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Last week, Jennifer mentioned the department of agriculture’s recent announcement about $100 million in grants and loans for rural libraries. I wanted to know a bit more about the program, so checked into it a little bit more. Here’s what I found.
Overview
·The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture has designated approximately $100 million in grants and loans (texas state library blog says they’ve learned it’s mostly loans and “a much smaller number of grants”) from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to support public libraries in rural areas or small towns. Loans can be repaid over 40 years, and are available to institutions who can’t otherwise get credit.
·Definition of rural is serving under 20,000 (similar to WJ definition of a small/rural library serving < 25,000).
·Administered through the Rural Development Housing and Community Facilities Programs, the funds will support the construction, enlargement, or improvement of public library facilities along with the purchase of facility equipment.
·Depending on funding availability, RD plans to provide up to $500,000 in additional grant funds to each State Office through the Community Facilities American Recovery Reinvestment Act grant account for library projects.
·Funds may be used for costs to acquire land needed for a facility, pay necessary professional fees, and purchase equipment required for a facility’s operation. Funds can be used to purchase shelving, furniture, computers, audio-visual equipment, distance learning equipment, and bookmobiles.
·Applications will be accepted through the USDA Rural Development regional field offices (different for every state) http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rhs
·Community Facilities Grants are authorized on a graduated scale. Applicants located in smaller communities with low populations and low incomes will receive a higher percentage of grants. Grant funding limitations are based on population and income, economic feasibility, and availability of funds
·ALA Washington Office press release: http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2010/january2010/usdadesignates_wo.cfm The Secretary of Agriculture has allocated $100 million in United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Community Facilities funding for public libraries to provide educational opportunities and improve public services in rural communities. The funding will be provided primarily through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In 78 percent of rural communities, the library is the sole provider of no-fee Internet access,” Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the ALA Washington Office, said. “This funding specifically set aside for rural libraries is a lifeline for communities across the country who depend on their local libraries for basic needs such as Internet access as well as assistance with e-government services, literacy and homework programs, and much more. We thank the USDA for its recognition of the vital role libraries play in rural communities and their need for funding.” Funds may be used to construct, enlarge or improve public libraries. This can include costs to acquire land needed for a facility, pay necessary professional fees and purchase equipment required for operation. Funds can be used to purchase shelving, furniture, computers, audio-visual equipment, distance learning equipment and bookmobiles.
Selected blog mentions These posts mostly repost the info; a few other state libraries, systems, or associations posted as well but this gives you a good sense for who picked it up.
To those of you who are investigating these loan and grant options and application process, is there anything that WebJunction can do to support this process for everyone? It might be helpful to share applications, tips or tricks for going through the process, or lessons learned once awards are made. Let us know what you’d like to see or how we can help.
The ALA Washington Office is hosting a webinar on broadband stimulus programs on February 5. Space is limited, so please reserve your seat now at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/531394042
John Windhausen, consultant to ALA’s Washington Office and president of Telepoly, and Christopher Mclean, Principal of e-Copernicus and former Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), will provide more in depth information about Round II of BTOP and BIP — the federal broadband stimulus programs at the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture. Included will be a brief discussion of key suggestions for making your application successful made at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Denver workshop.
Title: BTOP & BIP: How to Connect Date: Friday, February 5, 2010 Time: 1:30 PM – 2:30 AM EST
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista<
Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer
Here’s a timely message from our friends at Drexel University Online. Note the March 1 deadline!
Suni Minorics’ has shared her story about how she was able to pursue her interest in library and information science at Drexel’s iSchool. Now you can do the same. Visit www.drexel.com/wj to apply online at no cost. Complete your application by March 1 to begin class this spring. Be sure to enter “WEBJUNCTION” as your partner code on your application to receive a 20% tuition reduction!
For additional information or assistance with your application, please contact Valerie Malinowski, Webjunction-Drexel Online partnership liaison, at (215) 895-0915 or vm97@drexel.edu.
The Secretary of Agriculture announced in a 1/26/10 press release that the department has designated $100 million in USDA Rural Development Community Facilities funding for public libraries. The program will provide educational opportunities and improve public services in rural communities.
Applications are handled by USDA Rural Development field offices. To reach the USDA Rural Development contact for a specific state, visit www.rurdev.usda.gov/ – adding the two-letter initial of the state to the end of the URL.
