Public libraries are devoting significant resources to the development of web sites. Articles and research in the library literature have explored the design and organization of library web sites, but little has been written about potential ways in which library web sites can reach socially and economically disadvantaged populations. This poster session will overview a critical ethnographic research approach that uses a socio-cultural framework to explore public library web sites and the role those web sites can play in reaching traditionally underserved populations. A case study based on the web site of an urban library will be outlined. Does the library web site represent new opportunities or is it simply being used to create electronic versions of the same services (and barriers) libraries have traditionally provided? Research that examines the web site can be used as a lens through which to examine larger issues of identity, inclusion, and innovation.