MERLIN LIVE LINK
The MERLIN LIVE LINK is a a pilot technology learning website which can be accessed by all Maryland public libraries. This allows for staff development opportunities by pointing to web-based models. This website allows library staff to provide technical support, training for the public and day-to-day service in the library.
OPPORTUNITY ONLINE GRANTS
Opportunity Online Hardware Grants awarded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation allocated $425,088 in funds to help 53 Maryland public libraries provide quality access to computers and the Internet. The new “Opportunity Online” hardware grants are for public libraries serving communities with high concentrations of poverty and at risk of having outdated technology. To be eligible for funding, libraries must provide matching funds. The expected total of required matching funds is $238,763.
Librarians participating in the program attended advocacy training, Turning the Page: Building Your Library Community, designed to help them raise awareness in their community about their library’s services and increase local support and funding for technology services.
Over the last decade, public libraries have provided communities with access to information through computers and the Internet. Many libraries, however, struggle to keep pace with technology and the rapidly increasing community demand for these services. A recent national survey revealed that four out of five public libraries say they don’t have enough computers to meet their community’s needs. The Gates Foundation is committed to equipping citizens to participate in the digital world through free and open public library facilities.
RURAL SUSTAINABILITY
With funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, WebJunction’s Rural Library Sustainability Program partnered with state library agencies to provide workshops in 42 states, including Maryland, introducing seven areas key to sustaining public access computing. The curriculum and project follow-up enabled libraries to accomplish goals associated with these areas through a supportive action planning process.
The seven areas of sustainability included:
Library Connections: Rural libraries all across the continent are facing the same kinds of challenges to sustainability. This topic emphasized the need for connections among library staff in the local, regional, and national community to share the common challenges.
Technology Support: Public access computing leads to an increased staff workload and unexpected challenges. This topic presented ways to access additional technology support.
Upgrade and Maintenance Planning: As technology changes at a rapid pace it requires frequent hardware and software upgrades and ongoing maintenance. Exploring ways to maintain the library’s technology and planning for improvements is a key area.
Staff and Patron Training: Continued learning is central to the mission of libraries. Expanded training opportunity for staff is the focus of this area of sustainability.
Funding: Innovative sustainable funding for the library’s technology is critical to sustaining library services.
Outreach: Outreach is a continuous process of learning about what your community needs. Rural Library Sustainability participants developed strategies to meet community needs and market library services.
Advocacy: Advocacy is demonstrating and convincing decision makers of the value of the library and the services it provides. This area of sustainability focused on training library staff to “make the case” by employing the “best practices” for advocacy.
SPANISH LANGUAGE OUTREACH
In an effort to support libraries to meet the challenge of increasing numbers of Spanish speaking residents, Web Junction, with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, launched a Spanish Language Outreach Program to discover how best to improve the attitudes, skills and knowledge of local library staff to meet the technology needs of Spanish speakers in their community. The program partnered with four state library agencies including Maryland. Web Junction’s ultimate goal was to increase the number of Spanish speakers who use computers in the library and attend computer training courses.
STAYING CONNECTED GRANTS
These grants provide for upgrades or replacements for computers in various public library systems around the state.