| Dr. Charles R. McClure
Charles R. McClure

Charles R. McClure, PhD

Krafft Professor of Information Studies and
Director, Information Use Management & Policy Institute
College of Communication & Information, Florida State University
Phone: (850) 644.8109
Fax: (850) 644.4522
E-mail: cmcclure@lis.fsu.edu



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Krafft Professor

Dr. Charles R. McClure is the Krafft Professor of Information Studies at the College of Communication & Information, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida. He was selected as the first recipient of an Eppes endowed chair at FSU in 1999. From 1986-1999 he was at Syracuse University School of Information Studies - the last five as Distinguished Professor. He teaches courses in planning/evaluation of information services, U.S. government information policies, evaluation of networked services, library/information center management, and research methods. He completed his Ph.D. in Library and Information Services from Rutgers University.

Information Use Management & Policy Institute

As Director of the Information Use Management & Policy Institute at Florida State University, he and the Institute staff work on a range of funded research projects, promote interdisciplinary research efforts at the university and with other organizations, engage in a range of program evaluation activities, and actively participate in various information policy debates and initiatives at the state and federal levels. The Information Institute, founded in 1999, provides a highly visible and active research arm of the College of Communication & Information. Since its inception in 1999, the Information Institute has received more than $5 million in funded research.

Library Related Research

McClure has conducted research on a range of library planning, evaluation, and management topics. He served as the principal investigator for the Public Library Development Project, funded by the Public Library Association, which resulted in the 1987 ALA publication, Planning and Role Setting for Public Libraries and Output Measures for Public Libraries, 2nd ed. Since that time he has published numerous books and papers on these topics. This topic was revisited by McClure and Paul Jaeger, who wrote Public Libraries and Internet Services Roles in 2009 (American Library Association). His co-authored book, Public Libraries and the Internet: Roles, Perspectives, and Implications, was published in 2011 by Libraries Unlimited.

He completed the manual Assessing the Academic Networked Environment: Strategies and Options (Coalition for Networked Information, 1996), which was funded by the U.S. Department of Education. In 1996, he completed a funded project that assessed the Maryland statewide network Sailor, summarized in the report Sailor Network Assessment Final Report: Findings and Future Sailor Network Development. Similar studies assessing networked services were completed in 1998 for Delaware, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. More recently, he is funded by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for 2010-2012 to participate in a research project related to improving access to and use of e-government resources and services through public libraries.

National Surveys

He completed national surveys in 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006 on Public Libraries and the Internet, with John Carlo Bertot, examining the use of the Internet by public libraries. These studies were funded and published by National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the American Library Association (ALA). He was recently a Co–Principal Investigator (Co–PI) with John Carlo Bertot on an effort continuing through 2009 to extend and expand these national surveys, funded by the American Library Association for $1.4 million. For the 2010–2012 surveys, McClure will continue working on the studies as a consultant.

From 2003–2008, McClure was the Co–PI for a study funded by OCLC (and others) assessing Digital Reference Services. This study resulted in the manual, Statistics, Measures and Quality Standards for Assessing Digital Reference Library Services; Guidelines and Procedures (2002). He completed in January 2002 a project funded by the Association of Research Libraries that resulted in a manual describing a number of statistics and measures to describe use and users in the networked environment and a report assessing the utility of institutional outcome measures for academic libraries. He also has been the PI on a range of initiatives related to the evaluation of the Florida Electronic Library (FEL) to assess the service and to conduct functionality and usability on the services conducted 2001 through 2011.

From 2003-2008, McClure was Co–PI on three studies funded by the U.S. Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The first is is Librarian Education for the Collection, Analysis and Use of Library Networked Services and Resources Statistics which resulted in EMIS (E-metrics Instructional System) training modules related to networked statistics available on the Institute website. The second study is Integrating Public Library Databases onto a Nationwide Digital Basemap for Enhanced Library Services: The U.S. Public Library Geographic Database which resulted in an online public access GIS for public library descriptive data. During 2005–2008 he served as the Co–PI on a study also funded by IMLS, Increasing the Effectiveness of Evaluation for Improved Public Library Decision Making.

Most recently, McClure has expanded his research activities into areas of health informatics, broadband and telecommunications, renewable energy resources, and hurricane and emergency management. Recent work in these areas includes a report on health information usage of the Florida Electronic Library, 2007-2008 Evaluation Activities for The Florida Electronic Library: Public Libraries and Consumer Health Information Resources and Services (2008). Also, he was PI on a project funded by the State Library & Archives of Florida to investigate and understand the broadband needs of Florida public libraries in facilitating and offering E-government and emergency/disaster management services, which resulted in the report Needs Assessment of Florida Public Library E-Government and Emergency/Disaster Management Broadband-Enabled Services (2009). As Co-PI, he completed in 2011 Development of a Renewable Energy Research Web Portal. In addition, he was PI on the Hurricane Preparedness and Response by Utilizing Florida Public Libraries project, which has resulted in several reports, a chapter in his book with John Bertot and Paul Jaeger, “Public Libraries in Hurricane Preparedness and Response,” and a 2009 paper in Florida Libraries, “Hurricane Preparedness and Response for Florida Public Libraries: Best Practices and Strategies.”

Federal Information Policy

He has served as the PI for studies related to the management of government information and information policy by agencies such as the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment, the Government Printing Office, the National Technical Information Service, the Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Institute for Museum and Library Services, the National Science Foundation, the Government Accountability Office, the National Archives and Records Administration, and the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation.

He has written extensively on topics related to U.S. government information, information resources management (IRM), and information policy including the co-authored works Federal Information Policies in the 1990's: Conflicts and Issues and Public Access to Government Information, 2nd ed. He is a frequent participant in executive and congressional briefing sessions and other meetings related to U.S. information policy. In 1997, he completed the study Evaluation of the Federal Government's Implementation of the Government Information Locator Service (GILS) funded by the U.S. General Services Administration. He was a Co–PI for a study assessing Federal electronic records management issues, funded by the National Archives in 2001.In January 2002, he completed (with others) a policy analysis of selected issues related to privacy for the U.S. Congress. During 2004, he completed a study assessing records management for the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. More recently, in 2009-2010 he collaborated with OMB Watch on a project to promote transparency to and improved access to federal government information.

Broadband Use, Deployment, and Policy

During 2010-2011, McClure received funding from the North Florida Broadband Authority and the Florida Rural Broadband Alliance to conduct broadband needs assessment and on-site broadband/network diagnostics to improve Florida rural counties' access to, deployment of, and use of broadband – especially for local economic development. These efforts support larger projects funded by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). He also has worked with the American Library Association, Washington Office on a number of studies related to the deployment and use of broadband and the E-rate. These studies continue a record of broadband studies with which McClure has participated since his involvement in the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Journal Editorship

McClure is the founding Editor of Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy. He was a co-founder of Government Information Quarterly, has served as its Associate Editor since 1984, and has edited and participated in a number of theme issues on information policy issues related to Universal Service in the Global Networked Environment. During 2004 he served as the editor of Journal of Government Information. McClure also serves on the editorial board of a number of additional journals such as Library Quaterly.

Awards

His research has won a number of awards, including:

A selection of some of his recent publications can be found within the Research section of this website: http://mcclure.ii.fsu.edu/publications.html

Information Management Consultant Services, Inc.

As president of Information Management Consultant Services, LCC, he consults with a number of academic, public, and special libraries; government agencies; professional associations; networks and electronic service providers; and corporations regarding the design, planning, implementation, management, and evaluation of information services. He is also a frequent speaker at professional meetings and conferences.