Gates Staying Connected Project

2007 Equipment Upgrade Grants

Application Process and Instructions

  1. Purpose of the Grants

This grant cycle is supported with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through its Staying Connected Grant program. The purpose of the grant cycle is to fund an equipment replacement grant cycle for qualifying public library systems in Washington State. Grants can only be used for the purchase and replacement of computer systems used for public access to online resources. Grant funds cannot be used for the purchase of staff or administrative computers, application software, network infrastructure, etc.

All qualifying public library systems in Washington State may apply. Public libraries are those libraries that have been created under authority of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) Chapter 27.12.

B. Application Process

To apply for a grant:

  1. Review the criteria to determine if you qualify to apply. Because of limited amount of funding, only one application per library organization (system) will be accepted. If multiple applications are received, the application first received will be selected for review.
  2. Complete the application form; answer all questions.
  3. Mail or deliver the application form as specified in Section F, Submission/Contact Information.

C. Project Timeline

  • March 19, 2007 — Tentative date for grant cycle opening
  • April 6, 2007 — Deadline for applications; applications postmarked or received after this date will not be accepted
  • April 30, 2007 — Anticipated date for grant awards
  • May 1 – June 1, 2007 — Contract development and execution
  • June 4 – July 31, 2007 — Project period, where appropriate, equipment ordered and received, reimbursement claim submitted
  • August 18, 2007 — Last day to submit final narrative report
  1. Awards

A total of $120,000 is available to support this grant cycle. The value of awards will not exceed $3,000.

Grant awards will consist of up to two public access workstations. The preference of the Washington State Library is to purchase the computers on behalf of those awarded grants and drop-ship the equipment directly to the library. Minimum specifications for the public access workstation are listed at the end of these guidelines.

Page 1 of 3

For libraries that strongly desire to purchase computers directly, applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Systems purchased must meet the minimum specifications listed at the end of these guidelines to qualify for reimbursement.

It is the responsibility of participating library systems to install and maintain the computer hardware.

E. Criteria

Each library must meet the following criteria to be eligible to apply:

  1. Participation in this grant cycle is limited to those libraries in communities serving a high percentage of low-income individuals. For the purpose of this grant, this requirement will be considered met by those libraries residing within school districts with a 20% or greater student population participating in the National School Lunch Program. Current participation numbers can be found on the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction website, Where the system has more than one building, the library’s headquarter location will be used to determine participation.
  2. While all public library systems meeting the above requirement may participate, preference will be given to systems with a service area population of 25,000 or less.
  3. If money remains after addressing those public library systems with a service area population of 25,000 or less, awards will be made to other public library systems meeting requirement number one above on a first-come-first-served basis.
  1. Submission/Contact Information

Applications to WSL must be postmarked by Friday, April 6, 2007, or hand delivered by 4 p.m., Friday, April 6, 2007. Faxed applications are NOT acceptable for this funding request.

A complete application consists of 3 components:

  1. A single-sided application with original signatures, clearly identified as the original;
  2. A paper copy of the full original application; and
  3. An electronic copy in Word or rich text format (on a 3.5 inch floppy disk or CD); or sent as an email attachment to ).

All 3 application components are to include:

1. Completed cover sheet

2. Answers to all narrative questions

3. Completed affirmation sheet

Submit applications to the address below:

By MailBy Hand or Delivered

Grants ProgramGrants Program

Washington State LibraryWashington State Library

PO Box 424606880 Capitol Blvd. S

Olympia, WA 98504-2460Tumwater, WA 98501-5513

  1. Review and Award Process

A review committee selected by WSL will review the applications for eligibility. If eligible requests exceed available funding, awards will be based on a first-come/first-served basis, using postmark and delivery dates for those library systems meeting the requirements listed in section E. Criteria. The review committee will forward recommendations to the State Librarian and the Secretary of State for final consideration and approval. WSL may contact the applicant for clarification of information.

After award of funding, a letter of notification will be sent to all applicants. Contracts will then be established with those receiving awards.

  1. Washington State Library Contacts:
  • Gary Bortel, Project Manager, Washington State Library, 360-570-5588,
  • Jeff Martin, Grants Program, Washington State Library, 360-704-5248,
  • Anne Yarbrough, Grants Program, Washington State Library, 360-704-5246,
  1. Minimum Equipment Guidelines
  • Processor:Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13 GHz, 2MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB
  • Ram:1 GB
  • Hard drive:80 GB SATA 10,000rpm
  • Additional drive:DVD/CD+RW
  • Networking:10/100/1000 Gbps Ethernet Network
  • Monitor:19 inch LCD
  • Operating system:Windows XP Professional

Page 1 of 3