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Because of the mixture of information and misinformation found on the Web, librarians also use their expertise to provide services such as quality-controlled and organized Web sites or added-value library tools to make the Web a better information source.
With the expanding use of the World Wide Web in society, American libraries have undergone massive changes. This new information tool has provided both opportunities and challenges to libraries of all kinds. On the positive side, the World Wide Web has created new communication channels for libraries, provided access to more resources, and inspired novel ways of serving patrons. On the less positive side, libraries now need to compete with alternative information providers, redefine their roles, and even undergo structural modifications to adapt to the changing environment and meet the various needs of their users. If we want to have a better understanding of the World Wide Web, we cannot overlook the roles libraries and librarians have played in its development and use, and the interactions between the library and the Web.
How do American librarians define their roles in the changing environment, and how do they understand and appropriate1 the Web in their profession and workplace? Previous studies have shown that the knowledge, perceptions, and expectations people have about a technology may influence the ways they react and use the technology (Orlikowski & Gash, 1994; Pinch & Bijker, 1987). The purpose of this study is to understand how librarians have perceived the World Wide Web from its early period of its implementation to 2003 and how the Web is appropriated and used in libraries.