This book is a timely and detailed exploration of the impact and issues of the Internet in public libraries and their implications for society, policy, and professional practice.

Public Libraries and the Internet: Roles, Perspectives, and Implications explores the impact of the Internet and the expansion of the networked environment on U.S. public libraries through more than a dozen essays written by leading scholars and administrators. Notwithstanding the far-reaching changes wrought by the Internet, this is the first attempt to provide a comprehensive exploration of the subject over time and across areas of practice.

This wide-ranging volume, edited by the authors of several national studies tracking the use and involvement of public libraries with the Internet since 1994, offers both description and assessment. It discusses the ways in which the roles and services of public libraries have changed as a result of the Internet and offers a perspective on the meaning and impact of these changes. Perhaps most critically, it also suggests possible futures and opportunities as public libraries continue to evolve in this networked environment.

John Carlo Bertot, PhD, is professor in the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD, director of the Center for Library and Information Innovation (www.liicenter.org), and associate director of the Center for Information Policy and Electronic Government (www.cipeg.umd.edu).

Paul T. Jaeger, PhD, JD, is assistant professor in the College of Information Studies, director of the Center for Information Policy and Electronic Government (www.cipeg.umd.edu), and associate director of the Center for Library and Information Innovation (www.liicenter.org) at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD.

Charles R. McClure, PhD, is Frances Eppes professor and director of the Information Use Management and Policy Institute at the College of Communication and Information at Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL.