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: – Project address: Call us: – x390