100 likes | 224 Views
Meeting the Challenge of Maintaining Public Computers & Internet Access. NMLA/MPLA March 16, 2007. Project Overview. 3 year project (March 2006 – March 2008) Funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Focuses on 18 States. Objectives. Profile key library segments Form a Steering Committee
E N D
Meeting the Challenge of Maintaining Public Computers & Internet Access NMLA/MPLA March 16, 2007
Project Overview • 3 year project (March 2006 – March 2008) • Funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation • Focuses on 18 States
Objectives • Profile key library segments • Form a Steering Committee • Spotlight Best Practices • Distill best practices into practical tech support “cookbooks” • Pilot cookbooks • Disseminate cookbooks widely
Spotlight Best Practices • “Heart of the Project” • Share Your Story
Who Is the Audience? • Library serves a population of <10K people • Less than 5 FTE staff, often 2 or fewer FTE staff • 5-10 public computers running Windows 98-XP
Lessons Learned So Far • Rural librarians are resourceful • Cookbooks will be most useful for “the middle” • Leadership is a key factor • Most prominent grants are Gates and E-rate
Cookbook Objective • To provide a useful tool and resource for rural librarians that will help • train staff and volunteers • make it easier to perform routine maintenance and avoid problems • obtain support when needed • develop a technology plan to ensure continued access
The Joy of Computing – A Cookbook for Rural Librarians • Getting Started • Public Computing Configuration and Troubleshooting • Staff and Volunteer Training • Present Needs • Future Needs • Appendices • Resources • Patron training
How You Can Participate • Share Your story • What works for you • Favorite resources • Spread the word • Tell us what you need
For More Information • Visit our project site: • www.maintainitproject.org • Project email address: • maintainit@techsoup.org • Call us: • 1-800-659-3579 x390