Gates Foundation Broadband Grant Program
The New York State Library is one of seven state libraries participating in a Bill & Melinda Gates Library Foundation pilot project: the Opportunity Online Broadband Grant Program.
Statewide Technology Sustainability Plan for New York Libraries
Final Grant Report Narrative, January 2012
Interim Grant Report pdf 
- August 2010
NYS Chief Information Officer Presents Broadband Strategy and Initiatives
Press Release Announcing Grant Totals, 12/01/2009
This program will provide:
- Technical support and training, and upgraded broadband access for 104 New York State public libraries.
- A Broadband Summit, designed to increase library and influencer awareness of broadband issues; provide education about approaches to developing and sustaining affordable, high-speed connectivity; and foster the development of a informed, viable Statewide broadband sustainability strategy.
- E-Rate training and application support (optional).
Broadband Sustainability Plan:
Word
E-Rate Information - added August 2010
Impressions of Broadband watch video (Requires Windows Media Player) Transcript
Bernard Margolis introduces the Magic of Broadband watch video (Requires Windows Media Player) Transcript
Alternate High School Program, GED preparation online watch video (Requires Windows Media Player) Transcript
The Opportunity of Broadband, Bringing the World to the People watch video (Requires Windows Media Player) Transcript
New York Opportunity Online Broadband Summit Recap [.pdf ]
Table Talk Summary [.pdf ]
Speed Networking [.pdf ]
Ranking My Library Community Results [.pdf ]
Original List of Eligible Libraries
Gates Foundation Press Release Announcing Pilot Grant Program
Gates
Foundation Fact Sheet ( .pdf )
LRW Data Survey Summary Results
Application Template for Individual Libraries: MS Word 
| .pdf
Background and Purpose of the Grant Program
It is virtually impossible to succeed without the Internet today: fast, reliable online access opens a world of educational, economic and social opportunities. Public libraries offer critical, free access to computers and the Internet, yet many libraries struggle to update their public computers regularly and lack minimally adequate Internet connections.
This pilot broadband grant program has been developed to: help libraries with inadequate Internet speeds improve their connections to a minimum accepted level of 1.5 Mbps; ensure libraries are able to sustain increased Internet connectivity and support future upgrades as demand for bandwidth grows over time; and help foster a statewide broadband strategy.
Eligibility:
The Gates Foundation, using data supplied by LRW, a third party research firm, determined eligibility. All public libraries, whether urban, suburban or rural, were surveyed regarding the number and type of Internet subscriptions, monthly expense, provider, speed and source of funds. Generally eligibility was determined by low speed (<1.5 bps) per subscription.
State Partnership |
Library Training Program Grant |
Staying
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Rural Library
|
Spanish Language
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Opportunity Online Hardware Grant Program |
Opportunity Online Broadband Grant Program |