All FCC Forms 471 electronically filed or postmarked by that date and time will be considered IN WINDOW.

Download a PDF of this information

• This money is being offered through ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act).
• The funds will help rural communities up to 20,000 in population to improve their community facilities (including libraries), enhance educational opportunities, and improve economic conditions. Specifically, eligible purposes include:
  • Construct, enlarge, extend, or improve essential community facilities
  • Obtain necessary equipment for the operation of these facilities
  • Reasonable fees such as engineering, legal, administrative environmental analysis, surveys, and planning
  • Cost of acquiring interest in land; rights, such as water rights, leases, permits, and rights-of-way
• The loans and grants are available to public entities including municipalities, counties and special districts as well as non-profit corporations and tribal governments with the legal authority necessary for construction, operation and maintenance of the facility.
• Colorado has received $2.2M of the nationally available $100M. This money needs to be earmarked by September 30, 2010. Projects do not need to be completed by this date.
• 80% of this money will be available as loans, 20% of the money is available as grants.
• 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.
• Applications are handled by USDA Rural Development field offices.

Due to Colorado Tabor laws, governmental entities such as municipalities, counties, and special districts will need to work closely with the USDA field officers and get legal advice on their eligibility for any loans. If you have a project in mind, please contact one of the following field offices listed at the bottom of this email and set up an appointment to discuss the opportunity. Field officers are available to come to your library to talk about the program.
Please note that should ballot issue 61 pass this fall, future revenues would have to be reduced by the average annual debt service payments after the borrowing term expired. Library boards and directors should understand the possible implications of the ballot issue (61) as they discuss any loans with field officers from USDA.

The State Library had planned to hold a webinar on this grant/loan opportunity, but the complexity of the issues make it more desirable for individuals who are interested to go directly to the USDA field officers for information. Visit the USDA website.

Alamosa (719) 589-5661 x4
(Alamosa, Chafee, Conejos, Costilla, Custer, Fremont, Mineral, Park, Rio Grande, Saguache and Teller)

Cortez (970) 565-8416 x4
(Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma, San Juan, and San Miguel)

Craig (970) 824-3476 x4
(Clear Creek, Eagle, Garfield, Gilpin, Grand, Jackson, Moffat, Rio Blanco, Routt, and Summit)

Delta (970) 874-5735 x4
(Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Lake, Mesa, Montrose, Ouray, and Pitkin)

Las Animas (719) 456-0120 x4
(Baca, Bent, Crowley, El Paso, Huerfano, Kiowa, Las Animas, Otero, Prowers, and Pueblo)

State Office (Lakewood) (720) 544-2903 or (800) 424-6214

Wray (970) 332-3107 x4
(Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Cheyenne, Douglas, Elbert, Jefferson, Kit Carson, Larimer, Lincoln, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, Weld, and Yuma)

GCPL will receive this year’s $1,000 award honoring its innovative and creative “artist-in-residence” program. Beginning in the summer of 2008, with the financial backing of the Friends of the Library, the GCPL offered a Poet-in-Residence to the community, who held a series of workshops for people of all ages on writing, reading, and appreciating poetry of many varieties.

This is the second year in a row that a Colorado library has won the EBSCO Award (it was John C. Fremont Library District in 2009).

View the press release (PDF)

New ALA report details economic trends in libraries and 2010 outlook
CHICAGO – At every turn, news reports and research indicate fairly dramatic changes in U.S. library funding, services and staffing – most occurring in the last 18 months. According to a new report prepared by the American Library Association (ALA), libraries of all types are feeling the pinch of the economic downturn while managing sky-high use.

Compiled from a broad range of available sources, The Condition of Libraries: 1999-2009 presents U.S. economic trends (2009), and summarizes trends in public, school and academic libraries across several library measures, including expenditures, staffing and services. The report also highlights trends in services provided to libraries by library cooperatives and consortia.

“This report was prepared to inform and assist library leaders as they plan in these very difficult times,” said ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels. “It succinctly brings together diverse strands of data from the past decade to provide a useful benchmark for the library community and its advocates.”

As communities and academic campuses develop future fiscal plans, it is clear that all types of libraries are visibly hard hit. In a fall 2009 report prepared by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 34 states had reported cuts to higher education, which impacts academic libraries; and 25 states had cut funding to K-12, which impacts school libraries. Total state budget shortfalls for fiscal year 2010 are $178 billion, and FY2011 are estimated to be roughly the same.

Public libraries also have been affected. While the full impact of the economic downturn remains fluid and the data challenging to assemble, what is known is that flat funding has been an obstacle – perhaps even a chronic problem – for many libraries this entire decade. Confirming evidence from a 2006 ALA study of public library funding, a 2009 survey conducted as part of the Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study revealed a worsening of funding – about 20 percent reported flat funding continuing in FY2010 and a majority reported budget reductions. Of those with budget cuts, about 20 percent reported 5-to-10 percent reductions in FY2010 from FY2009.

Library trends include:

School Library Media Centers

• At a time when school enrollment (K-12) is growing, almost all schools reported in 2009 a decrease in funding for information resources, with a median per-student expenditure of just over $12; and
• Fewer school libraries served more students in the 2006-2007 school year compared with the 2002-2003 school year; and
• Total SLMC staff grew slightly, then declined in the 2006-2007 school year compared with 1999-2000.

