"The Internet has truly helped us build new bridges between state government and the people we serve, and we are honored that Rhode Island's portal has been nominated for this government customer support award," said Carcieri. "Our new state portal is now easier to navigate than ever before, and it offers a variety of interactive tools to give our citizens yet another avenue through which they can receive state information and services."
The newest way to receive information through RI.gov is via a service called Instant Answers. With Instant Answers, RI.gov users can open a chat window to have an instant online discussion with a team of reference librarians at the Providence Public Library. The Providence Public Library serves as Rhode Island's statewide reference resource center.
"As the state-designated reference resource center, the Providence Public Library is proud to be partnering with RI.gov to provide this exciting new virtual reference service to Rhode Islanders," said Dale Thompson, director of the Providence Public Library.
The Instant Answers service is available Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. RI.gov's Ask A Librarian e-mail form also allows users to submit questions that require more extensive research. Response times for this popular feature, which also uses the expertise of the Providence Public Library reference staff, are usually under 48 hours.
"Ask A Librarian and Instant Answers are natural extensions of the statewide reference resource center," said Anne Parent, chief of Library Services for the Office of Library and Information Services. "We are delighted that the live online reference service through RI.gov will become a reality for Rhode Island residents."
"At the heart of the new RI.gov is a vast database of searchable links that guides the user to the particular agency Web site or e-government service they are looking for," explained Joan Gammon, general manager of RI.gov. "We needed a more efficient and accurate way to support the rapid growth of state information and government services being made available on the Internet."
The solution was to eliminate hundreds of hard-coded static pages and reengineer the entire portal to be a dynamic, database-driven site. The key advantage is that a user can find a certain link or e-service under any number of topics and headings on the portal. Should one link require an information update, the RI.gov team can make one change in the database that will be dynamically reflected anywhere that link appears. The portal team can also monitor the use of the most popular destinations and ensure that they are easy to find.
"The new RI.gov gives businesses and citizens better 24/7 access to Rhode Island government," said Tom Collins, Rhode Island's chief information officer. "The unique database design delivers better customer service to users by ensuring that any link they click on is up-to-date. We are proud to be bringing to Rhode Islanders the best portal and services possible."
