[Publib] Professional Development & Library Technology Plans

Mon Jun 2 16:25:36 EDT 2008

For the past dozen years, I've followed the evolution of the Federal
E-RATE program.  Last year, there was some discussion about the 5
elements of Library Technology Plans, specifically Professional
Development.  

What are good examples of Professional Development strategies used by
public libraries?
Do you use general or results-oriented goals?  Here are examples of
both:
- membership in library technology groups or listservs. (general)
- participation in courses, workshops, conferences, webinars, or online
conferences? (general)
- Course on ABC in order to do XYZ. (result-oriented)
- Staff professional development program on library web 2.0. Staff
participation/completion rate of X% over 2 year. Goal is to offer and
use a minimum of X# new web tools a year. (results-oriented)

How do you measure results?  And, once measured, are they communicated
to your community?  To the Library Board?
For example, if a library adds a fun feature to its website, is there an
increase in "visits" to that portion of the website?  Or if a book
review or library activities blog is created, how many people subscribe
to it?  Does a library blog on library programs and announcements
increase participation in library events?    Do city or county governing
bodies or IT Departments know when there are increases in "visits" to
library websites or blogs?  These kinds of measurements could be useful
in changing the perception of the public about how libraries are
changing or evolving.

I look forward to hearing how professional development is included in
Library Technology Plans.
Thank you.

- Jackie
********************** 
Jackie Siminitus, MLS 
AT&T Library Advocate 
795 Folsom Street, Room 517-N1, San Francisco, CA 94107 
415-644-7112 : jacquelyn.siminitus at att.com 
AT&T Knowledge Network Explorer, www.kn.att.com 
Blue Web'n Library, www.kn.att.com/wired/bluewebn/ 
http://2CoolTools.blogspot.com; <http://2cooltools.blogspot.com;/>
http://Advocate4Libraries.blogspot.com
<http://advocate4libraries.blogspot.com/>     

________________________________

From: SL News Brief [mailto:SLNewsBrief at lists.universalservice.org] 
Sent: Friday, May 30, 2008 11:51 AM
To: SIMINITUS, JACQUELYN E (ATTPB)
Subject: USAC's Schools and Libraries News Brief for this week

header <http://www.usac.org> 	
Schools and Libraries News Brief 
May 30, 2008 

TIP OF THE WEEK: If you will be covered by a new technology plan in
Funding Year 2008, make sure that you have sent your plan to a
USAC-certified Technology Plan Approver (TPA)
<http://www.usac.org/sl/tools/search-tools/tech-plan-approver-locator.as
px?WT.mc_id=sl-newsbrief-20080530>  for approval. Your plan must be
approved before services start or your Form 486 is filed, whichever is
earlier.

Commitments for Funding Years 2008 and 2007 

Funding Year 2008. USAC will release FY2008 Wave 6 Funding Commitment
Decision Letters (FCDLs) June 3. This wave will include commitments for
approved Priority 1 requests (Telecommunications Services and Internet
Access) for schools and libraries at all discount levels. As of May 30,
FY2008 commitments total over $538 million. 

Funding Year 2007. USAC will release FY2007 Wave 53 FCDLs June 4. This
wave will include commitments for approved Internal Connections and
Basic Maintenance requests at 81% and above and denials at 80% and
below. As of May 30, FY2007 commitments total just under $2.33 billion.

On the day the FCDLs are mailed, you can check to see if you have a
commitment by using USAC's Automated Search of Commitments
<http://www.usac.org/sl/tools/search-tools/search-commitments/?WT.mc_id=
sl-newsbrief-20080530>  tool.

Overview of the Selective Review Process

Each year, certain applications are chosen to undergo a review process
that is more extensive than the standard Program Integrity Assurance
(PIA) review. USAC calls this process a Selective Review
<http://www.usac.org/sl/applicants/step08/undergo-selective-review/?WT.m
c_id=sl-newsbrief-20080530> . Applicants chosen for Selective Review
must provide additional information to demonstrate compliance with
specific program rules and policies.

In general, Selective Review covers four areas:

*	Technology planning 
*	Competitive bidding and the service provider (vendor) selection
process 
*	Budgeting for the applicant's non-discount share of the cost of
eligible services 
*	Securing access to necessary resources (Form 471 Item 25
certification) 

In past years, applicants undergoing Selective Reviews have had to
complete all sections of the Selective Review. For FY2008, some
applicants will still be required to do so. However, other applicants
will complete only certain sections of the Selective Review. These
abbreviated reviews are known as Category Selective Reviews.

The Selective Review process generally runs as follows:

*	Your selective reviewer uses your preferred mode of contact to
send you the Selective Review Information Request (SRIR)
<http://www.usac.org/_res/documents/sl/pdf/selective-reviews/srir-sample
.pdf?WT.mc_id=sl-newsbrief-20080530>  document. This document contains
all of the Selective Review questions you must answer and a checklist
(on page 2) for the documentation you must provide. NOTE: If your
preferred mode of contact is telephone, the Selective Reviewer will call
you and ask for an email address or a fax number so that you can receive
the document. 
*	Call or email your Selective Reviewer to confirm receipt of the
document. 
*	Check to verify that all Forms 471 filed by your Billed Entity -
including any filed by Billed Entities over which you have authority -
are included in the document. Selective Reviews are done at the Billed
Entity level, not the Form 471 level, and it is important to include in
the review all Forms 471 filed by your Billed Entity for the funding
year. 
*	Review the instructions
<http://www.usac.org/sl/applicants/step08/undergo-selective-review/selec
tive-review-info-request-instructions.aspx?WT.mc_id=sl-newsbrief-2008053
0>  for the sections of the SRIR that you must complete.  
*	Remember that you have a limited amount of time to respond to
the questions. USAC requests responses within 15 calendar days for
Category Selective Reviews and 30 calendar days for Full Selective
Reviews. 
*	If you have questions during the preparation of your response,
contact your Selective Reviewer as soon as possible. Make sure your
answers and your documentation are both responsive and complete. 
*	If you need more time to complete your response, ask for it.
USAC can grant you a limited extension of time. 
*	After you have submitted your response, USAC will review all
materials you provided and may contact you with follow-up questions. 
*	If USAC's review results in a decision that would lead to a
partial or complete denial of funding, USAC will contact you and give
you an opportunity to provide additional information and/or clarifying
information. 
*	After USAC has reviewed the information you provide and after
the entire PIA review process has been completed, USAC will issue
funding decisions on your Forms 471. 

