[Libs-Or] BCR, Member State Libraries Partner to Administer Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Grant - Press Release

[Brandie Baumann]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Brandie Baumann, Communications Coordinator

bcrpress at bcr.org; 303.751.6277, ext 110  



BCR, MEMBER STATE LIBRARIES PARTNER TO ADMINISTER BILL & MELINDA GATES
FOUNDATION GRANTS 

 

Aurora, CO, August 25, 2008 -- BCR has been selected to serve as
intermediary to administer and manage the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation Opportunity Online grants
<http://www.gatesfoundation.org/UnitedStates/USLibraryProgram/Announceme
nts/Announce-080715.htm>  in three states, partnering with the BCR
member state library agencies of Alaska, Oregon and Washington. The
grant program will help eligible public libraries in each of these
states upgrade computer hardware in communities with high concentrations
of poverty that are at risk of having outdated technology. 

 

Twenty-eight libraries in Alaska, 106 in Oregon and 87 in Washington
have been designated recipients of the grants. Eligible libraries must
obtain local funding commitments that demonstrate community support for
maintaining computer upgrades. 

 

Librarians participating in the program also are required to attend a
professional development conference focused on advocacy, to help them
build the skills and confidence they need to raise awareness about the
value of their libraries and increase local support. 

 

This is the second of three rounds of Opportunity Online grants.  More
than 800 library branches in Alaska, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island,
Virginia and Washington state are eligible in this round.  

 

The first round of Opportunity Online grants were awarded in October
2007 to Colorado, Delaware, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Nevada, New York,
Pennsylvania, Utah and Wyoming. A third round is scheduled for 2009 for
libraries in Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska,
North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Vermont and Wisconsin. The remaining
18 states are not eligible for Opportunity Online hardware grants due to
their participation in the foundation's Public Access Computing Hardware
Upgrade Grant program in 2006. 

 

To date, the foundation has invested $325 million in grants and other
support to install and sustain computers in libraries and train
thousands of library staff in all 50 states and U.S territories.
Opportunity Online hardware grants are expected to be the last grants
given by the foundation to fund computer upgrades in U.S. public
libraries with vulnerable technology, but the foundation continues to
support libraries through investments in Internet connectivity,
research, training and advocacy.

 

ABOUT BCR

BCR brings libraries together for greater success by expanding their
knowledge, reach and power. They offer a broad range of solutions and
their hands-on, personal attention to each 

member enables them to deliver effective and timely solutions that help
libraries keep pace 
with new developments in technology and services. BCR is the nation's
oldest and most

established multistate library cooperative. Since 1935, the BCR team has
helped libraries 

learn new skills, reach patrons, increase productivity and save money.
BCR (Bibliographical Center for Research) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit
headquartered in Aurora, Colorado. For more information, visit
www.BCR.org <http://www.bcr.org/>  or e-mail info at BCR.org.

 

ABOUT THE BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive
lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health
and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme
poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people --
especially those with the fewest resources -- have access to the
opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle,
the foundation is led by CEO Patty Stonesifer and co-chair William H.
Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren
Buffett. More information is available at www.gatesfoundation.org
<http://www.gatesfoundation.org/> .

 

 

Brandie Baumann
Communications Coordinator

BCR

14394 E. Evans Ave.
Aurora, CO 80014-1408
p: 303.751.6277 x110
    800.397.1552
f:  303.751.9787
e: bbaumann at bcr.org <mailto:bbaumann at bcr.org> 
www.BCR.org <http://www.BCR.org> 

 

He who has a garden and a library wants for nothing. - Cicero -

 

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