Think "library" and what comes to mind?

Rows of books and quiet study tables? A librarian behind a check-out desk?

Those certainly are valid images. But local library directors also want you to think of a couch, a comfy pair of sweat pants and your laptop with access to research databases, interactive homework help and downloadable audio books.

Library Web sites are nothing new, but their importance is growing as more people turn to the Web, rather than bookshelves, for their information. In addition to being a place to renew books, library Web sites are a way to tap into encyclopedias, historical archives and genealogy research.

Haverhill's library Web site - www.haverhillpl.org - is packed with information.

It provides fully scanned newspapers and magazines, and areas to practice for school and professional exams, such as the Civil Service test and SATs. Visitors can click on the history section, where they can see old photographs, such as President Theodore Roosevelt in 1902 addressing a large crowd in Haverhill.

Efforts will be made to constantly upgrade the site, said Susan Katzenstein, Haverhill assistant library director.

One goal is to further digitize the historical materials in the library's extensive special collections department, such as old documents and photographs.

She said librarians view the Internet as an extension of literacy, not a rival to traditional books.

"I think librarians were one of the first, if not the first, occupations to really understand the concept of the Internet," she said. "We're information specialists. We got it right away."

North Andover is launching a new Web site this week. It will replace an outdated and stale Web site with one that has current information about the library itself, and that provides four new databases to allow people to do research from home.

"We are looking at the Web site as a virtual branch of the library," said North Andover Library Director Mary Rose Quinn.

Databases include online encyclopedias, historical facts and information on current issues.

"All you need is a library card number," Quinn said. "This has been a really bad winter to get out, but all this information is available without setting foot in a library."

Beth Mazin, assistant director for Memorial Hall Library in Andover, said the benefit to a Web site is it can be open when the library isn't.

The Memorial Hall Library offers around-the-clock reference service for people from its Web site.

"It's extremely popular," Mazin said. "We meet people where they are. When they are online, they can request help at any time and get it from a librarian."

Mazin said the library is as busy as it has always been, but even more people are tapping into its services through the Web site. Separate Web pages for adults, teenagers and children are geared to attracting more people. And to date, 4,000 people have signed up for an e-mail list that alerts them to what is going on at the library.

Networking libraries

The Northeast Massachusetts Regional Library System allows 54 communities to share library resources, including research databases available to library users through either the local library Web sites or the regional library system Web site.

Regional administrator Greg Pronevitz said many people go directly to Google when they have a research question. However, the databases libraries offer, he said, provide articles, transcripts and maps not available through Google.

More information is being organized into searchable formats all the time, too, including thousands of historical items through a database NMRLS plans to add known as the Digital Commonwealth. This database has photos, posters and other historical images that have been scanned from historical collections throughout the state. Plans for the Web site include adding sound recordings and videos.

In other projects, including Google Book Search and Open Content Alliance, libraries and other organizations are scanning thousands of books that are royalty-free and have outlived their copyrights. Projects like these will allow people to read entire books through library Web sites, instead of ordering the actual books.

Pronevitz said part of the goal of the library Web sites is to attract people who wouldn't necessarily head to a library.

To direct more people to local library Web sites, the state launched a new Web site yesterday through the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

The Web site mass.gov/libraries has databases, information about where to find libraries and a way to search and order from all the library catalogues in the state.

"Libraries love technology," said Celeste Bruno, communications specialist for the board of commissioners. "One of the most important parts is making people realize libraries are welcoming places, not stuffy and old. We have new releases, new DVDs, Internet. A lot of people aren't even aware of what we offer."

Books are still around

Does all this mean the end of library buildings? Not according to local directors, who say they have seen an increase in the people coming to the library.

Lawrence Public Library Director Maureen Nimmo said the building is still crucial to providing services, because many of the students and others who use the library don't have computers at home to access Web sites. In Lawrence, another important aspect of the library is that it offers access to computers.

"We still deal with a lot of regular walk-in classic library users," Nimmo said.

And yet, one of their most popular features is an interactive homework program where children and teenagers can ask questions through a chat line and be connected to a teacher who will help them.

Krista McLeod, director of Nevins Memorial Library in Methuen, said the Web site is actually a marketing tool for the library, because people can find out about all the services and events at the library.

One of the most popular features of Methuen's Web site is downloading audio books onto an MP3 player. McLeod said that service will probably expand to include a way to download music and videos.

McLeod said that just as with online retail stores, people have the option of going to a building or to the Web site.

"We don't care how people use the library. We just want them to use it," she said.

Staff Writer Jason Tait contributed to this report.

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Visit your local library:

Stevens Memorial Library in North Andover

stevensmemlib.org

Memorial Hall Library in Andover

mhl.org

Nevins Memorial Library in Methuen

nevinslibrary.org

Lawrence Public Library

lawrencefreelibrary.org

Haverhill Public Library

haverhillpl.org

Northeast Massachusetts Regional Library System

nmrls.org