TechAtlas is a free tool that libraries can use for technology planning and technology management. We think it’s pretty cool software and we’re excited that so many libraries are using it (you can too, http://webjunction.techatlas.org). One of the features in TechAtlas is that libraries can maintain an inventory of the equipment that they own. And because we like number crunching and data analyzing, we made a graph to look at how libraries have changed operating systems on their computers over the past 5 years*.

If you love looking at data, you can look at the actual percentages broken down by year.

Happy Retirement: Windows 95/98 and NT have been mostly retired, but there a few hanging on.

New Kid on the Block: Windows Vista is starting to make an appearance in the library scene, which is great. Libraries are moving ahead with new technology and keeping current.

What’s your library’s plan for upgrading and replacing equipment? Is Vista in your future? Check out WebJunction’s forum on Operating Systems if you have questions or want to know what people are talking about.

*We looked at data from 4,756 libraries and over 67,000 computers.