The Elsa Public Library was surprising to me. At one level it was successful in implementing an adult learning center with the purchase of two computers for use by students trying to get their high school equivalency certificate, but the director reported, "Although our Clusters were valuable in terms of providing contact with members of the community, we did not see significant results from working with our Cluster nor did we see significant results from the workshops held for non-profit organizations. Our library serves as a nerve center for our community; even though our Cluster had valuable input, we found this input made no significant impact in the accomplishment of our goals.

I was unable to schedule a time to talk with the director, but I visited the library twice. It is a small building with a modest collection of books and non-print materials. What sets it apart are the massive numbers of networked computers that take up much of the space. There were so many that a bank of them was not even turned on. I counted more than two dozen machines for public use, and after school there were many children using them quietly. A computer technician was on hand to help those with computer, rather than information questions. Besides the Kellogg Foundation, the library has received computers from the Meadows and Gates Foundations as well as the Texas Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund Board in Austin.