Castlebar may not have won the competition to become Telecom Eireann's Information Age Town, but its library has won a consolation prize which could compensate.
The library, which opened in June 1990 and has 5,000 members, is one of the State's three pilot sites for the international Libraries Online project. The others are Ballyfermot Public Library in Dublin and Limerick City Library.
These library members will get free high-speed access to the Internet via a 128k leased line, a dedicated telephone line linked to 10 personal computers.
This is the equivalent of a workplace line catering for 100 workers. Users will be able to surf the Web without worrying about phone bills.
The Libraries Online project operates at 215 sites in the United States and Canada. Ireland is the first European country to participate.