The following news release has been posted on the Maine State Library
home page.  Unfortunately, the day the grant was announced was a state
shut down day and yesterday was a State holiday which is why you are
receiving this message today.  The libraries who asked to be involved
(late last winter in response to a message from Janet McKenney) will be
receiving more information shortly.

I am confident that we are all up to the challenge of demonstrating to
the federal government that we can use our partnerships with other Maine
organizations/agencies and the equipment and training this grant will
provide to improve the lives of Maine citizens.

Please send any questions or input to [log in to unmask]

With grateful thanks to all of you for your support and participation!
Best,
Linda



Maine State Library Awarded $1.36 Million Federal Grant
On Friday July 2 Maine State Library was awarded a $1.36 million
Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) grant for the Maine
Public Library Information Commons Project. This award came from the
Public Computer Centers category administered by the Department of
Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA) as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery
Act/ARRA), signed into law in February 2009.  
The Maine Public Library Information Commons Project establishes or
enhances public computer centers in more than 100 public libraries in
Maine. The centers will serve as access points to free high speed
Internet service, and will provide assistance to vulnerable populations
both in the use of technology and in finding and using needed
information in the areas of employment, civil law, health, government
services, small business information, and workforce development. This
project also establishes 11 additional video conferencing regional hubs
to enhance training for patrons and librarians.

"This very competitive federal grant will serve the people of Maine more
effectively through advanced technology in its public libraries," said
Linda Lord, Maine State Librarian. "It is no secret that libraries are
serving more and more citizens in the face of severe budget challenges.
This grant is very timely."

The Maine State Library thanks our partners: Maine Information Network,
the Department of Labor's Center for Workforce Research and Information,
Access to Justice, Project Compass, and Maine InfoNet. We also thank the
Broadband Strategy Council, the ConnectME Authority, the more than 100
libraries involved and the Governor's Office for their support of this
project."

The full executive summary may be found at:
http://www.maine.gov/msl/recovery/


Linda H. Lord
State Librarian
Maine State Library
64 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
Tel: 207-287-5600
Fax: 207-287-5624
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Web: http://maine.gov/msl/