Gas Prices and Libraries
I hadn't thought of it, but Jill makes an awesome point. With gas prices so ridiculous at worst and unpredicatable at best, people are going to avoid driving when they can. (aside: Is this really going to happen? Americans are SO in love with their cars.) In the face of this possiblility, I think it's especially important for libraries, of any size, to beef up and PROMOTE their online services.
This does not have to be a big deal. Download an IM program on your public machine and invite people to message in reference questions OR service questions if you don't have online renewal or reserve facitilities on your site. Start a blog (just get a livejournal account, it's easy). Build a page of good, librarian screened reference sites. The biggest and most important thing is to promote what you already have. TALK about it with people. Watch what they're doing and where they're doing it. My mom's the librarian at a small public library in Northern NH, I've been trying to get her to update her website and invest in a WebOPAC for years. Her arguement for NOT doing it is that so few of her patron-base has internet at home. Instead she installed wireless in the library and now there are more people using wireless than her desktops. What does that say? If they're bringing laptops, they probably have internet at home… time to meet them on that ground.