The Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives serves Kentucky's need to know by assuring equitable access to high quality library and information resources and services and by helping public agencies ensure that adequate documentation of government programs is created, efficiently maintained and made readily accessible.

The Department accomplishes its programs through the activities of the Commissioner's Office and four Divisions:

Commissioner's Office

This office, headed by a commissioner whose official title is State Librarian, sets overall policy and direction for the department; provides marketing and communication advice and support to the divisions; serves as liaison with the Secretary's Office, the Governor's Office and the Legislature; supports the activities of the state Advisory Council on Libraries; maintains information on public library board appointments and communicates recommended appointments to the fiscal courts of each county requiring names from this office; provides state leadership for the department with state, regional and national organizations which impact library and archives development in the state; and, the State Librarian chairs the Archives and Records Commission has official positions on the Kentucky Information Systems Commission, the Communications Advisory Committee, the state Literacy Commission, and the Oral History Commission.

Administrative Services Division

The Administrative Services Division provides administrative support to the programs of the Department in the areas of fiscal, personnel/payroll, grants and contracts, facilities management, information technology, telecommunications and shipping. Support is also provided to the Commissioner's Office and the Management Team in formulating and implementing the policies, procedures and plans of the Department in accordance with KRS 171.125-306 and 171.410-740. In addition, this division provides administrative support to the Office of the Secretary of the Cabinet, the Heritage Council, the Commission on Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the Environmental Education Council, Governors Scholars Program, the Operations and Development Office and the Kentucky Arts Council.

Field Services Division

The Field Services Division provides support to public libraries to better provide library service to the citizens of Kentucky. Through consultation, technical assistance, and financial aid, this Division supports the development of all aspects of public library services as mandated by KRS 171.140. It provides direct state aid to local public libraries as provided in KRS 171.201. In addition, reading materials and services are provided to Kentucky's blind and physically disabled population and to its institutionalized population as required in KRS 171.145 and KRS 171.150.

Public Records Division

Under the terms of KRS 171.410-740, the Public Records Division works with agencies to ensure creation and preservation of adequate and proper documentation of the agency's organizational functions, policies, decisions, procedures, and essential transactions, as well as information which protects the legal and financial rights of the government and of individuals directly affected by an agency's activities. It does this by establishing standards, procedures, and administrative regulations for recording, managing, preserving and reproducing government records, whatever their medium, and by working with the heads of state and local government agencies and their designated representatives to create and maintain active, continuing programs for the efficient management of their records. Division staff collaborate with agencies on the inventory, analysis, and scheduling for retention of their records and electronic records systems and serve as consultants to agencies on a variety of archival and records management issues. The division operates the State Archives to house and make available for research permanently valuable state and local government records. To provide agencies with secure, economical storage for their non-current records, the division manages the State Records Center. While serving distinct needs, these are the state's statutorily mandated central records depositories. To ensure continued preservation of and access to records, the division also furnishes centralized micrographics and document preservation services. The division provides citizens and government with access to records by arranging and describing them, by creating finding aids and access tools to them, and by making them readily available through on site research facilities and by answering telephone and mail reference requests.

State Library Services Division

The State Library Services Division provides access to information to meet the needs of its customers and provides statewide leadership in sharing information through library networking. As required in KRS 171.140, it provides library services through the State Library for its clientele: state government personnel, public libraries, other institutions, and individuals. In an effort to equalize library service and access to information across the state, this Division promotes and maintains cooperative arrangements for information and resources sharing among all types of libraries and information centers including state agencies as mandated by KRS 171.200.

The Technical Support Branch of the State Library Services Division, which maintains a highly trained, skilled, and knowledgeable professional and paraprofessional staff, creates computer access to information through a variety of means for a variety of clientele.

The Branch serves as a cataloguing center which creates and maintains databases through the Integrated Online Library System: KEY, of the State Library collections which is available both in-house and remotely. Also, through OCLC, Online Computer Library Network (the international bibliographic utility), the staff also coordinates the creation and maintenance of the Kentucky Library Network database of approximately 2.7 million titles and 7.5 million holdings for resource sharing purposes for the 286 member organization.

The Court of Last Resort Cataloguing Center (CLARC) provides access to information housed in all types of materials for 27 county public library systems. While some members utilize the service for assistance with problems or temporary backlogs, others have entire esoteric, rare, or problematic collections of local history and genealogy or videos or music CD's which they submit to the Center. With the expansion and redefinition of the program in FFY96, the Center is offering a variety of output formats including catalog cards, MARC printouts, and MARC files. The later will be integrated into their local IOLS': Galaxy, DRA, Dynix, and Bibliofile.