The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has recently notified the N.H. State Library that our application to participate in the State Partnership Grant Program for public libraries will be due November 30, 2000. Implementation of the project is scheduled for 2002-03. The mission of the State Partnership Grant Program is "to bring computer access, the Internet, and digital information to patrons in low-income communities in the U.S. and Canada."

Michael York, State Librarian and Janet Eklund, Administrator of Library Operations, recently attended a two-day workshop on the State Partnership Grant Program at the Foundation headquarters in Seattle. The sixteen states that were represented included: AK, CT, DE, IA, KS, MD, MA, NE, NV, NH, NJ, OR, RI, UT, WA, WI. They are in Round Four of the Gates Library Initiative.

Public libraries with buildings serving populations with a minimum of 10% of persons at or below the poverty level will receive public access PC's, printers, software, and training from the Gates Foundation. Depending on the size of the building service area population, these libraries will receive one to six Gates Library Computers. In addition, each library serving populations greater than 100,000 qualifies New Hampshire for an eleven-station training lab equipped with Gates Library Computers.

One of the requirements of the application process is for the State Library to convene a "Public Library Leadership Coalition" to assist in planning for the grant project. According to the grant guidelines, the Coalition needs to consist of representatives of large, medium, and small public libraries as well as rural, suburban, and urban communities. Public librarians interested in serving on the Coalition should contact Michael York at 271-2397 or e-mail.