The Butte Free Public Library was established in 1894. At that time, head librarian J. Davies published a catalog of the opening collection. Two fires and one flood later, many of the monographs from that original collection list have, remarkably, survived. Because of this, in part, the library, now known as the Butte-Silver Bow Public Library…

It is no secret that library budgets are in a downward spiral like the rest of the economy. The recent annual budget survey by the "Library Journal" indicates that per capita funding for libraries will decline 1.6%, and total library budgets will be reduced by 2.6% in FY 2010. Librarians are all too familiar with this bad news, and some of them…

The rumored death of librarianship caused by the advent of technology has not, and will not, come to pass. In this article, the author describes how technology has exponentially increased the librarian's ability to provide library service at the Calcasieu Parish Public Library, where she serves as head of Collection & Computing Services. The…

This article describes how and why the Library 101 Project was created and the lessons that the developers learned out of this project. The Library 101 is a project that challenges librarians to revise the paradigm of "basic" library services in order to remain relevant in this technology-driven world. It was developed by Michael Porter,…

In the spring of 2006, Hennepin County Library (HCL) in Minneapolis set out to create a compelling new reader's advisory website. Inspired by Web 2.0 principles, the library wanted to engage users as active participants, to integrate resources in ways that made sense to them, and to blend staff- and patron-contributed content to create an…

In the last few years, technology-savvy librarians have begun turning their attention to a host of new tools to connect with their users and colleagues. The umbrella term for these new technologies--Web 2.0--began gaining traction in 2004. Many librarians were quick to embrace the new wave of technology. Early adopting libraries used blogs to…

Michele Reutty was director of the Free Public Library of Hasbrouck Heights for 17 years. Hasbrouck Heights is a mile-square "bedroom community" of New York City that is located in northern New Jersey. In this article, she narrates her experience--one that probably occurs with alarming regularity to professional librarians all over the…

Asmall library's essential technical problem is that it has to chart a course through the technology shoals without a navigator on board. Small libraries in small towns often have a very low level of technical skill on staff. Furthermore, obtaining skilled technical support can frequently be pretty expensive. Even when one is available, a clever…

Although some people feel that there should be no expectation of privacy in a library because it is a public place, the debate on the library's obligation to protect patron privacy continues. Despite the media attention given to some notorious breaches of privacy (for example, the hacking of Paris Hilton's electronic address book), and the…

It seems that the demand for public access computers grows exponentially every time a library network is expanded, making it impossible to ever have enough computers available for patrons. One solution that many libraries are implementing to ease the demand for public computer use is to offer wireless technology that allows patrons to bring in…