Public Library Broadband Proposal to go Before Budget Subcommittees in April – LETTERS NEEDED

Governor Brown’s January Budget contains $2.25 million in proposed new, ongoing funding to connect all public libraries to a statewide, high-speed broadband network operated by the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC).  The budget also proposes that an additional $1 million in one-time money be used for grants for those public libraries that may need assistance with the purchase of circuits or other hardware, etc.   This funding and policy issue has been scheduled for hearing in the Budget Subcommittees on Education Finance next month at the State Capitol and we need your help.

The State Library budget is the purview of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee Number 2 on Education Finance and the Senate Budget Subcommittee Number 1 on Education Finance.  These subcommittees have scheduled a discussion of the Governor’s public library broadband proposal for late April (April 23 and April 24 respectively).  CLA, the State Library and CENIC worked tirelessly last year to educate the legislature and the Department of Finance about the need for this program.  That advocacy effort led to the creation of the major State Library Broadband Needs Assessment that almost the entire library community participated in during the Fall.  The Needs Assessment gave CLA critical data and validated the claims we had made at the Capitol regarding the overwhelming need for better broadband speed, capacity and connectivity for California public libraries.

Since the Governor has embraced this proposal as part of his January Budget, it is imperative that the library community demonstrate a strong show of support for the broadband plan when the issue is before the Budget subcommittees in April.  Please take a moment today to use the sample letter that we have provided or feel free to customize it to fit your needs.  Send your letter to each member listed below either by mail or by fax by Wednesday, April 16. 

There is also a fact sheet on the broadband plan that you may access on the CLA website at www.cla-net.org in the “Advocacy” section.   

  

Budget Subcommittee Hearing Dates and Contact Information – 

State Library/CENIC Issue

Senate Budget Subcommittee Number 1 on Education Finance

Hearing Date:  Thursday, April 24 – 9:30 a.m. or upon adjournment – Room 3191

The Honorable Marty Block, Chair

Senate Budget Subcommittee Number 1 on Education Finance

State Capitol, Room 4090

Sacramento, CA.  95814

Fax:  (916) 651-4939

                                    

The Honorable Carol Liu, Member

Senate Budget Subcommittee Number 1 on Education Finance

State Capitol, Room 5097

Sacramento, CA.  95814

Fax:  (916) 651-4925

The Honorable Mark Wyland, Member

Senate Budget Subcommittee Number 1 on Education Finance

State Capitol, Room 4048

Sacramento, CA.  95814

Fax:  (916) 651-4938

                                                

Assembly Budget Subcommittee Number 2 on Education Finance

Hearing Date:  Wednesday, April 23 – 4 p.m.    Room 126

Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, Chair

Assembly Budget Subcommittee Number 2 on Education Finance

State Capitol, Room 4117

Sacramento, CA.  95814

Fax:  (916) 319-2166

Assemblyman Rocky Chavez, Member

Assembly Budget Subcommittee Number 2 on Education Finance

State Capitol, Room 2170

Sacramento, CA.  95814

Fax:  (916) 319-2176

Assemblyman Matt Debabneh, Member

Assembly Budget Subcommittee Number 2 on Education Finance

State Capitol, Room 5144

Sacramento, CA.  95814

Fax:  (916) 319-2145

Assemblyman Brian Nestande, Member

Assembly Budget Subcommittee Number 2 on Education Finance

State Capitol, Room 4139

Sacramento, CA.  95814

Fax:  (916) 319-2142

Assemblyman Phil Ting, Member

Assembly Budget Subcommittee Number 2 on Education Finance

State Capitol, Room 3173

Sacramento, CA.  95814

Fax:  (916) 319-2119

SAMPLE LETTER

[Date]

The Honorable [Name]

California State [Assembly or Senate]

State Capitol

Sacramento, CA.  95814

RE:                BUDGET ITEM # 6120-215-0001:  CALIFORNIA STATE LIBRARY –

            Statewide Library Broadband Services – Support Governor’s January Budget

Dear [Assemblymember or Senator _____]

I am writing to request your strong support of a program contained in the Governor’s January Budget that would provide essential broadband services for all of California’s public libraries.  This issue will be before the Budget Subcommittees on Education Finance in late April for a hearing when the State Library budget is considered. 

