About

The Right Service at the Right Time is an online tool used by librarians and library users throughout Florida to find necessary social services and government assistance. The award winning Right Service website, accessible on any device which can access the internet, was originally designed as an internal portal for use by the librarians of the Orange County Library System (OCLS) to find social and government assistance services for library patrons, particularly those who are unemployed, homeless, and under-employed. Upon receipt of the initial LSTA grant funding in March 2010, the e-government website saw a major redesign into a pilot project for the entire state of Florida. In 2011, OCLS staff trained libraries in 6 counties on how to use Right Service and how to enter data for their areas. In 2011, The Right Service website was the recipient of the Urban Library Council Innovation Award.

By April 2013, information on social and government services for every county in Florida was available on the Right Service at the Right Time website. The website has seen its usage grow every year from 1,009 page views in October 2010 to over 42,000 page views in July 2023. This growth can be partly attributed to our attendance at multiple conferences, such as the National Association of Social Workers, Florida Chapter, the Florida Library Association, and the Florida League of Cities. At these conferences, the Right Service at the Right Time has sponsored a vendor booth where external stakeholders are introduced to the website, shown how easy the site is to use, and provided with promotional materials. The Right Service at the Right Time is a necessary piece of the puzzle when it comes to getting aid to residents in need.