Public libraries across Texas can make a big impact on a statewide effort by the Texas Broadband Development Office (BDO) to bring crucial funds and services to their communities. The BDO is gathering input to write the Texas Digital Opportunity Plan, which will serve as a roadmap for expanding the availability of reliable and affordable…
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission invites the Texas library community to join us for this webinar next Wednesday, March 29, 2023. Webinar Title: Internet For All Texans – How Libraries Can Leverage Historic Funding When: Wednesday, March 29, 2023, 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 AM CT CE Credit: 1 TSLAC CE hour (CPE eligible…
For the month of February 2023, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission is collecting data about Internet speeds from all Texas public libraries (both mains and branches) with an online speed test. The test measures how much Internet speed (how fast things load from the Internet) patrons can receive from their library location and…
The Highlights: A third Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) Window opens April 28 and closes May 13. ECF will only pay accredited public libraries for Internet/Connected Devices to support library patrons with unmet need. 18 month service period from July 1, 2022, through December 31, 2023, BUT only can seek at most 12 months of funding. Prohibition…
The Broadband Development Office needs your help to get the word out about their broadband access survey by May 5! In conjunction with their listening tour, the Broadband Development Office is collecting feedback via an online survey of Texans’s connectivity needs. Findings will be used to inform the Statewide Broadband Plan which will guide strategy…
There are almost 3.2 million Texas households that do not subscribe to home broadband service (U.S. Census Bureau, 2019), and about 165,000 Texas households that do not even have access to infrastructure to support broadband speeds (Connected Nation Texas, 2022). Libraries are well versed in the connectivity inequity in our communities and have always played…
E-Rate is a federal discount program available to accredited public libraries that pays up to 90% of broadband costs, but we at TSLAC know the process to complete an application like this can be daunting. TSLAC is continuing its support of libraries this year in applying for E-Rate. The project, called Libraries Connecting Texas (LCT),…
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) has announced the application window for federal E-Rate funding is now open. From Jan. 12, accredited Texas public libraries can apply to receive discounts on monthly Internet access costs and most anything to do with bringing high-speed Internet to the library (including equipment and cabling). E-rate was…
The second Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) Program Application Filing Window opens on September 28, 2021, and will close on October 13, 2021. This federal funding is for accredited public libraries to receive hotspots, lendable laptops, or Internet equipment and services for patron use outside of the library building. Is ECF right for your library? ECF…
As previously announced in June, the window is now open for the next 44 days (June 29 to August 13) for accredited public libraries to apply for the federal Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) in order to purchase hotspots, lendable laptops, or Internet equipment and services for patron use outside of the library building. There is…