Public Libraries, Communities, and Technology

Council on Library Resources
November 1996

Recently, the Council has been interested in addressing the challenges public libraries face in an era of information revolution and the implications of these challenges for the education of the library profession. With a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, it has established a program to take a closer look at public libraries and determine the most useful avenues for developing leaders, building networks within the library and information science communities, and strengthening the dialog among the people who use and support public libraries.

Within this Kellogg program, the Council has gathered information on public libraries that have developed particularly innovative services, that use emerging technologies to serve the local community, or that have been influential in addressing public policy for information services in their communities. In the long term, the Council plans to use the information gathered to guide the development of programs that will enhance library leadership.

Supported by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Public Libraries, Communities, and Technology Project

Analysis of the Case Studies

Case Studies

Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn, New York

Broward County Library, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Camden County Library, Voorhees, New Jersey

Cedar Falls Public Library, Cedar Falls, Iowa

Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, Charlotte, North Carolina

Jefferson-Madison Regional Library, Charlottesville, Virginia

Cleveland Public Library, Cleveland, Ohio

Georgetown County Library, Georgetown, South Carolina

Livingston County Library, Chillicothe, Missouri

Mid-Peninsula Library Cooperative, Iron Mountain, Michigan

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Seattle Public Library, Seattle, Washington

Appendices

Letter to Public Libraries, June 2, 1995

Selected Library Statistics

Related Resources