First Round Application for the Broadband Stimulus (ARRA "BTOP") Grant Program

Hello All,

You are getting this message because you are the director of a public library in one of the fifteen counties listed on the attached spreadsheet, or if you are a coop director. It has taken quite a bit of time to figure out the first round application for the broadband stimulus (ARRA "BTOP") grant program for computing centers and broadband adoption (see http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/PCC-July29-PublicRelease.pdf for ALA white paper and this site for further background).

MSU telecom professor Kurt DeMaagd kdemaagd@msu.edu) is writing the proposal for the public computer center and broadband adoption grant funding on behalf of the State of Michigan. He has diligently matched up the counties in which we are confident there will be an infrastructure grant submitted in round one, so that there will be a potential boost in speed along with the computers we would like to place in the public libraries. You may recall that the State was planning to submit an infrastructure proposal, however when the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) was issued, it became clear that the focus for those funds would more heavily weighted to service providers serving end users. The State Planning Consortium for Broadband is doing what it can to assist the service providers in their proposal writing efforts and collaboration. See http://michigan.gov/broadband for current information and sign up to receive updates.

We have a VERY fast turnaround in order to get a proposal submitted for this first round of funding. We are asking you for a number of things, so please read carefully the information below.

1. The attached spreadsheet shows the fifteen counties (Chippewa, Clare, Gladwin, Gogebic, Grand Traverse, Huron, Leelanau, Marquette, Menominee, Oakland, Oscoda, Otsego, Sanilac, Tuscola, and Van Buren) with the libraries/outlets in each, along with the current number of computers and the additional computers needed for each, based on a formula found in the Colorado State Library Public Library Technology Standards (http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdelib/technology/techstan.htm).

For the first step, we would like to fund the purchase of 381 computers based on this spreadsheet. We will write the grant to fund $1,000 for each computer, but we need a cash match amount from the libraries of $250 for each $1,000 we request. Note: We must have cash match for the grant. If you cannot afford this amount, please tell us what you can contribute. If you can afford more, please let us know so that we can take maximum advantage of this grant opportunity.

The $1250 ($1000 from the grant plus $250 from you) will provide the workstation (CPU, monitor, keyboard, mouse) plus operating system plus MS Office and other common software. Note: This is a rule of thumb. If you would rather have laptops that you check out for use in the library, you may have a different pricing configuration.

2. We will write for an additional $350,000 or so for public computer centers that can be divided among the fifteen counties based on requests from you. For each $1,000 worth of requested funds, you will need a cash match amount of $250. Priority will be given to the counties with the highest poverty and unemployment rates, if we need to pare down these requests. This will provide another 350 or so computers for the fifteen counties in this first round.

3. What we need from you:

In the attached application worksheet, we need:

a. number of computers desired,
b. amount of cash match you will contribute,
c. number of people served by your public access computers during the week (M-F) and during the weeken (Sa,Su)
d. FTE and cash equivalent for the time personnel at your library spend related to public access computing (can be for training, assistance, technical support, etc.)

We have the current connection speed at your library, the number of public access computers you currently have, and the library's open hours on the attached spreadsheet (BTOP). Please let us know if you have corrections.

In addition to your response on the worksheet, we need a letter of support with the following items addressed:

a. General statement of support for the State application
b. A statement that computer upgrades would not be possible without this money
c. A couple sentences about the community you serve. e.g., rural community, high unemployment, lots of entrepreneurs, low-income, people with disabilities, etc. (we have the census data already)
d. A couple sentences about how the library supports economic development. e.g., technology training, after-school programs, unemployment/job search help, small-business support, etc.
e. Required: In-kind contribution of staff (expressed in FTE and $) from worksheet; Contribution of cash match from worksheet; Statement that your annual budget includes maintenance and upgrade costs for the computers

Coop directors - can you assist? I want to make sure this message is received by every library in the fifteen counties. Thanks! -Sheryl

BTOP Letter of Support.doc

BTOP Public Computers Round One.xls

Application Worksheet.xls

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sheryl L. Mase
Director, Statewide Services
Library of Michigan
702 West Kalamazoo/P.O. Box 30007
Lansing, MI 48909-7507
517-373-4331 toll free: 877-479-0021 fax: 517-373-5700
e-mail: mases@michigan.gov
http://michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan
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