2012 Best Practices for Government Libraries

Information Collection and Exchange (ICE)
79
BEST PRACTICES 2012
Information Collection and Exchange (ICE) produces the key publications used by posts
during PST and other training events. Publications are available in print and PDF format.
Typically, post staff members order from ICE the print publications they need for training
events and to build their local Information Resource Center (IRC) collections. Volunteers
may also request print publications directly from ICE. In FY2011, ICE distributed, upon
request, over 35,000 print copies of 75 unique publication titles to staff and Volunteers at
Peace Corps posts around the world.
ICE also produces and distributes a CD-ROM with over 160 ICE publications in PDF format,
including the 75 titles that are available in print. This CD-ROM is distributed to all
Volunteer trainees during the initial PST period in-country. This ensures a captive
audience and provides the best opportunity to reach all incoming Volunteers. ICE
encourages posts to also distribute the publications in ways that work best for their
country-specific situations. Some posts upload the publications to their internal websites
or shared drives. Others include the publications on USB flash drives that they load with a
variety of resources and distribute to their Volunteers. Currently, the CD-ROM is the most
cost-effective way ICE has found to produce and disseminate the larger set of publications
to all posts to distribute to Volunteers worldwide.
Access to technology and format preferences
Through an annual reporting process, ICE is able to ask posts several questions related to
Volunteer access to technology and format preferences for publications. Of those posts
responding, 42 percent estimate that 90 percent or more of Volunteers have access to the
Internet at least once per week. However, there remains a significant number of
Volunteers without weekly access to the Internet or a computer. Access to the Internet
also varies significantly by region and post, with the Africa region featuring the lowest
access rates. Access to a computer with a CD-ROM drive is complicated by changing
technologies – as newer computers often allow for a USB drive but no longer include a
CD-ROM drive.
Although declining in popularity, print continues to be the most preferred format for
receiving ICE publications. Again, the responses vary considerably by region and post.
Some posts indicate a preference for print because it is easier to share with others in the
field, or because access to technology is expensive or unreliable, or because printing costs
are prohibitively high. Other posts prefer digital formats because of space, portability, or
for environmental reasons. CD-ROMs are not compatible with newer devices and USB
drives are increasingly preferred over CD-ROM. Some posts have indicated their
preference for both print and digital format options for using ICE publications in different
situations and at different times.
Newer technologies and the future
Volunteers and field staff, of course, need and also create and share other technical
training information and publications from a wide variety of sources. The methods are as
varied as one might imagine for a decentralized organization operating worldwide.
Volunteers and some posts use blogs, wikis, websites, YouTube, Twitter, Google Docs
accounts, Facebook, and other vehicles to share information. For various reasons, there is
currently no single website or network space for sharing digital files across all of the Peace