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For over a decade, the Louisiana State University Libraries have been engaged in providing digital access to their many varied special collections. The most recent of these projects is a collaboration between the LSU Libraries, the New Orleans Public Library, and the LSU Digital Library, focused on the upcoming bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase on 30 April 2003. “Louisiana Purchase bicentennial: a heritage explored” will be a collection of more than 25,000 images of primary source material from the 1700s, 1800s and 1900s held by the LSU libraries and the New Orleans Public Library. The collection is scheduled to be completed and online in March of 2003, and will be available for use by educators, school children, and independent researchers. This article details the process of digitizing such a varied collection, and the lessons learned from it.

Purpose–To introduce a new Contributing Editor, who will cover the Public Library Beat. She has scout‐like instincts offering new programs and means of delivering information and communicating with users. Thinking about constant improvement and needed changes, she also has to anticipate what the next decade and even stretching the future to 15 years out will demand of library resources to meet expectations in an era best described as “dealing with ambivalence and coping with change”. Design/methodology/approach–The article is in the form of an interview. Findings–High energy, huge commitment, service oriented, staying focused, remaining relevant come to mind in describing the subject of this interview. Adjectives and descriptors pour out like curious, collaborative, innovative, willing to try and big picture are apparent as the interview unveils itself. Practical implications–This interview with a Systems Librarian in a Public Library demystifies the images of public librarianship and demonstrates how forward thinking and progressive the staff there must be to constantly justify themselves as a recipient of public funds. With constant population shifts and responding to new information formats, the challenges are endless, yet the rewards seem to be many and personally significant. Likely outcomes include the great new coverage public libraries will get in future issues. Originality/Value–Shanes the news of a new editor.

To report on the American Library Association 2007 Conference activities and resources available to small and mid‐sized Libraries to aid in technology management.

Conference report.

The LITA Public Libraries Technology Interest Group was specifically created as a forum for library staff from small and mid‐sized libraries to share ideas and discuss trends.

The PLT‐IG presented a managed discussion at the 2007 conference focusing on the technology successes of the Carroll County (MD) Public Library. The group intends to put on a programme at the 2008 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, CA that will focus on resources to help smaller libraries manage and improve their technologies.

Provides good suggestions about how to introduce new and emerging technologies in public library environments that may not initially welcome change or new methods of doing things or utilizing technology more effectively.Design/methodology/approach – The article is in the form of suggestion for actions.

Trying different things is the key here and overcoming excuses about why it is not right or the timing is not there to do something different. There are human as well as environmental reasons why technology is not embraced when it can make a real impact in how things are done.

Demonstrates how change is good and what it takes to exercise risk in public libraries and try something new and powerful. That empowerment technology allows can be introduced in different ways and this piece introduces different approaches to test, pilot and launch new technologies and how to evaluate the experience.

To remind readers that there are many established and new sources, some by subscription and others free on the net that chronicle information relevant to technology, automation, IT broadly and include new forms of media such as blogs and other means of interacting with readers. These sources are now increasingly mainstream and where major changes are announced and trends established.

Readership is changing from the news media to the mentioned sources in this piece. A wide variety of journalistic styles combining science and business with technical savvy are what many of the current online and print publications now promise. Practical implications – Information comes in different forms and readers have many choices today to study almost anything they want.

This brief article introduces readers to a range of those publications and encourages people who want to be in the know to read widely.

New building construction and remodeling projects hold special challenges and opportunities for technologists. The purpose of this paper is to help technologists new to construction and remodeling projects prepare for the task ahead and be open to advantages those projects may afford them.

While construction and remodeling projects can be challenging proper planning, attention to detail in all aspects of the budgeting and planning process can result in success.

The paper offers new building tips for technologists.

The purpose of this paper is to help library technology staff understand the process of beta testing software, determine if it is appropriate for them to engage in the process, and provide suggestions on how to the time invested in the process.

The paper explains what beta testing is, why it should be used and how to become a beta tester.

The paper reveals that beta testing is not convenient for everyone, but those taking place in these activities should be thorough, positive and generous in order to maximize the return on investment in this kind of testing.

While beta testing new software features can take a significant amount of time, the resulting benefits of early access to new features and improved vendor‐staff relations can make it a worthwhile investment.

The paper provides useful information on beta testing software.

To discuss Web 2.0 technologies and development styles for the library catalog, specifically with regard to Innovative Interfaces’ Encore product.

A resirption of the technologies is provided.

Innovative Interfaces has employed a rapid development methodology that involves end users early on the iterative process. Innovative has adopted a methodology between the “always in beta” chaos of web development and the stable but slow mega release cycle traditionally employed by Interactive Library Systems (ILS) vendors. Originality /value: This evolution in the ILS development cycle has resulted in a product that leverages the stable technologies of at the heart of traditional library services and packaged them in such a way as to be appealing and useful to the “born online” generation.

Adoption of technology in academic libraries sets up circumstances for collection of personal patron information and records of patron information seeking behaviour not possible in the pre‐digital library. Even if collected unintentionally, this information may then be seized by law enforcement officials for criminal investigations. Passage of the USA PATRIOT Act has lowered the standards for obtaining search warrants that had previously been set by American legal precedent. This article describes potential situations where patron privacy can be endangered by the presence of information technology and how librarians can protect patron information and prepare patrons for safe information seeking in the online world.