1. Fargo Library/rural Cass - Laserfiche WebLink

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report provides an evaluation of the OnLine at PA Libraries project which was initiated in the Fall of 1996. The project, funded by Bell Atlantic, and adininistered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Office of Commonwealth Libraries and the Schuylkill Intermediate Unit, has had a significant and important impact on the provision of Internet-based information services and resources to the residents of Pennsylvania. The original project goals were to: Provide public access to the Internet through Pennsylvania's public libraries. · Provide library users with timely information for educational, research, economic development, and recreational purposes. Ensure that trained library staff are available to help the public find the information they need in an online environment. The report documents that these goals were, in fact, accomplished. Moreover, the report identifies many additional impacts and benefits that resulted from the project. The evaluation, which began October 1996 and was completed October 1997, was guided by specific research questions such as: What are the scope, reach, and dimensions to the OnLine at PA Libraries project? How much Internet activity and of what types are taking place in participating libraries? What types of users access the Internet connection and to what types of services and activities do they connect? What are the costs for such connectivity and various types of network activities and services? How has access to and use of networked information resources and services affected participating libraries in terms of economic competitiveness, education, productivity, quality of life, and other indicators of socio-economic well-being? These, and other key assessment questions were answered by rise of a range of data collection techniques including surveys of librarians and users, site visits, focus groups, interviews, and other techniques. From the viewpoint of project participants -- be they library directors, library staff, users, or local government officials -- the project has clearly been successful. The list of the various benefits and impacts that have come to the library, the users, and the community overall, is significant and consistent across most libraries. Some of the most important indicators of the success of the project are that it: Linked networked information to users and resolved a range of their information needs that otherwise would not have been resolved; there were McClure and Bertot October 1997 ii