ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 16, 1996 TAG: 9604160046
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
The Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library will unveil its new automation system today as part of the national "Log on the Library Day."
The events are part of National Library Week. The log-on day spotlights the role of libraries in providing public access to the information superhighway.
Community leaders will be on hand at 10 a.m. at the Christiansburg headquarters at 125 Sheltman St. to help switch on the new automated system, a benefit of a 1993 county bond referendum. The Floyd branch library will have its log-on ceremony at 2 p.m.
Other computer-focused events will include a "tour guide" of the White House, Congress, a jobs bulletin board and other key sites on the Internet's World Wide Web.
Children may participate in "Kids Connect," a computer question and answer service that will help them use electronic information.
While Internet service is new for Christiansburg and Floyd library patrons, the Blacksburg branch went on line in January 1994. Nationally, only one in five public libraries are connected to the Internet.
"While the library remains committed to books and personal contact with our users, we are excited about the new roles that will help us make information more widely accessible to our community," Karen Dillon, director of the regional library, said in a news release.
The Unicorn library automation system, developed by the Sirsi Corp. of Huntsville, Ala., uses graphic images to aid a library user's search for information. Montgomery County chose Sirsi after deciding its proposal offered more features than six other competitors.
The county is paying for the system with $150,000 from the bond sale approved in 1993, $25,000 from the library budget, $12,000 from library fund raising and $9,200 from a state library grant.
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