Author Archives: Holly Woldt

Take a Break – Watch a Library Video

Fall in Nebraska ushers in a new opportunity for Nebraska Public Libraries to update their wish list for technology upgrades at their libraries. This year funding opportunities for libraries are many, including  fiber infrastructure funding opportunities.

The Nebraska Library Commission has produced a short video for Nebraska library directors to view that shares stories of three rural library directors that brought digital-broadband (fiber) to their library and rural community.

These library directors want to share their personal experience including why they felt it was important to have fast reliable digital-broadband (fiber) at the library, their experiences working with the Nebraska Library Commission and Nebraska Public Service Commission during the application and fiber installation process, and how it’s made a huge difference at their library and for their community.

Take fifteen minutes to find time to listen to their stories. Now is the Time to explore and take action to bring fiber to your library.

Now Is The Time – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpwKlZh7gkk

Additional information is included in the documents below.

Questions? Please Contact

Holly Woldt                                                 
Nebraska Library Commission
holly.woldt@nebraska.gov
402-471-4871            

Andrew Sherman  
Nebraska Library Commission 
andrew.sherman@nebraska.gov
402-471-4559

Christa Porter    
Nebraska Library Commission
christa.porter@nebraska.gov  
402-471-3107

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Deadline for Submitting Comments for Nebraska Public Service Commission (PSC) NUSF-117 P.O.#1 is Fast Approaching

The PSC wants to hear comments on how they can assist our Nebraska Public Libraries to improve internet access and internal network infrastructure at community libraries. The PSC is asking for comments from library staff across the state for the PSC Order.  Submissions are due on or before May 26, 2023, 5 p.m. with reply comments due June 16, 2023. Comments should be emailed to:  psc.nusf-filings@nebraska.gov

SPECIFIC QUESTIONS:

  1. What opportunities can the PSC pursue to increase participation and cover costs incurred by schools, libraries, and Consortiums (“participating entities”) in installing fiber networks? Examples may be initial fiber builds to the library (cost or other challenges), ongoing maintenance of equipment and infrastructure, payment of the monthly recurring costs for service, cybersecurity support, and filters for CIPA compliance.
  2. What barriers do participating entities currently face in relation to participation in the E-rate program? Examples may be help with the E-rate forms/filing, filtering support, lack of or cost of tech support, knowledge or help with what are eligible reimbursements/costs (e.g. project planning).
  3. Are there any partnerships or outreach opportunities which the PSC should pursue?
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Digital Opportunities for Libraries

The COVID-19 pandemic and recent labor shortages have led to an increase in the number and types of services now delivered online, exacerbating the digital divide. Learn how the Do Space in Omaha, Center for People in Need in Lincoln, and public libraries in Crete, Norfolk, South Sioux City, and Ravenna are addressing the digital divide. The Nebraska Digital Opportunities Spotlight and State Planning Update webinar on Oct. 13 at 10:00 a.m. will also provide an update on Nebraska’s Digital Equity Planning grant.

Event Flyer

Nebraska spotlight speakers include:

• Angela McGraw, Director, Do Space, Omaha–Tech Pack Program
• Joy Stevenson, Director, Crete Public Library–Library Outdoor Space
• Jessica Chamberlain, Director, Norfolk Public Library–Hotspot Lending and Tech Tutor Programs
• Cicely Douglas, Director, South Sioux City Public Library–PLA Digital Literacy Workshop Incentive
• Joy Kyhn, Director, Ravenna Public Library–Makerspace
• Kathy Najjar, EduTech Program Coordinator, Center for People in Need–EduTech Career Development & Google Career Certificate Scholarships

Register at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_r5O4QbFNT5ilZIFuUcCPqg#/registration

The Nebraska State Digital Equity Planning grant is part of the Connect Nebraska Broadband Initiative. The planning grant is being led by the Nebraska Information Technology Commission/Office of the CIO in partnership with the Nebraska Regional Officials Council (NROC) and the Nebraska Library Commission.

ALSO

Community engagement listen sessions are being scheduled across Nebraska to gather information for the Digital Equity Planning Grant. Three listening session focused on older adults, internet use and telehealth are scheduled in October. Learn about resources to help use technology and how telehealth can improve access to care..

Oct. 18, 21 and 26 Listening Sessions on Older Adults, Internet Use and Telehealth
Flyer https://nitc.nebraska.gov/digital_equity/2022Octlisteningsessionsflyer.pdf
The three listening sessions are being held at the Gere Library in Lincoln, Kearney Public Library and Millard Branch Library.

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New State Funding Source for Fiber Construction for Nebraska Public Libraries

The Nebraska Public Service Commission has issued an Order establishing the E-Rate Special

Construction State Matching Grant Program (NUSF-117) as a way to help facilitate Federal Communication Commission (FCC) with the build-out of new fiber to Nebraska libraries and schools. This new grant program is designed to maximize federal support through the FCC E-rate Special Construction Program.  Nebraska public libraries are able to apply for up to 10% of the total fiber build-out construction cost to the library with these grant funds.  The approved state funds provide a match for the federal E-rate funds (also up to 10%) to be paid toward the fiber build-out construction cost.