WebJunction’s Workforce Resources topic is growing. Since I first introduced it earlier this month, we are building momentum with new documents and links to information.
Community and Library Services Analysis Tools
Analysis worksheets created by Kitty Yancheff of the Humboldt County Library in Eureka, California to assess community and library services to triage social services.
Speaking of Kitty, she is one of the presenters in Thursday’s (Jan 28) webinar on Libraries and Workforce Recovery. If you miss it, there will be an archive.
Workforce Resources will continue to grow. We welcome your contributions. Tell us what your library is doing to guide patrons toward recovery. Share your stories of patrons who were steered toward success with the help of the library.
David says, “Google Wave is a collaborative, instant messaging service which began in a preview (alpha) edition in 2009. Google Wave may change the very face of virtual reference. This group is for libraries/librarians and others who wish to connect with one another outside of Wave and share ideas, projects and tools about and for Wave”.
Excitement is building for the February 9-10WebJunction Online Conference. Registrants represent libraries around the globe, from Illinois to India, and from British Columbia to Brazil. Some are library directors, others are currently seeking jobs – all are invited to attend. Here are three ways to make the most of your conference experience:
1. Pick which sessions you most wish to attend: You aren’t required to attend every session. You will be able to re-enter sessions as your schedule permits, and the sessions will be archived so you can catch up on those you missed.
2. Make it a team event: Set up a computer for your staff to drop in as they’re able. Or, invite your colleagues to each attend one session and share what they learned in a follow-up session.
3. Bring your success stories: We’ll invite folks to ask lots of questions via chat, but please come ready to share stories and links to relevant resources. This online format provides a multitude of ways to exchange ideas and experiences!
Now that the ALA Midwinter conference has wrapped up and all the travel home is finished its time for a wrap up post, chock full of juicy details. So where to start, where to start… Personally, this was the most engaging and useful ALA-MW I’ve attended. It just seemed more welcoming and useful. The sessions, the level of engagement of the attendees, the conversation, it really was chock full of conferencey goodness. I suppose that impression isn’t entirely WebJunction centric on my part, but it all did seem very cohesive and things just seemed to come together nicely all around.
I’d even go so far as to say that even though it took me two days to get to my secondary post-ALA-MW destination of Dublin, OH (to OCLC HQ don’t you know:), and I only got 90 minutes of sleep during that trip to Dublin from Boston, it was still, without a doubt, worth the trip. Sure, that was a brutal travel experience, but it was totally worth it. Why? Here are a couple of the things that stood out for me:
First, and this also isn’t really about libraries or WebJunction, but Boston is a great city to visit! I imagine lots of you know that already, but what I saw of it really made me want to see more and maybe even go back for a long weekend vacation some time. When I became a librarian I sure didn’t expect that a fringe benefit would be to sometimes get to see new cities! The taxi and shuttle rides, meals and evenings out for Libraryland social events at Midwinter this year provided the opportunity to see incredibly historic locale after incredibly historic locale….and now I want to go back, you know, when you aren’t rushing between meetings and events. If you had a chance to see any stand out libraries in Boston it would be great to hear your story and add it to the list of things to see next time a trip to Boston rolls around.
Another really nice thing at the conference was the humble, but very enjoyable little WebJunction reception. We got to visit with some old and new friends and folks from some of our partner orgs. About 35 of us got together for a nice, relaxed visit where we could all meet face to face, chat and snack a bit. We also held that meeting at 3:00, which seemed like a welcome time for many folks who were tired from a very active string of days and appreciated a chance to chill out a bit and chat in such a friendly environment. Since we are planning more, similar events both for PLA and ALA Annual, if that timing sounds either good or bad to you, please drop a line. We’re always hoping to make these events as useful as they can be and timing is part of that.
The OCLC Symposium was also very interesting, with the CityYear information really jumping out in particular for me (btw, Chrystie stepped in to do some mic work during this event and you can see here in the photo below). Some quality notes for the symposium are here:
It seemed to me that the booth/exhibit hall was a little quieter than usual this year, but I may have been visiting during more quiet times. Did you think the exhibits were quieter this year? I just read this afternoon that attendance was up from Denver, so maybe that impression isn’t spot on?