Below we cover each one of the Selective Review areas in more detail.
For a series of questions and answers on the Selective Review process,
you can also refer to the Special Edition of SL News Briefs that we sent
out earlier this week:

*	Selective Review - FAQs
<http://www.usac.org/sl/tools/news-briefs/preview.aspx?id=161&WT.mc_id=s
l-newsbrief-20080530>  
*	Selective Review - Technology Planning and Budget
<http://www.usac.org/sl/tools/news-briefs/preview.aspx?id=162&WT.mc_id=s
l-newsbrief-20080530>  
*	Selective Review - Competitive Bidding
<http://www.usac.org/sl/tools/news-briefs/preview.aspx?id=163&WT.mc_id=s
l-newsbrief-20080530>  
*	Selective Review - Contracts
<http://www.usac.org/sl/tools/news-briefs/preview.aspx?id=164&WT.mc_id=s
l-newsbrief-20080530>  

Technology planning

Discounted services other than basic telephone service must be covered
by a technology plan. We ask for three items for the Selective Review
section that deals with technology planning:

*	The technology plan creation date. This is the date that the
technology plan first contained all five required elements, even though
it may not have been in its final approved form. This date must be on or
before the date that any associated Form 470 was posted to the USAC
website, as the technology plan should form the basis of the services
requested on the Form 470. 
*	A copy of the written technology plan. This is the technology
plan as it existed on the creation date above, not necessarily the final
version approved by a USAC-certified TPA. 
*	The person(s) or organization(s) that created the technology
plan or assisted you with its development and the name of the
USAC-certified TPA that approved or will approve the technology plan. 

Competitive bidding

The competitive bidding section of Selective Review is the most complex
and involves the greatest amount of documentation. In this section, USAC
is looking for evidence that an open and fair competitive bidding
process occurred and that you complied with all applicable program rules
and policies.

For documentation of your competitive bidding process, we will ask for
the following at a minimum:

*	A copy of all signed and dated contracts and/or any other
agreements with service providers related to your Form(s) 471 
*	A copy of your Request for Proposals (RFP) if one was issued 
*	A description of the process you used to select the most
cost-effective bid 
*	Copies of all winning and losing bid responses 
*	Any correspondence between service providers and the applicant
that relates to the competitive bidding process 

Budget

When we refer to "budget" in a Selective Review, we are interested
specifically in more information about how you will pay your
non-discount share - that is, the net cost of the eligible services
after the E-rate discount is applied.

We will ask you for a copy of your operating budget for the upcoming
funding year. If you cannot provide us with a final approved operating
budget, you can send us BOTH:

*	A signed and dated letter from an official at your school or
library with certain information on your budgeting process AND 
*	An alternative budget document, such as a draft budget covering
the current funding year. 

Item 25 certification

In Item 25 of Form 471, you certify that "the entity I represent or the
entities listed on this application have secured access, separately or
through this program, to all of the resources, including computers,
training, software, internal connections, maintenance, and electrical
capacity, necessary to use the services purchased effectively. I
recognize that some of the aforementioned resources are not eligible for
support."

The section of the Selective Review that requests information on
securing access to these necessary resources is a worksheet that you
complete with dollar and number figures. In some cases you may have
invested in resources in a previous year - such as computers or servers
- that can still be used for this funding year, and there are fields on
the form to identify and include those resources. You will also have an
opportunity to indicate contributions and/or in-kind donations.

Because this section of the SRIR is self-explanatory and does not
involve additional documentation, it is not covered in the Special
Edition of SL News Briefs mentioned above.

For additional information on Selective Reviews, you can refer to Step
8. Undergo Selective Review
<http://www.usac.org/sl/applicants/step08/undergo-selective-review/?WT.m
c_id=sl-newsbrief-20080530>  and the related documents identified on the
USAC website.   

You may download and print copies of Schools and Libraries News Briefs
<http://www.usac.org/sl/tools/news-briefs/?WT.mc_id=sl-newsbrief-2008053
0>  on USAC's website. You may subscribe
<http://www.usac.org/sl/tools/news-brief/subscribe.aspx?WT.mc_id=sl-news
brief-20080530>  to or unsubscribe
<http://www.usac.org/sl/tools/news-brief/unsubscribe.aspx?WT.mc_id=sl-ne
wsbrief-20080530>  from this news brief. For program information, please
visit the Schools and Libraries area
<http://www.usac.org/sl/?WT.mc_id=sl-newsbrief-20080530>  of the USAC
website, submit a question
<http://www.slforms.universalservice.org/EMailResponse/EMail_Intro.aspx>
, or call us toll-free at 1-888-203-8100. Feel free to forward this news
brief to any interested parties.

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