New and updated content tagged "Funding"

CE Funding

Shirley Biladeau — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 08:38:12 -0600

Now that you have decided which road to take on your continuing education journey, you may have also discovered you need some financial assistance. Here are some resources to consider:

Continuing Education Grants for Libraries (ICFL)
Become A Librarian! (Central Jersey Regional Library Cooperative)
Idaho Library Association
SWIM Regional Collaborative Library Education Project

Click for more Continuing Education Resources

Funding Fundamentals

sue.walker — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 09:45:31 -0600

Slides and participant ideas at the March 31, 2009 ILA Region 4 conference

LSTA Advocacy Grant Application

sonja.hudson — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:49:20 -0700

Wal-Mart Minigrants

staci.shaw — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:23:04 -0700

As a result of a collaborative effort among the Idaho Library Association, First Lady Lori Otter, the Idaho Community Foundation and the ICFL, the Wal-Mart Foundation has provided $98,000 in one-time funds to support "Strengthening Library Services for Youth in Idaho."

The Commission distributed the funds through a competitive mini-grant process open to all Idaho publicly-funded public libraries. “Strengthening Library Services for Youth in Idaho” was designed to encourage creative thinking and new approaches in order to provide innovative services and help libraries reach more youth from birth to age 18 and their families. Grant awards ranged from a minimum of $1,000 to a maximum of $10,000. The Commission received 53 grant applications and awarded 14 grants.

Grant guidelines: project eligibility, allowable expenses, grant evaluation process and criteria, and deadlines, as well as a list of ICFL staff who are available to answer questions

Application, was due February 2, 2009

The application process for Wal-Mart mini-grants is now closed. Award recipients were announced in March 2009.

Library Technology Survey

Julie Pence — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:33:03 -0600

Thank you for helping the Idaho library community document our growing needs for technology and connectivity. If you are a public library director, please read on.

Did you know?

According to the 2007-2008 “Libraries Connect Communities: Public Library Funding and Technology Access Study”

66% of public libraries offer free wireless access, up about 12% over last year;
Almost 66% of all public libraries provide 1.5Mbps or faster Internet access speeds, with a continuing disparity between urban (90%) and rural libraries (51.5%);
74% of libraries report their staff helps patrons understand and use e-government services, including enrolling in Medicare and applying for unemployment.

What is this study?

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded the American Library Association (ALA) a 3-year grant to assess public access to computers, the Internet and Internet-related services in US public libraries, as well as the impact of library funding changes on connectivity, technology deployment and sustainability. Earlier this fall, ALA sent a letter to all public library directors requesting participation in 2008, the 3rd year of the study.

More than 4,000 public libraries responded to the 2006 Public Library Funding and Technology Access survey.
5,488 public libraries responded to the 2007 survey.
The 2008 survey is available online until November 7.

What about Idaho?

Do these figures hold true for Idaho libraries? Well, we don’t know. A minimum 40% response rate is needed to have enough data for a state summary.

42% (49) of Idaho public libraries responded in 2006; you can see the Idaho summary via the link below.
Only 37% (43) responded in 2007, so we have no state summary for that year.
As of this week, 17 Idaho public libraries have completed the 2008 survey.

What next?

The 2008 survey is underway now, and has a closing date of November 7.
The online survey is available at http://www.plinternetsurvey.org. You’ll also find more background information and a link to a PDF version of the survey if you wish to print it.
While that is valuable time out of your already full day, I encourage you respond and help Idaho contribute enough data for a state summary.

Why does this matter?

The Gates Foundation uses data from these studies to track library funding and technology trends so it can better understand how to improve support in those areas. For example, the Gates Foundation used data from the 2007 study to help shape its connectivity grant-making strategy that is currently being piloted.
A particular goal of the 2008 study is to help public libraries develop advocacy strategies for developing sustainable funding sources for public access Internet services and resources.
Idaho public libraries and the Commission for Libraries need Idaho-specific data to help document our growing needs for technology and connectivity.

The survey reports for 2006 and 2007 are available at: http://ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/ors/plftas/0607report.cfm
http://ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/ors/plftas/0708report.cfm

E-Rate Statistics

jan.wall — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 11:42:31 -0600

Internet Safety Policy

jan.wall — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 08:37:46 -0600

NCIPA & CIPA Compliance

E-rate Central CIPA Compliance Checklist

Children's Internet Protection Act - SLD

Children's Internet Protection Act, CIPA: A Brief FAQ

Internet Safety Policy

All libraries must follow NCIPA (the Neighborhood Children’s Internet Protection Act) guidelines. These guidelines specifically require that all libraries have an Internet Safety Policy that has been reviewed in a public meeting. You can use your current Internet safety policy if it includes the following points. The policy is your library's opportunity to define computer use policies and discuss them with your community.

