Dear All, especially Children's Librarians and Youth Librarians - As part of Tecumseh District Library's current Strategic Plan, we are investigating adding technology to our Children's Area and Collection. We have a healthy circulating Children's AV collection of DVDs, Talking Books on CDs, Read-Alongs, and Music CDs; now we want to add forms of current technology to the mix. We already have 18 computers available for public use (patrons of all ages) in the main section of the library, but this is a completely different service/collection specifically aimed at children (and their parents) which we are investigating., *Background:* In the past, we had a Computer set up in the Children's Area for the purpose of playing children's educational games on CD-ROMs; it was *not* hooked up to the Internet. We had both an in-house collection of Children's CD-ROMs and a circulating collection, which included preschool and early elementary titles such as Berenstain Bears, Clifford, Sesame Street, I Spy, Curious George, Nancy Drew, American Girl, Amazon Trail, etc., etc. While these collections were popular from the beginning, they grew to be problematic as newer programs came out which would not run on our aging in-house Children's computer, despite their stated compatibility. It also became difficult trying to decide which circulating programs to order that were compatible with the wide variety of patrons' home computers and operating systems. We eventually withdrew these collections as circulation decreased and the aging computer eventually died. So, it is time to start over again with fresh ideas and a variety of current technical formats. *Questions:* What kind of *in-house technology* do you provide in your Children's Section? What kind of *circulating technology collections* do you provide in your Children's Section? What kind of upkeep do the circulating collections require after each circulation? Pros and Cons? Price points? Brands/Vendors/Titles to consider for each format? Words of advice? Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and wisdom with TDL on this new venture! Mary Beth ---------------------------------------------------- Mary Beth Reasoner Children's Services Librarian Tecumseh District Library mbreasoner@gmail.com www.tecumsehlibrary.org 215 North Ottawa Street Tecumseh, MI 49286-1564 517-423-2238 517-423-5519 (Fax) "Let us read and let us dance, two amusements that will never do any harm to the world." - Voltaire