I snuck in to a smattering of ALA meetings and saw some great presentations as well, but since this post is getting long I’ll cut myself off here. I will say that some of the larger after hours events like the LITA get together, the Tweetup and the facebook meeting were really great opportunities to connect with smart, friendly, funny people. I’d encourage more folks to attend of come up with similar meetings like these in the future. They are later in the day, but even hitting one or two of them can be quite useful. And if you can’t find out where those gatherings are, you can drop me a line and I’ll get you all connected. Then while your there, we can talk libraries!
We’d love to hear any observations about ALA Midwinter that you have…even if you didn’t attend you may have seen some interesting tidbits fly by. It seems like you could consume more things for the event whether you were there or not, thanks to so many of us being connected online now, in so many ways. So feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts and observations on ALA Midwinter 2010.
If you’ve heard of “accessibility” and want your site to be usable for all people, but aren’t sure where to start, this webinar is for you. Mark your calendars!
Welcome to 2010 and what’s sure to be the year of online conferencing! WebJunction has been providing online programming in the form of monthly webinars for the past few years and we’re thrilled to be piloting our first-ever online conference filled with presenters from our partner communities and beyond! Join us on February 9–10 for this free online conference, Technology Essentials 2010, focused on practical and timely strategies for leveraging technology in sustaining your library. Conference sessions and presenters include:
Sandra Nelson with The Planning Puzzle: Integrating your Strategic Plan and your Technology Plan
Stephanie Gerding with Library Grants 101
Joshua Dodson and Laura Slavin with WordPress for Library 2.0 and Beyond
Pat Carterette with Learning When There’s No Time (or Money) to Learn
Karen McCoy with Implementing Reliable Instant Messaging at Your Library.
On September 10, 2009, IMLS announced a grant awarded to WebJunction and the State Library of North Carolina to support public libraries’ efforts to meet the urgent and growing demands of our communities as they struggle with the loss of jobs and the needs of the unemployed. The team chose the name of Project Compass as an apt metaphor for the intention of assessing the present situation of workforce development in libraries and for setting direction toward future recovery. The compass is also symbolic of the direction that libraries provide to their patrons and their communities, especially in turbulent times. There is abundant evidence that people are turning to libraries as to the North Star, depending on this community institution to provide guidance through the economic downturn.
Libraries have already responded to the critical needs, creating or augmenting multiple and robust resources and services. The variety of responses to the Library Responses to Economic Tough Times survey brings to light the energetic guidance that is emanating from libraries all over the country. Highlights of the survey responses are captured in the Compass Survey Summary; the details of individual state responses may be read in the collection of Compass Snapshots for each state.
If you have followed any of these links, you’ve had a glimpse of what is a budding resource on WebJunction. In addition to the Project Compass section, which will collect information pertinent to the project and participants, there is a new Workforce Resources topic. This nascent topic area will grow over the coming year. We hope that everyone involved in workforce development issues will help that growth. We are interested in contributions on tools, resources, and services that any library—large or small, state or local— has deployed toward workforce recovery.
Join us on January 28 to learn about successful library programs and best practices that address the increase in patron job-related needs. You’ll hear about strategies for triaging social services and how to analyze your library’s services in relation to existing community social services. You’ll discover new ways to create partnerships with community agencies to leverage workforce development efforts. Finally, you’ll get tips on tactics that can be implemented on a shoestring or non-existent budget to respond to patron workforce development needs.
With kids out of school and at the library these next few weeks, there’s no better time to be gearing up for StoryTubes. Entries for the third annual contest will be accepted for the public library sponsored “two-minute or shorter” my favorite book online contest on January 20. The contest is open to all, with prize awards available to young people, K-12.
WebJunction’s StoryTubes group has been following the project over the years but we were so pleased to see StoryTubes win the well-deserved PLA Polaris Innovation in Technology John Iliff Award in 2009. Alan Harkness, chair of the PLA award jury said that the StoryTubes project was chosen for the prize because it “captured the essence of using technology in an innovative way to tie back into a core business function of public libraries: sharing the joy of reading.”
“The StoryTubes project gave local kids a means to use technology they were interested in to talk about stories. The way that this project brought the community together to vote on the videos the children made was quite original and easily replicated in libraries everywhere.”
Project participants have more than doubled across the nation each year as more young people and educators are discovering the creative magic of matching kids’ love of reading with their interest in technology.
