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Presents an edited version of a paper presented by Richard De Gennaro, Director the New York Public Library, at the Second Pacific Conference on New Information Technology, dealing with the need for libraries to become innovative in order to survive. Introduction to technology to libraries; Libraries in the info marketplace; Erosion of the free library ethic and the blurring of roles.

Although the Brooklyn Daily Eagle Online was not the Brooklyn Public Library's (BPL) first digital project, it has become a catalyst for change and future library initiatives. Like many local history collections nationwide, BPL's Brooklyn Collection was eager to digitize materials for improved access, especially the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. In 2001, the library received an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) National Leadership Grant to digitize the microfilm of the Eagle from 1841 to 1902. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, founded in 1841, was Brooklyn's newspaper of record. After the Eagle ceased publication in 1955, BPL received the paper's morgue and related files. Today, they are the centerpiece of the Brooklyn Collection, which also houses books, photographs from the Eagle and from other photographers, newspaper clipping files, and manuscripts, prints, and illustrations. June Gaddy, Brooklyn Collection's CLASP (Connecting Libraries and Schools Program) librarian, regularly delves into African American and neighborhood history as represented in the Eagle Online as she works with teachers and students on local history projects. Not only has the Eagle Online opened up research, but it has also generated discussions within the institution about the role of the public library in the digital world. INSET: Nuts & Bolts.