Introduction

The status of the Internet is shifting from being the dazzling new thing to being a purposeful tool that Americans use to help them with some of life's important tasks. As Internet users gain experience online, they increasingly turn to the Internet to perform work-related tasks, to make purchases, and do other financial transactions, to write e-mails with weighty and urgent content, and to seek information that is important to their everyday lives. 1

This excerpt from Getting Serious Online, a 2002 study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, notes the public's increasing use and reliance on the Internet as a practical tool. This changing approach to the Internet and other powerful emerging technologies is also changing the way museums and libraries interact with their communities.

The American public has much to gain from the adoption and implementation of technology by museums and libraries. Technology connects more people to more of the services and information only museums and libraries provide. It enables access to unique cultural, scientific, and artistic collections; to vast information and research resources; and to educational opportunities for students of all ages.

It is within this context that IMLS undertook a study of the use of technology and digitization activities in libraries and museums nationwide.