Budget Item 6120-215-0001 would provide $2.25 million in ongoing General Fund money for public libraries to allow them to join a major high-speed broadband network, operated by the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC).  An additional $1 million in one-time funding would be provided for the purpose of providing grants to libraries that may need additional assistance with the purchase of circuits or other augmentations, in order to join the CENIC network.

I am pleased that Governor Brown included funding in his Budget that will enable public libraries to join a high speed Internet backbone, which will allow libraries throughout the state to better meet the dynamic changing needs of patrons.  Library usage is at an all-time high [ - please insert some numbers  or percentages here from your own library - ] and yet many public libraries are equipped with broadband strength that is less than what one might find in their own home.  Your constituents are coming to the library to complete EDD applications, submit job applications, researching Affordable Care Act plans, accessing tutors for school assignments, applying for veterans programs – all online.  Not everyone has a computer or smart tablet at home, so libraries fill the role of the “great equalizer” of access for all in a community.

I strongly encourage the legislature to adopt the Governor’s proposal, which ultimately will allow the State Library to join the cooperative network, CENIC.  It is important to note that the legislature has a good familiarity with CENIC, as CENIC has been providing a high level of broadband service for the K-12, University of California, CSU, and community college systems for many years with great success.  

Your support of this project is vitally important to the public library community.  Thank you for your consideration.

 

Sincerely,

CENIC Update

About the Pilot Project to Connect Select California Public Libraries to CENIC

Connections to California Research & Education Network to Enable 21st Century Service and Global Collaboration

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Despite the recognized benefits of and increasing patron demand for innovative library programs, limited connectivity often prevents librarians in the California State Library System from offering programs and services they perceive would be of value to their patrons. (A comprehensive view of the current state of broadband connectivity for California's public libraries can be seen in the report High-Speed Broadband in California Public Libraries: An Initiative of the California State Library, created in response to a request by the state legislature.) Videoconferencing, streaming media, content creation, specialized software, longer sessions on terminals, and unlimited wireless access are badly needed by many of California's libraries, but insufficient bandwidth thwarts these libraries' efforts to fulfill their vital role in community research and education. In order to empower libraries -- particularly in challenged areas -- to play this role, better connectivity is crucial.

Work is underway to connect California's public libraries to CENIC's California Research & Education Network (CalREN) as a sixth segment, with the California State Librarian acting as the libraries' interaction point with CENIC. To understand the requirements and benefits of connecting public libraries to CalREN, four groups of libraries are currently being connected to the network as a part of a pilot project. The Peninsula Library System, a consortium of 35 public and community college public libraries, was the first to connect to CalREN at 10 Gigabits per second. The next phase will be to upgrade the bandwidth at every branch to 1 Gigabit per second, to be completed during the summer of 2014. A Gigabit connection has also been completed to the San Francisco Public Libraries, a 27-branch library system serving the San Francisco area. The San Joaquin Valley Library System and a group of nine county public libraries in northern Central Valley will be connected in 2014. Libraries in California's Central Valley will also be connected to CENIC as part of the Central Valley Next Generation Broadband Infrastructure Project.

California's education and research communities currently leverage their networking resources under CENIC (www.cenic.org), the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California, a non-profit corporation created in 1997 in order to obtain cost-effective, high-bandwidth networking to support their missions and respond to the needs of their faculty, staff, and students. Members of CENIC include the 10 campuses of the University of California, the 23 campuses of the California State University, the 112 campuses of California's Community colleges, and nearly 10,000 K-12 schools, as well as private universities such as Caltech, Stanford University, and USC.

CENIC designs, implements, and operates CalREN, the California Research and Education Network, a high-bandwidth, high-capacity Internet network specially designed to meet the unique requirements of these communities, and to which the above institutions and others, the vast majority of the state's research and education institutions, are connected.