Visit the StoryTubes site to hear how the project has impacted reading efforts in schools and libraries around the country and then download materials to promote in your own community. And be sure to join the WebJunction group if you’re a StoryTubes librarian!
Beginning with this week’s webinar, WebJunction online events will be hosted using the WebEx online conferencing tool. This will allow for a more stable environment for larger groups where audio and load-time for slides has been problematic in the past.
Attending one of our free live online events will remain relatively unchanged:
Registrants will be sent an email with the link to join the event and can join the event up to 30 minutes before start time.
The event’s audio will stream over computer speakers or headphones (as Audio Broadcast) but attendees will also be provided with a toll-free option to join by telephone.
We will continue to use a chat feature for you to engage with other attendees but will add a Q&A feature to manage questions directed to presenters.
As in the past, all portions of the event will be archived and made available with related resources on the event’s archive page on WebJunction.
With funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the National Center for State Courts, the Center-hosted Self-Represented Litigation Network, in cooperation with the Legal Services Corporation, is presenting: A Training on Public Libraries and Access to Justice
January 11-12, 2010, Austin, Texas
Information on Application Process
With funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the National Center for State Courts, the Center-hosted Self-Represented Litigation Network, in cooperation with the Legal Services Corporation, is presenting a two-day conference that addresses how public libraries can improve access to online legal information at libraries. The conference will be a unique opportunity for participants to meet with public librarians and with legal and court experts to discuss strategies for integrating access to legal information into their programs, including how to locate the best content and tools, how to talk about the content with library patrons, how to work with content partners to make sure that needed content is developed, how to share what they have learned statewide, and how to use successful programs to advocate for the importance of public libraries as gateways to government institutions.
The conference organizers plan to select between 10 and 15 teams of two to three people from across the country to attend the conference. These teams will learn about a broad range of currently available print and online, customer-friendly legal tools developed by courts, bar associations, law libraries, and legal aid programs that support people without access to legal aid or counsel. The participants will learn how to access this information, facilitate sharing among libraries and legal agencies and participate in the enhancement and customization of these tools.
Preference will generally be given to teams that include a person who plays a statewide library staff educational or organizational role; a local librarian with a strong interest in expanding the use of public libraries for access to justice; and one of the following: a legal aid staff member; or a court online information expert or member of a self help center currently not using online tools to provide services. Applicant teams are encouraged to put together a group that will be the most effective in their area of service to spread the word in their states. The decision of the selection group will be final.
Conference participants will receive travel and hotel costs (subject to certain caps described in the application). Participants will also be eligible to apply for post-conference funding to implement some of the tools learned at the conference. Such grants, which will range from $750 to $1,000, might be used for travel to conferences at which training would be shared, development of marketing materials, and so on.
For additional immediate information, contact Richard Zorza, richard@zorza.net.
Washington, DC—The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and in cooperation with Arts Midwest, announces the 2010 deadline for The Big Read, a program to revitalize the role of literature in American culture. Organizations may apply for grants ranging from $2,500 to $20,000 with the grant size determined by community population, number of activities planned, and artistic excellence and merit. Selected communities will participate in The Big Read from September 2010 – June 2011.
Communities across the country have strengthened their Big Read projects by enlisting the support of art, science, history, and children’s museums, as well as aquaria, arboreta, botanical gardens, nature centers, and zoos. Since 2006, more than 800 awards have been made to communities across the country. Learn more about Big Read events and access free online versions of Reader’s, Teacher’s, and Audio Guides at www.NEABigRead.org. Applicants must choose one of 31 available Big Read selections, including this year’s new title In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez.
Big Read grants require the participation of a library as a lead applicant or a partner. Grant funds, which must be matched with nonfederal funds, may be used for such expenses as book purchases, speaker fees and travel, salaries, advertising, and venue rental.
Organizations selected to participate in The Big Read will receive a grant, access to online training resources and opportunities, educational and promotional materials to support community involvement, an organizer’s guide for developing and managing Big Read activities, inclusion of the organization and its activities on The Big Read Web site, and the prestige of participating in a national program.
The application can be downloaded at http://neabigread.org/guidelines.php. The proposal deadline is February 2, 2010. Questions should be directed to Arts Midwest at 612-238-8010 or TheBigRead@artsmidwest.org.
