State Library Receives Gates Training Program Grant for Libraries

The State Library was recently notified by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that it will receive a $139,950 Training Program Grant from the Foundation. The purpose of the grant is to promote long-term sustainability of public access computing in public libraries and to assist the State Library in meeting the ongoing needs of public libraries for training in the use of information technology resources.

The State Library plans to provide training for librarians at eight locations around the state, in fall 2004 and again in spring 2005.  Thirteen laptops (a portable computer lab) will be purchased, along with a data projector, which will be used to provide this training.  Training materials for public libraries will also be purchased.

In the fall of 2004, the State Library will provide an ICN session on information literacy skills (being able to find and evaluate information) and the role of the public library in helping Iowans become more information literate. Also in fall 2004, the following training sessions will be offered: Teaching Computer Skills, Tech Support on the Fly, and Security in the Real World. The spring 2005 courses will be Librarian's Internet Toolkit for Kids, Designing Usable Web Sites, and Intro to Web Page Development. Courses were selected in response to needs expressed at the time the Gates computers were installed in Iowa libraries, and also to coordinate with State Library and Library Service Area goals.

The State Library is also providing a $3,000 sub-grant to each of the seven Library Service Areas so that they can provide customized technology training, designed to meet the specific needs within each LSA, to supplement the statewide training.

Iowa's libraries continue to play a critical role in connecting Iowans to the world via the Internet. The State Library is delighted that this grant provides the opportunity to help Iowa librarians provide even better public access computing services to their customers.