College and University Libraries

• While student enrollment at colleges and universities has declined since 2004, library use continues to increase. During a typical week in 2008, academic libraries reported more than 20.3 million visits, up from 18.7 million in 2006. They also provided more than 498,000 informational services to groups attended by more than 8.9 million students and faculty, up from 471,000 sessions attended by 8.3 million in 2006;
• In fall 2008, 72 percent of academic libraries reported providing library reference service by e-mail or the Web, about the same as in 2006; and
• Operating expenditures rose modestly during the period 2002 to 2008.

Public libraries

• Total public library circulation and circulation of children’s materials continue to rise.  Circulation of children’s materials has accounted for between 32.9 and 35 percent of total circulation between FY2002 and FY2007. Total circulation of public library materials has grown each year – up to 7.4 items per capita from about 6.8 items in FY2002;
• Most public library Internet services have grown between 2006 and 2008, most notably audio and video content; and
• Total public library operating expenditures have varied little year-to-year and typically align with inflation rates. Staff account for the largest portion of expenditures, followed by “other” expenditures (technology, utilities, programming, etc.) and collections.

The full report is available at http://www.ala.org/ala/research/initiatives/Condition_of_Libraries_1999.20.pdf Individual reports by type of library are available at http://www.ala.org/ala/research/index.cfm.

Denise M. Davis
Director, ALA Office for Research & Statistics
50 E. Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611
dmdavis@ala.org | 312-280-4273 | fax 312-280-4392

Nomination Requirements and Eligibility:
1.    Public library must be an Affiliate or Full Network Member of the NN/LM, MCR. Not a member? Join today, it’s FREE http://nnlm.gov/mcr/services/network/index.html.
2.    Partnership must be between a public library and a public health entity. An entity encompasses those organizations whose focus is to protect and improve the health of a community through education, promotion of healthy lifestyles, and research for disease and injury prevention.
3.    Nominations must demonstrate the success of the partnership
4.    Self-nominations are encouraged

Examples of outstanding partnerships can include, but are not limited to:
1.    Partnerships to improve access to health information for underserved/vulnerable populations
2.    Partnerships to provide access to health information before/during/after a disaster or emergency (i.e. natural disaster, pandemic, man-made disaster)
3.    Partnerships  to benefit the overall library communities access to health information
4.    Partnerships to conduct innovative health information outreach programs

Nomination Process:
1.    A summary of the public library/public health partnership supporting success with anecdotes or evidence
2.    Do not exceed four typed pages or 1,000 words (double-spaced; minimum 12-point type size)
3.    Provide complete contact information, including name, address, phone/fax number and e-mail address of the nominee and nominator
4.    Nominations should be submitted in MS Word and sent via email to Dana Abbey @ dana.abbey@ucdenver.edu
5.    Questions? Please contact Dana Abbey at Toll Free 1-800-338-7657, select option 1, then option 2, then option 3

Nominations must be received by: March 16, 2010

Award recipients will be notified by: April 16, 2010

The Colorado Department of Education will hold a one day beginner E-rate training session on December 14, 2009 from 9am to 4pm.  The training session will cover the basics of E-rate from the history of E-rate to completing forms.  This training is open to anyone new to E-rate.

All participants are encouraged to come prepared to complete the Form 470 if one has not already been completed.  The following documents are needed to complete the Form 470 below:

•List of all area codes and prefixes for existing telephone lines
•List of services for which you are seeking discounts
•List of facilities for which you will be seeking discounts
•Any Requests For Proposals (RFP) or Requests For Information (RFI) that have been recently published
•Contact information if a new Entity number is needed (if you are not the contact person for the application)

The training will be at the Denver Public Library – Central Library 10 W. 14th Avenue Parkway.  A parking garage is located at Broadway and 12th Avenue for a fee.  There is free internet access in the Library and I would encourage participants to bring their laptop if possible.  Breakfast and lunch will be provided.
 
Additional training sessions will be delivered via Webinar.  Dates and times for the Webinars will be available soon.

Please RSVP to Tina Tamayo by December 11, 2009 at tamayo_t@cde.state.co.us if you plan to attend training on December 14, 2009.

Should you have any questions feel free to DeLilah Collins at Collins_D@cde.state.co.us.

• * Share with you the latest services and resources we can offer Colorado libraries
• * Hear how libraries have transformed your lives

CSL at CAL 2009 – Schedule (PDF)

Have other questions about technology plan requirements for e-rate? Visit the Colorado State Library online, or contact me (Christine Kreger) by phone (303-866-6946) or e-mail.

“The TechAtlas tools guides your library through building a technology plan, starting with defining your mission and vision, creating goals and objectives, and leading through the budgeting of your expenses. We’ll share important tips for those of you who are applying for E-rate funds and creating a technology plan as a requirement for that program. You will also see a live demonstration of TechAtlas and hear best practices about technology planning and how to help lead your library into the future through effective planning.”

The webinar is free, but registration is required.

Help Your Library
By providing data about advocacy, impacts, benefits, and challenges of public access Internet services in public libraries you will help inform and educate stakeholders at the local, state and national levels about the issues and needs your library faces in providing public computer and Internet access services and resources.

Advocacy for Libraries
A particular goal of the 2009 study is to help public libraries develop advocacy strategies for developing sustainable funding sources for public access Internet services and resources.

Bonus–Win a Kindle
Upon completion of the survey, you may register to win an Amazon Kindle.

About the Survey
http://www.plinternetsurvey.org/

Questions
If you have any questions regarding the survey, please e-mail support@plinternetsurvey.org, or call (301) 405-9445.