California's public libraries face a decade of challenges, a decade in which the majority of Californians will become regular and adept users of electronic information resources, the majority of Californians will have many and varied ethnic backgrounds, a growing proportion of young people will live in homes where English is not the primary language, and public libraries will be forced to compete for direct public funding with a myriad of other social claims. This report, the result of a year-long research project, is designed to help California's public librarians and other stakeholders think about the critical social and technological transformations affecting all Californians and to help them redefine the role of public libraries in light of these vast changes. The report has four main sections: (1) "Critical Issues for California's Public Libraries," a review of the most important issues that will affect California's public library services in the next decade; (2) "A Vision for California's Public Libraries," a vision of a public library in the year 2005; (3) "Strategic Choices for California's Public Libraries," a review of the major strategic choices for addressing the issues and realizing the vision, including partnering with community and other organizations, developing new information and technology resources, and reorganizing for the 21st Century; and (4) "Planning with a Local Library: Woodland Public Library," a case study of a prototypical detailed strategic planning process with one local public library based on all the information gathered in the study. Two appendices describe the scope and methodology of the study, and present a list of tables and figures. (Author/SWC)