Today, collections of resources and archives organized and maintained by libraries and research services can be dynamic tools accessed on a daily basis by parliamentarians and the public to provide background and context to current policy debates. However, only a few parliamentary libraries and research services have been able to develop and provide this advanced assistance. Many are small, resource constrained and lagging behind in their adoption of technology.

A solid ICT infrastructure combined with skilled library and research staff can greatly enhance MPs access to key information resources, whether the resources are from inside the legislature, from other parts of the government, or from a variety of outside sources.

The newest technologies and social media pose an additional set of challenges for libraries. While it is not yet clear how these technologies can be used most constructively, libraries and research services have begun to explore how they may use the tools to increase and enhance their capacity to serve members and committees.

Against this background, the session will focus on how parliamentary libraries are using technology to help understand and interact with costumers, create new services for members to use, mobilize information and deliver it, and digitize content and manage digital assets with the same care previously given to physical ones. The discussions and outcomes from this session will provide inputs to the ongoing work of the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament for the preparation of a handbook on ICT-based parliamentary libraries.