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Round Rock Public Library, in Round Rock, Texas, is a medium sized library that provides the kinds of community-oriented services for which public libraries are known, such as having freely accessible materials, promoting literacy and education, and being a source for entertainment.

The Round Rock Public Library (RRPL) is also a product of its region, shown by some of the library's unique characteristics. The library building sits on Main Street in historic downtown Round Rock, the site of the famous Sam Bass shootout of 1878. The Library's plot of land has been used by a variety of business and by the City of Round Rock. The current library building, c. 1999, was designed by architects Ray Gill and John Moman to reflect the site's colorful local history. The Library building was named for two residents active in Round Rock civic organizations and instrumental in starting and maintaining the library: Robert G. and Helen Griffith.

The Library created a unique partnership with the Williamson County Genealogical Society (WCGS) to make the history of the city, county, and central Texas more accessible to researchers and genealogists. WCGS owns an extensive collection of local genealogical and historical materials that are housed and cataloged by the Library. Both organizations contribute to the upkeep and expansion of the collection, and both provide educational research seminars at the Library. RRPL is known therefore, as an essential stop for researchers of all kinds.

While the Library reflects the community's history, it also looks into the future in several ways. First, RRPL works to stay in the forefront of technology, as is fitting for the library in the home city of Dell Computers. Secondly, RRPL has a thriving teen program that features gaming tournaments, a blog, and a book club.

The "Public" In Round Rock Public Library
Libraries can be found wherever people need information. For example, corporate libraries serve businesses, academic libraries serve schools and universities, and public libraries exist for the benefit of people in general. Public libraries must serve a general range of needs - the niche not met by other, more specialized libraries. The public, in all its various incarnations, comes to the library to read for entertainment, to work on school projects, to further informal learning, to learn how-to, to read the latest newspapers or magazines, to introduce their children to reading and learning, and to understand the way their government works.

Because the library fills so many information needs, it also becomes an important community center. People can meet up at the best-sellers shelf or at children's storytimes, and they can gather to hear debates or view media presentations about current issues. In these ways, "public libraries are a foundation of democracy. Without them, we would not have informed citizens who can make the best choices for their nation."

Library and Main Street History
The library stands on a corner lot on the Main Street of Round Rock, Texas, a town that started as a frontier outpost "as early as 1833." White settlers in Texas battled with Native Americans and Mexicans to control the land. After 1839 and Texas independence, the white faction won control and European settlement opened on the frontier near Austin. Early settlers in Round Rock came to the region due to commerce and railroads. "Many Swedish families including the Nelsons, Jacksons, Gustafsons, Andersons, Johnsons, Berkmans, and Petersons [followed] S.M. Swenson and Swante Palm, fellow countrymen who had established themselves in business and farming. . . . With the coming of the railroad in 1876, the Texas Land Company aided in developing a new township at the end of the line. As the western-most limits of the railroad, Round Rock became a booming and prosperous trade center."

The library's land has had various uses. In 1885, a sash, door, and blind warehouse occupied the east half of the corner lot, but by 1902 the lot was empty. By 1925, when automobile use became widespread, a 30-car garage took over the corner. By 1937, the garage became a Ford sales and service dealership, and a combination City Hall and volunteer Fire Department was built on the western half of the lot.

The library appeared on the corner lot in the early 1960's. In 1962 the Round Rock Ladies Home Demonstration Club decided that the city needed a library. They organized a group of private citizens into the first Round Rock Public Library Board. Then they bought the old Ford Motor Company building on the corner of East Main Street at Sheppard, where the present library stands. The old showroom provided space but it needed to be remodeled, which took 20 months. The work on the showroom was done by a Round Rock High School building and trade class and by local craftsmen.

At first the state-chartered, nonprofit, Round Rock Public Library Association administered the library. Then the City of Round Rock assumed ownership of the library in 1977.

In September, 1978, structural damage forced the library to close. During the Spring of 1979, the library relocated to a temporary building on Liberty Street. Volunteers and community members helped move the books and equipment to the temporary facility. The library served the community there until 1980. On July 20, 1980, a $0.5 million two story structure was dedicated on the original site. The library used the first floor and the city council chamber took up the second floor. Ray Gill designed the building to retain the historical Texas flavor evident in other buildings on Main Street and to blend in with the existing city hall building.

Need for more space mandated that the entire building be renovated in May 1988. At that time, the library retired its card catalog and installed an automated library system. In 1992, a Library Foundation was formed, incorporated, and granted a 501 (c) (3) classification, allowing it to supersede the Library Board.

In January, 1996, Round Rock citizens voted for and passed a $3.5 million bond issue to expand the library from 11,000 square feet to approximately 43,000 square feet. Construction on the new addition began in March 1998 and was finished July 1999. Remodeling of the old building began right away and was completed December 1999. A grand opening ceremony was held on November 20, 1999, and the library building was named in honor of Robert G. and Helen Griffith, long time library supporters and community leaders.

As of 2008, over 30 staff and 60 volunteers keep the library running, managing 170,000 volumes, 115 online databases, and over 50,000 online books.

Libraries and Technology
To begin the discussion, look at this definition of "technology:" 1. The science of mechanical and industrial arts; applied science. 2. The body of tools, machines, materials, techniques, and processes used to produce goods and services and satisfy human needs.

Public libraries use a complex array of tools, machines, and processes to produce their goods and services. That complicated picture can be simplified by looking first at at how libraries use technology and looking next at how the public uses library technologies. Real life examples will show Round Rock Public Library's situation.