The E-rate Special Construction State Matching Grant Program  is a four year program with one million dollars available to library applicants that have been approved by the both the state and federal programs.

“I commend the Nebraska Public Service Commission for creating the E-Rate Special Construction State Matching Grant Program. The matching funds will be a significant incentive to help Nebraska libraries install fiber connections for high-speed internet service. Libraries that capitalize on fiber build-outs using this state and federal funding opportunity will be able to fulfill their mission of serving the public’s demand for technology resources,” said Rod Wagner, Director Nebraska Library Commission.

Currently about 40 percent of the 247 Nebraska public libraries report internet speeds of less than 12 Mbps.

 Often Nebraska access to free Wi-fi in rural areas is located at the local public library. The library may also be the only location for many miles where a traveler or local citizen can assess a printer/fax machine or computer free. School-age children in rural communities use the free Wi-fi to use their Chrome Books and complete their homework assignments. Local citizens who do not have access to a computer a home can complete online government forms and address medical concerns with providers that offer telehealth services at their local library. The local library has a critical role in providing access to the internet in rural communities. The Nebraska Rural Broadband Task Force included in its recommendations, Legislative Bill LB-992, that Nebraska Universal Services Fund be used to provide the matching funding source for fiber build-outs to assist libraries to upgrade rural libraries’ access to fiber. 

 The Nebraska Library Commission will host a webinar on June 18 to provide local library directors and opportunity to learn more about the grant program.

Nebraska Public Service Commission news release, PSC Initiates Grant Program to Help Bring Broadband to Libraries & Schools .

For more information, contact Holly Woldt, 402-471-4871

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The Homework Gap

The homework gap is a stubborn disparity in at-home broadband that hinders millions of students’ access to the array of online learning, collaboration, and research tools enjoyed by their better-connected peers.

The State of Nebraska recognized this disparity and in July 2018 the Governor and the Legislature created the Rural Broadband Task Force (RBTF) to research the problem and to formulate recommendations in a report initially due on November 1, 2019, and every two years thereafter. Nebraska public libraries were fortunate to be recognized by the RBTF as playing a vital role in providing free public Wi-Fi in rural communities. In particular, libraries serve K-20 students who are part of the “Homework Gap”, those who need access to the internet to complete assignments and check on their grades, but who do not have internet access away from school or campus.

Five of the six RBTF Homework Gap recommendations specifically mention public libraries and increased support to provide faster internet.

To learn more about the RBTF and their task (LB 994) to review “issues relating to availability, adoption, and affordability of broadband services in rural areas of Nebraska”, check out the main page on their website.

Please take a moment to view our Homework Gap video below. The video has sound, so make sure to turn yours on.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC-VWPKxKgU]

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Governor Ricketts Joins the Bayard Community in Celebration of a New School – Library Partnership

On November 16th, 2018 about 120 students and residents of from Bayard attended an Open House at the Bayard Public Library. The Open House promoted the library’s new Homework Hotspot. The Bayard Public Schools and Library have established a technology focused partnership to provide school district students and staff access to the school’s internet at the library. The new Homework Hotspot will feature internet speeds up to 200 Mbps, which is a dramatic increase from the libraries current internet speed of 15 Mbps.

Gov. Pete Ricketts answers questions from Bayard Public School students.

Gov. Pete Ricketts attended the event and addressed the critical need to provide high-speed internet for all residents in rural communities. About 15% (45,000) of Nebraska’s public K-12 students have no internet at home, or internet so slow or unreliable that they are not able to carry on digital learning activities. Many of these students go home with a school district-owned device, such as Chromebooks, which require a constant internet connection. The new Homework Hotspot at the Bayard Public Library will help address this “Homework Gap”.

Now, Bayard school district students can bring their school issued devices or use one of the two desktop computers that are connected to the fixed-wireless Wi-Fi connection between the school and the library to work on homework and school projects.

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Library people: get the upper hand on your tech! The free Toward Gigabit Libraries toolkit is out and ready to help you!

[youtube https://youtu.be/PXWv3-HYm-I]

The free Toward Gigabit Libraries toolkit is an open-source technology learning, diagnostic, and advocacy tool designed for public and tribal libraries in the US. The toolkit will guide you through a series of questions about your technology environment — and provide you with all the information you need to answer the questions.

The toolkit is an excellent way to diagnose and fix library technology problems. Some libraries have found it especially useful in preparing for E-rate requests, budget cycles, and even in helping open up lines of communication between library staff and tech workers.

Best of all, you do not need to be a “techie” to use the toolkit. Fifty-eight rural and tribal libraries piloted the toolkit in the US to ensure that it is as simple as possible to use. In the spring of 2017 five Nebraska Community Libraries, Atkinson, Gering, Valley, Walthill, and Wymore, were the very first libraries to pilot the toolkit.

The Toward Gigabit Libraries toolkit is free and open source, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. As well as being a stand-alone resource, you are free to use anything from the toolkit and mix it into other documents.

