The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Rural Utilities Service  (RUS)  have announced the dates and the locations for their broadband stimulus funding workshops. Register soon if you would like to participate; spaces are limited!

The ALA today welcomes the release of the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Broadband Opportunities Technology Program (National Telecommunications and Information Administration) and the Broadband Initiative Program (Rural Utilities Service) included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

With community colleges and libraries specifically mentioned in the 121-page document, ALA is optimistic about the opportunities available to America’s libraries through these programs and encourages all members to take advantage of this rare chance to apply for federal funding.

To assist libraries through this process, the ALA Washington Office will offer a host of resources beginning with a webinar tailored to the library community on Wednesday, July 8. (Be on the lookout for future District Dispatch posts to obtain more details.) The webinar will feature ALA consultants Greg Rhode, former NTIA administrator; Chris McLean, former RUS administrator; and John Windhausen, former senior counsel of the Senate Commerce Committee. Additional webinars will be offered in the coming weeks to cover various programs rules.

During Annual, members can learn more about applying for broadband funding by attending the following Washington Office events:

• Washington Office Update
  8 to 10 a.m., Saturday
  McCormick Place West (MCP), Room W-474

  The update will include an hour-long discussion of the ARRA with an introduction from Bob Bocher, an overview of broadband funding program led by McLean, and a question-and-answer session with Bocher and McLean as well as Alan Inouye, director of the Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP), and Carrie Lowe, director of OITP’s Program on Networks.

• Telecommunications: Connecting in the 21st Century and Federal Broadband Stimulus
  10:30 a.m. – noon, Sunday
  McCormick Place West (MCP), Room W-176b

  This program will focus on federal broadband stimulus funding under the ARRA and provide attendees with an opportunity to ask detailed questions. This session will also cover other key issues in telecommunications policy such as net neutrality and developments in the Obama Administration, U.S. Congress, and the Washington policy community.
  Program chair is Bocher with panelists Mary Alice Ball, Inouye and Windhausen.

• John Windhausen at Membership Booth
  2 to 3 p.m., Sunday
  10:00 to 11 a.m. or 2 to 3 p.m. Monday
  ALA Membership Booth on the Exhibit Floor

  Windhausen and Washington Office staff will be on hand to answer questions about broadband stimulus funding applications.

• ALA Membership Meeting
  3:30 to 5 p.m., Saturday
  MCP W-375a
  This meeting with include a broadband overview by McLean.
• ALA Membership Meeting with broadband overview
  11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Monday
  MCP W-375a

  This meeting with include a broadband overview by Windhausen with Lynne Bradley, director of the Office of Government Relations, and Inouye, director of the Office for Information Technology Policy.

The ALA Web site, www.ala.org/knowyourstimulus, will continue to be a composite source all stimulus resources – including the webinars – so be sure to visit it often, as updates are made regularly.

Applications will be available beginning July 7 and electronic applications for broadband funding must be submitted by 5 p.m. ET on August 14, 2009, so time is of the essence! Go to the broadband section of knowyourstimulus today to learn more!

ALA Annual Conference 2009 is just around the corner! For issue briefs, committee agendas, program information and other conference resources from the Office of Government Relations and the Office for Information Technology Policy, be sure to check out the 2009 Annual Conference Washington Office Resources Web site.

Contacts:
Jenni Terry, Press Officer
ALA Washington Office
jterry@alawash.org

Vivian Pisano, Chief of Information Technology
San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA  94102
(415) 557-4340
vpisano@sfpl.org

For Immediate Release
June 29, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) is soliciting nominations for best library practices using cutting-edge technology.

“We want to showcase libraries that are serving their communities with novel and innovative methods and provide the library community with some successful models for delivering quality library service in new ways,” said Vivian Pisano, Chair of OITP’s America’s Libraries for the 21st Century Subcommittee.

Nominations should be sent to the American Library Association, Office for Information Technology Policy, 1615 New Hampshire Avenue NW, 1st Floor, Washington, D.C. 20009 by September 1, 2009.  Details about the nomination process and an online submission form are available on the OITP Web site.

The America’s Libraries for the 21st Century Subcommittee will review all nominations and conduct selected interviews or site visits to identify those libraries that are truly offering a best practice or most innovative service.  Libraries or library service areas selected will be publicized via the OITP Web site, highlighted through ALA publications, and featured in a program at the ALA Annual Conference in 2010.