. thinking of applying for federal broadband stimulus funding. That’s right, just published last Friday, Enhancing Broadband in Washington: Effective Means to Improve Connectivity and Awareness / Report of the Governor’s Broadband Advisory Council, July 17, 2009.

The report includes recommendations for broadband mapping, public-private partnering, Anchor Institutions, multi-purpose grant proposals, and broadband access and adoption programs all to provide the Governor with a framework for advising federal officials on the priorities of the State.

State librarian, Jan Walsh, was a member of the Governor’s Broadband Advisory Council (GBAC) from its inception. Her goal: to make sure Washington libraries had a place at the table. So how did libraries fair in the final version?

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… thinking of applying for federal broadband stimulus funding. That’s right, just published last Friday, Enhancing Broadband in Washington: Effective Means to Improve Connectivity and Awareness / Report of the Governor’s Broadband Advisory Council, July 17, 2009.

The report includes recommendations for broadband mapping, public-private partnering, Anchor Institutions, multi-purpose grant proposals, and broadband access and adoption programs all to provide the Governor with a framework for advising federal officials on the priorities of the State.

State librarian, Jan Walsh, was a member of the Governor’s Broadband Advisory Council (GBAC) from its inception. Her goal: to make sure Washington libraries had a place at the table. So how did libraries fair in the final version?

Read the rest of this entry »

Today the Washington State Library (WSL) released a new Broadband Stimulus Funding Resource page at http://www.secstate.wa.gov/library/libraries/projects/broadband/resources.aspx.

The page describes the role that we will play in assisting Washington libraries in their quest for broadband stimulus funding as administered by the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).

Specifically, our role is to facilitate information sharing and partnering between libraries and other applicant partners (e.g., vendors, non-profits). We will provide public information resources and make libraries aware of potential application partners.

We have decided not not to apply for broadband stimulus funding on behalf of Washington’s libraries. There are non-library applicants desiring to partner with libraries who have the capability to bring the broadband pipe to the library building. We don’t have that capability and that is what many libraries need.

On our Broadband Resources page we invite broadband stimulus funding applicants – those who desire to partner with Washington libraries — to send us abstracts of and links to their application proposals. We will post these on our resources web page and also distribute the information through library email lists and other communication channels.

Additionally, you will find links to resources both internal to the State Library and external that will be useful to applicants. For example, "must reads" such as the Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) and BIP and BTOP applications are linked.

The Library Council of Washington adopted a resolution supporting libraries seeking broadband stimulus funding. We have not posted it on the Resources page but it is available to any library that requests it. Please send your request to me at [email protected]. And please check our advice to libraries in the "For Washington Libraries" section.

As always, we’d love to hear from you.

The feds released the rules for applying for broadband stimulus funding today. We’ve been waiting on pins and needles for weeks. Finally the day has come.

As we anticipated, the application window is short — July 14, 2009 at 8:00 a.m. ET until August 14, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. ET.

Anyone anticipating applying for or being part of an aggregated application for broadband stimulus funding should read the rules at at http://broadbandusa.sc.egov.usda.gov/files/BB%20NOFA%20FINAL%20with%20disclaimer_1.pdf. Yep, all 121 pages.

The rules cover both the RUS Broadband Initiatives Program (loans and grants for broadband infrastructure projects in rural areas) and the NTIA Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) (grants to fund broadband infrastructure, public computer centers and sustainable broadband adoption projects).

There’s also a notice in the Federal Register (V.74 no. 125, Wednesday, July 01, 2009) at http://broadbandusa.sc.egov.usda.gov/files/BroadbandBuyAmericaNotice7-1-09.pdf. It includes details on the “Buy American” waiver for the RUS broadband initiative.

The Washington State Library will participate in a conference call with the American Library Association Washington Office on Thursday, July 2. We anticipate that ALA Washington will host an open webinar on July 8. We will be send out the details when we have them.

In the meantime, Jan Walsh continues to serve on the Governor’s Broadband Advisory Council which is wrestling with the issue of criteria for awarding broadband grants. We are doing our best to ensure that Washington’s libraries are well represented. We’ll be in touch. You do the same. 