As well as connecting these and other research and education institutions to one another, CENIC also connects to other similar networks throughout the United States and the world to make California's research and education members of a truly global collaborative community.

During the spring and summer of 2013, CENIC conducted interviews with librarians in many of these libraries, asking them to describe current uses of technology in their main and branch public libraries, to identify the obstacles they face as a result of limited bandwidth, and to share ideas they have for using expanded broadband capacity to serve their patrons. The results of these interviews have been compiled in a series of reports available on the CENIC website at www.cenic.org.

From Cenic Library Update Volume 1, Issue 1 First Quarer 2014: 

http://publications.cenic.org/publications/libraryupdate/1Q2014/1Q2014LU_2.html

SCELC Vendor Fair

Thursday, March 6 2014

8:00 am - 5:00 pm

University Hall, Loyola Marymount University

1 LMU Drive

Los Angeles 90045

The SCELC Vendor Fair will have more than 50 vendors and 135 presentations over the course of the day. SCELC is the Statewide California Electronic Library Consortium for private academic institutions throughout California, and the originator of the Vendor Fair.

While geared towards academic libraries many of the vendors serve public libraries too. And if you are interested in Enki, Califa will have a booth and will be giving a presentation on Enki.

Due to the generosity of the Sponsors, librarians and attendees from affiliate or non-SCELC institutions are able to attend for free.

You can register here: http://scelc.org/events/scelcapalooza/registration

Schedule:

Continental Breakfast: 8:00-10:00

Table Exhibits Open: 8:30-5:00

Live demo presentations: 10:00–4:10

Six 40 minute session blocks thorough out the day

Closing Dessert reception: 4:10-4:50

List of vendors:

AAAS/Science

ABC-CLIO

ACS

Alexander Street Press

Ambrose Video Publishing

APA

American Society for Microbiology

Artstor (Digital Library + Shared Shelf)

BiblioLabs

Bloomsbury Publishing (Drama Online & Churchill Archive)

BRILL

Califa - for Enki

Cambridge University Press

Camino (SCELC Borrowing network)

Chronicle of Higher Education

Counting Opinions

Credo

Data-Planet

De Gruyter, Inc.

Digitalia (itm)

Duke University Press

EBSCO

Education Week

Elsevier

Emerald Group Publishing

Euromonintor International

Future Science Group

Gale, Cengage Learning

Geographic Research, In

Films Media Group/Infobase Learning

Innovative Interfaces

InteLex Corporation

JSTOR

Mango Languages

Mergent, Inc.

Nature Publishing Group

NewsBank

now publishers

OCLC

Oxford University Press

Palgrave Macmillan

PolicyMap

Project MUSE

ProQuest

Read Cube

Rittenhouse R2 Medical Ebooks

Royal Society of Chemistry

SAGE

SIPX

Sociometrics

Springer

Springshare LLC

Swank Digital Campus

Taylor & Francis Group

Thomson Reuters

Wiley

World Bank 

We'd Like Your Input

Califa, in partnership with EBSCO and BiblioLabs®, will be sponsoring

two forums to give our members a chance to get an in-depth look

at some unique, new products in the library marketplace, including

BiblioBoard® and EBSCO archives.

Our vendors are eager to get feedback from you.

These sessions will be appropriate for librarians working with local

digital collections, e-books, makerspaces or common core state

standards. Come and share your thoughts.

March 5, 2014

10:30 am - 12:30 pm

San Diego County Library

5560 Overland Ave., Suite 110

San Diego

March 24, 2014

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Los Gatos Public Library

100 Villa Ave.

Los Gatos

RSVP Carolyn@bibliolabs.com

Toucan Valley Social Studies Fact Cards

Califa is now hosting the Toucan Valley Social Studies Fact Cards.  The current owner was planning to retire, and our members asked us to take on the hosting, so we will be offering the California cards free of charge to all libraries.  

The new URL where you will find the California fact cards is  http://factcards.califa.org .  There is no username or password, and the service is entirely free.

