Maximizing limited resources, particularly in the area of information technologies, requires effective technology planning. Many libraries were introduced to public access computing as a service through the Foundation’s Statewide Partnership Grant Program; now that libraries are seeing the demand for this service grow and their resources shrink, many have used technology planning to focus limited resources on specific strategic objectives for their library and considered how technology can help them more effectively achieve these objectives. Technology planning can be defined as assessing the technology currently available in the library, determining what technology is still needed, and considering how to manage it.

The primary goal of the study is to provide current information that describes public library activities in the networked environment. This information has importance not only to the public library community, but also to policymakers at local, state, and federal levels; manufacturers of information and communication technologies; library funding agencies; and the communities served by public libraries. This report summarizes findings at both the library outlet level and the system level for all questions on the survey.1

A librarian and technical expert join forces in this thorough and easy-to-understand primer. Expansive and practical, it offers detailed how-tos, nine reproducible forms, and inspiring stories from libraries that have demystified the technology implementation process.