IT POINT: A public library IT demonstrator project

IT POINT was a 21-month project that brought public access to information technology and networks within a public library. Chelmsley Wood Library, Solihull, West Midlands, hosted the project under the guidance of the Libraries and Arts Department of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council. The British Library Research and Innovation Centre (formerly BLRDD) funded the project. This article presents the research methodology employed for the evaluation of the project both internally and externally. It will examine the preparatory research, the initial evaluation methodology, the work of the external Evaluation Team and their difficulties and successes and how the evaluation techniques might have been refined.