This resource is designed to empower practitioners to become more savvy and effective consumers, advocates, and providers of high-quality Internet access and digital services to their communities. Funded by an Institute of Museum and Libary Services Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian grant, the toolkit is designed to scale nationally to all libraries, regardless of size or geographic location.

The Library Commission plans to offer an NCompass Live Session early next year to highlight features of the toolkit.

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150 Attend Sparks Grant Open House in Verdigre

On Tuesday, October 16th, over 150 residents attended the Sparks Grant Open House at the Verdigre Public Library.

“Which one is the homework computer?” asked Carter Nelson, a 6th grader at Verdigre Public School, the day after attending the open house. Those homework computers that Carter was referring to are part of an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), National Leadership Grant (NLG) awarded to the Nebraska Library Commission in partnership with the Nebraska Office of the Chief Information Officer in April of 2018.

The IMLS Sparks Grant, Nebraska Schools and Libraries–Breaking the Ice and Igniting Internet Relationships, as the name implies, is intending to kindle partnerships between schools and libraries, and through Internet sharing, to help narrow the Homework Gap for public K-12 students. The Verdigre Public Library has a new Homework Hotspot located in the library, with the internet for the hotspot provided by Verdigre Public Schools. The school offers internet speeds that are 7 times faster than internet speeds offered at the public library. Students and staff members from Verdigre Public Schools can access the school’s internet connection to complete homework by using either one of the two new desktop computers purchased by the grant or their own school issued devices. The library offers a location for students who may not have internet at home, have poor connectivity or very slow internet at home to complete their schoolwork.

Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts attended the Open House. The Governor summarized the Sparks Grant and answered questions from the open house attendees for an hour.  The 100 plus students attending the event asked some tough and light-hearted questions ,”How does a state know how much money it will spend next year before knowing its income?”, “What are food stamps?”,  and “Did I hear you’re a Cardinals fan?”

Verdigre is one of five Nebraska communities that are participating in the grant project. The other communities include Bancroft, Genoa, Imperial, and Wymore. The Sparks Grant is for one year, at the end of that year, each community will evaluate the project and decide if they want to continue the project with local funding.

This shared internet is made possible in part by IMLS grant: LG-99-18-0018 and the following partners.

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New resources available to help communities address broadband development

Recently, news headlines have been highlighting the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) new definition of broadband and the importance to community vitality of adopting high bandwidth. The FCC sharply revised its benchmark definition of broadband Internet service. The new definition increases download speeds to more than six times faster than the previous standard. The new definition of broadband raises the minimum download speeds needed from 4Mbps to 25Mbps, and the minimum upload speed from 1Mbps to 3Mbps.

Most Nebraska Public Libraries would be ecstatic to have access to 25/3 bandwidth speeds. The reality is these speeds are not commonly available in rural areas in Nebraska. There is good news related to rural bandwidth speeds over the past few years. Broadband upgrade was a focus of the Library Builds Nebraska Communities through the Nebraska Library Commission. At the beginning of the grant, August of 2010, the average broadband speed of the 147 participating libraries was 3.88 Mbps and only four libraries had fiber service. By the end of the project, September 2013, the average speed was 19.76 Mbps (an increase of nearly 400 percent) and 38 libraries had fiber services. Speeds have increased gradually for many public libraries, but many of today’s applications (e.g., social networking, streaming video for educational curriculums) demand greater bandwidth and higher connection speeds.

Nebraska Public Libraries have an opportunity to serve as anchor institutions and fill a leadership role in digital inclusion in our state. The question is how to address the challenge of increasing bandwidth speeds offered in all Nebraska Communities. One new resource available to assist Nebraska communities to address this challenge is a set of resources to help communities address broadband-related development. Leveraging Broadband in Your Community: A Workbook to Help Communities Stimulate Broadband Development provides an overview of broadband development and lays out a process for developing a community broadband plan. The interactive workbook developed by partners in the Nebraska Broadband Initiative includes video clips of Nebraskans talking about the importance of broadband in their businesses and communities. Oakland Public Library Director Roas Scmidt is featured sharing the story of broadband access in the library helps meet community needs.

The workbook (http://broadband.nebraska.gov/workbook/html5/index.html ) and additional resources can be found at the initiative’s newly designed website at broadband.nebraska.gov. Take some time to review the workbook and share it with other leaders in your community. Nebraska Broadband Initiative partners will be available to meet with communities and answer questions. If you are interested in learning more about the workbook or in working with members of the Nebraska Broadband Initiative, please contact Anne Byers (anne.byers@nebraska.gov or 402 471-3805, Charlotte Narjes (cnarjes1@unl.edu or 402 472-1724) or Connie Hancock (chancock1@unl.edu or 308-254-4455).

The Nebraska Broadband Initiative promotes the adoption and utilization of broadband in Nebraska. Project partners include the Nebraska Public Service Commission, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nebraska Information Technology Commission, Nebraska Department of Economic Development, and AIM.

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