E-rate

E-rate Discount
for Public Libraries

Is my library eligible?

In Texas, a library must be accredited in order to be eligible for E-rate discounts.
For more information about accreditation, please contact Stacey Malek, Program Coordinator, 512-463-5532, smalek@tsl.texas.gov.

Why apply for E-rate?

The MONEY! Each year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sets aside over two billion dollars of funding for schools and libraries to help them pay for Internet costs. In Texas, a majority of accredited public libraries are eligible for an 80% discount, with over a quarter eligible for a whopping 90%. That means most participating libraries only have to pay 10-20% of their Internet costs, with E-rate paying the rest of the bill.
High-speed Internet (aka "broadband") has become a necessity in public libraries, and E-rate is the chief means to support and sustain this crucial service as costs rise and demand increases. This is non-competitive funding - a library just has to fill out the forms correctly to receive the discount.

This year, GET FREE HELP, plus possible ADDITIONAL FUNDING FROM TSLAC!

If you're an accredited Texas public library, you can take part in Libraries Connecting Texas! At no cost to the library, TSLAC has hired experts from the nationally leading consulting firm, E-rate Central, to walk you through the E-rate discount application from beginning to end.
In the first year of the Libraries Connecting Texas program, eighty-four libraries successfully applied for $607,485.40 of E-rate funding, increasing their bandwidth by an average of 927%.
Contact TSLAC now to get started: hstokes@tsl.texas.gov

Want to learn more about how E-rate works?

Please visit Our E-rate Resource Page

Be sure to sign up to the Texas E-rate Wrangler, an email newsletter maintained by Henry Stokes for news, tips, deadline reminders, and training opportunities.