Report: “Gigabit Libraries and Beyond: Year One Grant Update”

From an Internet2 Blog Post by Therese Perlowski:

In September 2020, Internet2 received funding for the Gigabit Libraries and Beyond (GLB) project through a $249,788 Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program grant.

The GLB project builds on the success of the 2018 IMLS grant-funded Toward Gigabit Libraries (TGL) toolkit, which empowered library practitioners to become more informed consumers, advocates, and providers of internet access and digital services to their communities. Along with updating, improving, and expanding the original TGL toolkit, the GLB project team will also expand the toolkit’s audience to under-resourced urban libraries in addition to tribal and rural libraries across the United States.

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Read on to discover more about the team’s progress.

• Advisory Board: We recruited over 40 subject matter experts from across the U.S. to join the Gigabit Libraries and Beyond Advisory Board and held the board’s inaugural meeting in January 2021. We also created two subgroups within the advisory board to focus on the identification of and outreach to stakeholders within tribal and urban communities. Meet the GLB Advisory Board members.
• Toward Gigabit Libraries Toolkit Revisions: Currently, the full project team is completing the first major revision to the toolkit since it was initially published. The revision incorporates updated content, additional worksheets and illustrations, new guidance on forming community-based support teams, a deeper dive into advocacy and funding, and more.
• Train the Trainer Curriculum: Carson has been working to prototype, test, and refine components of this curriculum through his work on other projects in South Dakota, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, and New York. We will use the curriculum to train toolkit users and individuals who volunteer to give their own toolkit presentations.
• Toolkit Outreach: Stephanie and Carson conducted eight virtual conference presentations about the Toward Gigabit Libraries toolkit to various audiences including the American Library Association, several state libraries, state and regional research and education networks, and the Association for Rural and Small Libraries.

Learn More, Read the Complete Post and View Video

Filed under: Conference Presentations, Funding, Libraries, News, Patrons and Users