From the desk of Rand Simmons

This past Saturday, June 20th, seven of us from the Office of the Secretary of State (the Washington State Library’s parent office) participated in the 5K Walk/Run, “I Topped the Rock” – a benefit for the Castle Rock Public Library. The event raised awareness of the need for funding for the Library. The vote to fund the library was just four votes shy this spring. There will be another vote in August (I believe that is the correct month). The event also raised funds for the library, which is just scraping by until the next vote – and then, of course, they will have to wait until the tax funds become available.

It was a lot of fun – especially that grueling climb to the top of Castle Rock. Kelly Warren from WTBBL took the Women’s Runner Division. Go Kelly! Other participants were Brian Zylstra, Laura Sherbo, Jill Merritt, Jeannie Remillard, Jeff Martin, and me. Hope we didn’t miss anyone. Thanks to Sam Reed for lending his name to this important event.

You can see the photos we took at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsl-libdev/sets/72157620259660738/.

From the desk of Rand Simmons

Sometimes I get weary trying to keep up with what’s happening with the federal stimulus funding, but then there are occasions like today that lift my spirits. Amanda McKeraghan, Director of the Libraries of Stevens County, shared a compliment about Jan’s public comment at the governor’s use of broadband meeting on Monday. The compliment came from the academic sector.

I mentioned — in my April 20th blog — that the comments of Marc Berejka of Microsoft at that same meeting supported our own. His rallying cry was “fiberize all school, libraries, and hospitals.”

PC Magazine online ran a story, Microsoft: Schools, Libraries Need Broadband Funds, on April 24. “The federal funds are not enough to wire the entire country, so grant recipients will have to be able to sustain the systems beyond the initial infusion of government cash. As such, Microsoft suggests putting that money toward specific institutions.”

Berejka wrote in his April 23d blog post to Microsoft on the Issues: “There is not enough stimulus money to supply a broadband connection to every home, but using government funds to link every school, library and hospital will accelerate the rate at which the benefits of this important technology can be spread throughout the country.”

Neel Parikh, Director of the Pierce County Library System, has queried Washington public library directors to see who is interested in putting together an aggregated broadband application. She’s received a good response. It is exciting to see how the possibility of Washington public libraries getting broadband stimulus funding is coming together. As they say on the radio, “stay tuned.”

From the desk of Rand Simmons

Jan Walsh and I attended a conference call hosted by COSLA (Chief Officers of State Library Agencies) and the American Library Association Washington Office (ALA WO).

Here are some items from the notes I took that may be of interest to you:

• ALA created a document outlining how the construction funds can be used for libraries called “Library Construction and ARRA.” The US Dept. of Education recently published guidance on located at http://www.ed.gov/programs/statestabilization/applicant.html. Many states, including Washington, commented that the governor’s fund is already spoken for in their state. However, ALA WO encouraged the State Libraries to continue to advocate on behalf of libraries and encourage grassroots people to advocate as well. They stated that stimulus funds CAN be used for new shovel-ready construction including construction of public libraries. But it is up to governor to determine how to use the funding.

Regarding broadband:

• ALA Washington Office submitted public comment to both the US Department of Commerce (NTIA) and US Department of Agriculture (RUS)
• Microsoft also made public comment around it’s theme of “all schools, libraries, and hospitals should be fiberized”
• ALA WO is thinking of applying for broadband funding but it is holding judgment pending publication of program rules by NTIA and RUS. There was a plea to ALA WO to not compete with local libraries.
• FCC has issued an inquiry regarding a National Broadband plan. The FCC press release is  located at http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-289900A1.doc. The Notice of Inquiry is located at http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-09-31A1.doc. ALA WO will respond with comments in June discussing why libraries are the right choice and how e-rate has worked in the past and will continue to work.

I asked the question as to how the state priorities figure in terms of allocation of the broadband funding. The stakeholder meeting at which Jan made public comment (see my April 20th blog post) was to help Governor Gregoire determine priorities for Washington state. It is unclear, yet, about how the allocation of broadband funding at the federal level will be affected by the governors’ priorities. Again, everyone is waiting on the guidelines from NTIA and RUS to be released.