Here are answers to questions that we have received regarding the Fact Cards.

•               We have been asked if we can provide usage statistics. Unfortunately, no, we just have a URL up that people can access and we aren't tracking IP's, so there really isn't any way to tell.  

•               A number of you wrote that the counties link was not working, thank you. We have taken that link down, accessing the county information is not something Toucan provided us with.

•               We only get the California information. Other information that was included such as States or ancient civilizations was not something Toucan provided us with either.

•               We will be hosting the site indefinitely.

•               We will not be updating the site.

•               You are welcome to link to the site.

What Are Fact Cards?

Quick reference in an easy-to-use format

Fact Cards are a series of research resources designed for quick reference for students in grades 4 through 8. The topics covered by Fact Cards are those California, United States, and World topics included in the social studies curriculum in California. For the past ten years, printed Fact Cards have been used extensively in California elementary and middle schools, as well as in public libraries.

Tools for the beginning researcher

A presentation style that offers quick facts in manageable portions makes Fact Cards the ideal reference resource for students who are just beginning to learn research procedures.

A ready reference source for all libraries

While Fact Cards are written at the 4th-, 5th- and 6th grade reading levels, older students and adults appreciate the quick access to basic facts and figures on these topics. Printed Fact Cards have been used as ready reference sources in many public and school libraries, as well as in classrooms.

The Edgy Librarian

Califa and Infopeople are proud to present the fifth annual online conference, The Edgy Librarian on February 7, 2013!  Come and join us online (no travel required!) for a full day of learning including: 

- a keynote from Susan Hildreth of IMLS 

- an update on the enki ebook platform created by Califa/Contra Costa County

- Maker Spaces at Mountain View and Palo Alto

- Seed and Tool Libraries from SFPL and Berkeley, repspectively

- Social Media lessons from the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transport Library,

The fun kicks off at 8:30am, and goes until 3pm on February 7.  You can watch as a group in a conference room ($75 for a group) or on your own at your own desk ($50).  

Learn more, and register, at http://www.califa.org/edgy

(Once you register, you will be sent the login information a few days before the event.)

Looking forward to seeing you online on Feb 7!

