MUNCIE, Ind. -- A group of Ball State University professors, students and an alumnus are ushering one of the oldest libraries in Indiana into a new era.

Gary Public Library has asked professors in the Department of Telecommunications and the Center for Information and Communication Sciences (CICS), a group of CICS graduate students and an alumnus of the program to help set up its entire Internet system and training program.

"The Gary Public Library is one of the 25 largest libraries in the state," said Rodney Lee, director of the library. "But in terms of technology, we’re probably rated last in that 25."

The victim of a depressed economy and a declining population, Gary’s library system lagged behind other systems in technology, a problem Lee said could only worsen without action.

"We find that we don’t have the luxury anymore to sit back and wait," he said. "We just have to jump in because what we are seeing more and more is a community of haves and have-nots--that’s what the technology is doing."

With a nearly $49,000 grant from the Gates Library Foundation, an organization established by Bill Gates of Microsoft and his wife Melinda to bring technology access to low-income communities, the library searched for help to set up the system.

When telecommunications professor Maria Williams-Hawkins learned of the project, she joined with Robert Yadon from CICS to present a project proposal written by CICS students. System installation and management went to Don Hemmelgarn, a CICS graduate and president of The Compass Alliance Group in Cleveland. The students were called upon to train library administration and personnel to use the new technology.

The group began by surveying library employees to assess abilities and attitudes toward new technology.

"We found that many of them lacked a strong technology interest or focus, but I have to use the past tense because ever since our partner Compass Alliance put the technology in, they’ve been playing every chance they get," Williams-Hawkins said.

With the technology in place, GPL’s board of trustees and its president Ben Coleman see the library as a leader in making needed changes in Gary.

"Coleman has a much larger vision of a smart community," said Donna Mitchell, technical consultant for GPL. "A community where the public schools, the library and the government work together on one accord, moving toward technology as a team--to share resources and ideas and to share in the development of technology for the community."

The project promises to put Gary on the map while helping the CICS students understand real-world problems and solutions, said Williams-Hawkins.

"This is a really fantastic opportunity for our students and a gift to the Gary community," she said. "And it’s an opportunity for two communities to get to know each other."