[Scla-list] FW: Rural Library Broadband webcast

[Ray Turner]

See the email below for more information on the rural library grants.

Sincerely,
"Ray"
Rayburne J.  Turner
SCLA President
www.scla.org<http://www.scla.org/>
________________________________
From: Emily Sheketoff [esheketoff at alawash.org]
Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2010 6:48 PM
To: alacro-l at ala.org; Miguel Figueroa
Cc: Jenni Terry; Jacob W. Roberts
Subject: [alacro-l] Rural Library Broadband webcast

More details about the rural library grants

The Department of Agriculture sponsored a webcast this afternoon and one of our consultants listened.  He asked a couple of questions.

To qualify for this funding, a rural library must:

1.    Determine whether the library has received or will receive construction funding from the Community Facilities grant program.  There are about 200 libraries that have received funding from the Community Facilities program (RUS has made the list available on the BIP web site).

2.    Even if a library is on this list, it can only seek funding if there is no terrestrial broadband provider "available" in the service area offering over 768 kbps.  If there is a terrestrial broadband provider offering service, then the library is not eligible.

3.    If a library is on this list AND there is no broadband provider offering service, then the library must determine if it is within the service area of a BTOP or BIP awardee (or applicant that will receive funding).  RUS staff suggested that the library should use the mapping feature on the BIP web site to determine whether it is in an awardee's service area.

4.    If it meets all three criteria above, then the library must find out who the BTOP/BIP grant awardee is and submit a co-application with that BTOP/BIP grant awardee for Rural Library funding.  The library does not submit an application by itself.  Only the BTOP/BIP awardee in Round 1 or Round 2 may apply for funding, but it can join with the library as co-applicants.

So the prospects are not high that a library will meet all these criteria, but there may be a few.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the phone briefing is that Rachelle Chong was on the call and asked a question because California has 4 libraries on the list of 200.  She asked a question because her staff had trouble determining whether or not they were in the service areas of an awardee.

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