Does anyone know how access technology and accessible computing fit into
these grants? I'd be interested to know what percentage of all the
equipment being placed in Louisiana for example had access technology
installed as part of the setup.
Posted at 11:56 a.m. PST Tuesday, February
24, 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------
Bill and Melinda Gates Announce Gates Library Foundation 1998 Grant
Recipients; First Round of Funding
to Reach Over 1000 Libraries
MONTGOMERY, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24, 1998--Bill and Melinda Gates
announced today that more than 1,000 U.S. libraries will benefit from the
1998 first round of Gates Library Foundation grants.
The grants, representing more than $20 million for computers, technical
assistance and training, will give public library patrons access to
computers and the Internet. In addition, Microsoft will be donating
software to grant recipients with a total estimated retail value of $13
million.
The announcement was made in Alabama today by the Gates' as they toured
libraries in three cities to see firsthand the impact computers and
Internet access can have on rural and urban communities. As the
foundation's first state partner, Alabama is nearing completion of a
rollout that will eventually reach 95 percent of Alabama's libraries with
new computer hardware, software, technical support and training.
`Today, Melinda and I have seen for ourselves that public libraries are
leading the way to technology, information access and literacy in Alabama's
neediest communities,` said foundation co-founder and Microsoft CEO Bill
Gates. `It's our dream that if you can reach a public library in Alabama,
you can reach the Internet.`
`The excitement we're feeling in Alabama reinforces our belief that
everyone in the community has a role to play keeping our public libraries
dynamic and healthy,` said Melinda Gates. `From the volunteers at the
library in Selma helping adult students get their GED certificates, to the
kids in Demopolis teaching their parents how to use a computer, this effort
takes all of us.`
Grants announced today fell into three categories: Statewide Library
Partnerships, Urban Library Leadership and Opportunity grants. Applicants
had to demonstrate need based on local and regional poverty levels, and
ability to sustain the computer centers (see note a).
In this initial round of funding, the Gates Library Foundation will:
-- Reach more than 1,000 individual libraries
-- Train more than 12,000 librarians with technical and practical
training
-- Partner with libraries in 29 states and 57 cities
-- Install more than 5,000 individual computer workstations
Grant amounts range from $4,200 for the library in Saint John, Ariz., to an
additional computer to its very small library, to $3.5 million for
workstations in each of Louisiana's library buildings, ensuring that every
citizen of that state will be within a short drive to a publicly accessible
computer.
All grant applications were reviewed by a committee consisting of library
professionals from around the country: Ginnie Cooper, director of libraries
for Multnomah County in Portland, Ore. and president of the Public Library
Association; Luis Herrara, director of the Pasadena Public Library; Annabel
Stephens, Ph.D., associate professor, School of Library and Information
Studies at the University of Alabama; and Bernard Vavrek, professor of
library sciences and director of the Center for the Study of Rural
Librarianship at Clarion State University.
Grant recipients are receiving technical assistance and training from the
Technology Resource Institute (TRI), a Seattle non-profit funded by the
Foundation to act as its on-site and over-the-phone technical support arm.
The Gates Library Foundation was founded in June 1997 by Microsoft CEO Bill
Gates and his wife, Melinda French Gates, to partner with public libraries
in bringing access to computers and digital information to patrons in
low-income communities in the United States and Canada. The Gates'
commitment of $200 million is being distributed in the form of grants,
hardware, training and technical assistance. In addition, Microsoft is
donating software with an overall retail value of $200 million to be
distributed directly to grant recipients. Corbis Corp. will be donating
software for every computer installed as well. The Gates Library
Foundation, located in Redmond, Wash., is a 501(c) 3 non-profit
organization. Further background and grant guideline information is
available through the foundation's website at www.glf.org. -0-
(a) Call Lucas Bryant & Berg for grant description and complete list of
beneficiaries.
--30--ek/se..
CONTACT: Lucas Bryant & Berg
Laury Bryant or
Rose Berg
lbryantlb2inc.com rberglb2inc.com 425/454-0207
|