An Internet Safety Policy must address:

Access by minors to inappropriate matter on the Internet and the Web;
The safety and security of minors when using electronic mail, chat rooms, and other forms of direct electronic communications;
Unauthorized access, including so-called "hacking," and other unlawful activities by minors online;
Unauthorized disclosure, use, and dissemination of personal identification information regarding minors; and
Measures designed to restrict minors' access to materials harmful to minors.

This policy must be adopted after holding at least one public hearing or meeting. It is suggested that your board take action on this and that it not be only a procedure/administrative rule. In regards to the public meeting, the law states that libraries need to “provide reasonable public notice and hold at least one public hearing or meeting to address the proposed Internet safety policy."

The hearing/meeting can be part of an open regular board meeting which allows for public comment. Completely document the meeting by keeping the public notice and the minutes which reflect the discussion and action taken by the board.

Idaho FSCS Numbers

jan.wall — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 07:45:48 -0600

When You Apply, You'll Need...

jan.wall — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 07:26:03 -0600

Technology Plans and Technology Plan Approval Process

FSCS Codes

Starting in E-rate Year 2005-2006, Form 471 requests that public libraries enter their "FSCS Code." On Form 471 (Description of Services Ordered and Certification), Item 9a requests "Entity Number AND NCES Code (for schools) or FSCS Code (for Libraries)." The number being requested is in the form ID0001-002, where the first two letters are the state abbreviation, the first four digits refer to the administrative entity, and the last three digits identify the outlet. There is a unique identifier for each public library outlet: centrals, branches, bookmobiles, and books-by-mail only.

Table of Idaho Libraries and their FSCS Numbers

This chart is in alphabetical order by administrative outlet. Please call or e-mail Jan Wall (866-212-0646) with any questions.

FCC Registration Numbers

The Fifth Report and Order (FCC 04-190, released August 13, 2004) states that all participants in the E-Rate program must obtain an FCC Registration Number (FCC RN). Participants are required to obtain at least one FCC RN for each Taxpayer Identification Number by November 1, 2004, pursuant to Public Notice DA 04-2994 (released September 16, 2004) and Public Notice FCC 04-230 (released September 28, 2004).

FCC RNs are required for entities that do business with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Therefore, if your entity already has an FCC license (for example, for ITFS or a radio station), you may already have an FCC RN. If you already have an FCC RN, you do not need to get a new one simply for the purposes of E-rate.

Further details are available here.

You can apply online for an FCC RN from the FCC web site. Follow the link to the “FCC Registration Number Commission Registration System (CORES)” on the left hand side of the screen.

Discount Calculations

CIPA Compliance

jan.wall — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 07:19:07 -0600

Once your Internet Safety and Acceptable Use Policies are in place, your library must decide if it wishes to filter and to what extent. The CIPA portion of the law does not require libraries to filter. Compliance is only necessary to participate in certain portions of the E-rate program and some LSTA funded initiatives. Libraries deciding to forego funds from these programs do not need to filter.

What factors should be considered when evaluating CIPA compliance?

Cost of staff training
Local community input
E-rate or LSTA funding that might be affected
Compatibility with current software or vendors
Does the product meet local and federal filtering requirements?
Cost of the filtering solution and any recurring fees
Features and customizable options available with the filtering product
Cost of staff time to implement/maintain/upgrade/monitor the solution

What is required to be CIPA compliant?

All computers with Internet access, including staff PCs, must operate with blocking or filtering technology that

prevents access to visual depictions that are obscene; and
prevents access to child pornography;
For minors under the age of 17,
visual depictions that are harmful to minors must also be blocked.
The terms "obscenity", "harmful to minors" and "child pornography" are defined in the United States Code and extracted in the text of the CIPA decision. The interpretation and implementation of these laws will vary locally.

In the recent Supreme Court decision, the ability to disable filters at the request of an adult was emphasized.

Documentation necessary for CIPA compliance:

An approved technology plan
Certification on E-Rate form 486 (individual) or form 479 and letter of agency (consortia)
LSTA Internet Safety Certification (for LSTA projects only)
Acceptable Use Policy/Internet Safety Policy