or agencies to participate in the task force; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii State Public Library System is requested to provide administrative support for the task force; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force submit a report of its recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2021; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the State Librarian, State Archivist, Director of the Legislative Research Bureau, University Librarian of the University of Hawaii Manoa, and Director of the Disability and Communication Access Board.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Government Publication; State Librarian; Standards; Electronic Copies; Task Force