California Public Libraries and CENIC

Despite the recognized benefits of and increasing patron demand for innovative library programs, limited connectivity often prevents librarians in the California State Library System from offering programs and services they perceive would be of value to their patrons. Videoconferencing, streaming media, content creation, specialized software, longer sessions on terminals, and unlimited wireless access are badly needed by many of California's libraries, but insufficient bandwidth thwarts these libraries' efforts to fulfill their vital role in community research and education. In order to empower libraries -- particularly in challenged areas -- to play this role, better connectivity is crucial. Work is underway to secure funding to connect California's public libraries to CENIC as a sixth segment, with the California State Librarian acting as the libraries' interaction point with CENIC. The Peninsula Library System, a consortium of 35 public and community college libraries, was the first system to connect to CalREN in August of 2013. Final work is also underway to complete a Gigabit connection to the San Francisco Public Library System, a 27-branch library system serving the San Francisco area. The San Joaquin Valley Library System and a group of 9 libraries in the northern Valley of California will be connected in the late fall of 2014. Libraries in California's Central Valley will also be connected to CENIC as part of the Central Valley Next Generation Broadband Infrastructure Project. During the spring and summer of 2013, CENIC conducted interviews with librarians, asking them to describe current uses of technology in their main and branch libraries, identify the obstacles they face as a result of limited bandwidth, and share ideas they have for using expanded broadband capacity to serve their patrons. (The results of these interviews have been compiled in a series of reports available on the CENIC website.) The responses to these interviews revealed a wide variety of connectivity currently available to California's libraries, and an equally wide variety of needs as a result of the diversity of communities served by libraries throughout the state. The Peninsula Library System: Founded in 1971, the Peninsula Library System (PLS) is a consortium of 35 public and community college libraries working together to provide innovative and cost-effective service to their users. Located in Silicon Valley, a region known for technology innovation, PLS library leaders have actively sought out and implemented programs and services that take advantage of the latest technology. For example, the Redwood City Libraries have the highest Internet usage per capita in the country. (These libraries have enjoyed a higher bandwidth than most libraries in the state as San Mateo Community College has enabled them to connect to CENIC's CalREN through the College's own connection.) System-wide there are 1,590 computer terminals and an average of 700 wireless users per day. More than 75,000 searches are conducted on Peninsula Library System terminals annually. Typical patron uses of technology include social networking, watching videos, e-mail, job-seeking and online applications, word processing, catalog search, general Internet research, printing, and participating in online courses. However, despite -- in some ways, because of -- the exemplary broadband-enabled services implemented by these libraries (and further described in the Peninsula Library System Report available on CENIC's website), patrons and the libraries themselves face denials of connectivity, extreme network slowdowns during periods of high usage, saturated connections, and other obstacles created by outdated facilities that prevent patrons and libraries from making full use of the connectivity that they currently have. PLS Director Linda Crowe points out the ability of broadband-enabled libraries to become not only curators but sources of content, saying, "Public libraries in California have been bandwidth-challenged. Once the barriers are removed, libraries will not only be able to provide content in the form of expanded programs and services for the community, but they also will have the ability to create it." The San Francisco Library System: The main library and 27 branches of the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) serve one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country, with an extremely diverse populations including highly connected patrons from high-tech focal points as well as recent immigrants and their families from all over the world. To fulfill its mission to serve them all, the SFPL puts out a variety of programs that can be enhanced by improved connectivity -- and that promise to consume ever more bandwidth as time goes on. Such programs include city-wide scavenger hunts, music and arts performances, presentations by and interviews with top authors, and exhibits of interest to all members of the greater San francisco area's ethnically, linguistically, and economically diverse populations. Computer, healthcare, and career-related classes, rich media presentations, and a packed schedule of children's events only scratch the surface of the ever-expanding list of vital programs with which the SFPL serves the millions of Californians within its scope. The San Joaquin Valley Library System: The San Joaquin Valley Library System is comprised of 10 main libraries and their associated branch libraries in seven counties in the Central Valley of California. In contrast to the more connected population served by the PLS, the communities served by the San Joaquin Valley Library System (SJVLS) have a larger immigrant population and higher rates of poverty than other area of the state. For many residents, English is their second language, and they face high unemployment, obstacles to educational attainment, and a low standard of living relative to other communities in the state. Among the most poorly funded libraries in the state, the San Joaquin Valley libraries play a critical role in providing access to the 21st century tools that can help address these challenges. Technology is essential to this work; however, the libraries in this system generally have extremely limited connectivity, at best on the lower end of today's connection speeds for an average home. Because of this, many programs that could be of greatest help to the communities served by the SJVLS are simply not possible. States Laurel Prysiazny, Director of the Fresno County Public Libraries, "Low educational attainment, unemployment, and ill health are persistent problems in the communities we serve. Libraries level the playing field and allow access to all. In rural areas, libraries are the community center." Porterville Public Library's Vikki Cervantes adds, "Expanded broadband connects library services with the community's technological needs and priorities; especially in a rural area like ours, it bridges the digital divide to help keep our population competitive in the marketplace of today and the future." Despite the obstacles created by extremely limited connectivity, SJVLS librarians are working hard to assist people in taking full advantage of what technology resources the libraries can provide and are eager to gain the connectivity that will permit them to implement badly needed programs. A full list of such programs, as well as a more in-depth look at the obstacles faced by the SJVLS libraries, can be found in the San Joaquin Valley Library System Report available on CENIC's website. Readers of the CENIC Update will be kept informed as to the progress of this project to ensure that California's public libraries have the state-of-the-art connectivity that will enable them to fulfill their vital mission as part of the state's research and education communities. From: cenicupdate, volume 16, Issue 3: Fourth Quarter 2013 http://publications.cenic.org/publications/cenictoday/4Q2013/4Q2013CT_5.html