And, it’s anyone’s guess as to when the window of opportunity to apply will open. ALA WO expects the “rules” to be released soon – whatever soon means. Mixing metaphors, there will be 3 waves of opportunity. The first may be as early as June 2009 with another to be in the fall. ALA WO’s best guess is that there will be a 4 – 6 week application window! Applications will no doubt need to be submitted through http://grants.gov which requires registration — and there is a bit of a learning curve.

ALA WO and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are co-hosting a meeting on stimulus funding May 12 in conjunction with National Library Legislative Day (Washington, D.C.). Jan and I will attend.

The next meeting will be on May 6, 2009.

Courtesy Legislative Planning Committee, Washington Library Association State Bills of Interest.

The Washington Library Association(WLA) tracks state legislative activity that will potentially affect Washington Libraries. Their tracker is posted to the WLA web site and we will also post it weekly on this blog.  For information on the legislative process or becoming involved see the WLA site referenced above.

Click below to view the tracker.
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Courtesy Legislative Planning Committee, Washington Library Association State Bills of Interest.

The Washington Library Association(WLA) tracks state legislative activity that will potentially affect Washington Libraries. Their tracker is posted to the WLA web site and we will also post it weekly on this blog.  For information on the legislative process or becoming involved see the WLA site referenced above.

Click below to view the tracker.
Read the rest of this entry »

This morning State Librarian, Jan Walsh, spoke on behalf of Washington’s libraries at a hearing on broadband stimulus funding. The purpose of the hearing was to provide input to Governor Gregoire on the best use of federal stimulus funding designated for broadband purposes.

Walsh noted, “The ‘broadband stimulus funding’ provides an unparalleled opportunity to increase broadband access for `unserved’ and `underserved’ communities across Washington. Public libraries exist throughout Washington. They serve, without charge, all segments of society including those who are less-educated, those with lower-incomes, minorities, older adults, and the unemployed.’

Asked to identify 3 priorities for the use of these funds, Walsh stated: “Fiber to the libraries; infrastructure both external to libraries and internal within the buildings; and provision of public access computing (public computing centers) including wireless access anywhere in the library building and the immediate surrounding area.”

Walsh’s comments were supported by Marc Berejka speaking on behalf of Microsoft whose rallying cry is “all schools, libraries and hospitals should be fiberized.” Later Berejka noted that in some cases it might be more feasible to use wireless. His recommendation was a 100 mbps pipe — a project that could consume 50% of the available funds nationwide. Berejka said that schools, libraries, and hospitals must include connections “outside the door step” to provide access to Main Street America. Marc Berejka is Senior Director for Technology, Policy and Strategy with Microsoft.

Tim Mallory of Timberland Regional Library, and President of the Washington Library Association, noted that broadband to libraries would help them to stop rationing computers. It would help them provide community computer centers that people could access both within and outside the library building. Just at the time when people need assistance from libraries the most, diminishing budgets are forcing layoffs of reference and information assistance staff. “Give us the resources,” Mallory declared, “and we will get the job done.”

Mike Scroggins of the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges and a former member of the Library Council of Washington spoke of a vision of the K20 Network. K20 is Washington’s educational broadband network that includes public libraries. “Increasingly,” Scroggins point out, “students are not coming to campus to take their courses.” He said that many student go to their local library, and other community service outlets, to do their studies.

Throughout the two and a half hours of comment libraries were mentioned as an important stakeholder. Dr. Rob McDaniel, Associate Dean of the WSU Center for Distance and Professional Education, said that non-profits should also be included in the “schools, libraries and hospitals” theme. The AT&T representative supported the theme and noted that these service organizations could be instrumental in getting broadband adopted in Washington’s rural communities.

The text of Jan Walsh’s remarks follows (with much thanks for inspiration from the public comments of the American Library Association Washington Office and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to the NTIA and RUS on broadband).

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