The National Broadband Plan released in March 2010 presented a vision of pervasive and affordable broadband that will provide every American an equal opportunity to engage in the educational, economic, and social life of the nation. Recommendation 9.3 of the Plan calls on the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to “develop guidelines for public access technology based on populations served and organization size. These guidelines would help libraries and community-based organizations assess their needs for public access workstations, portable devices, and bandwidth. IMLS should work with these organizations to develop guidelines and review them annually to reflect changing technology and practices.”
In response, IMLS today issued a Request for Proposals (22 pages; PDF) for a cooperator to develop a framework of the principles, elements, or characteristics of organizations and communities that foster digital inclusion. This framework is the first step in the development of final guidelines that will be used as the basis for benchmarks, evaluation tools, or performance measures.
The ultimate purpose of this work is to provide resource allocators, policy makers, and community leaders with the tools they need to build the capacity of public libraries and community-based organizations to meet the public’s information needs. IMLS encourages coordination among these stakeholders so they leverage existing infrastructure and make strategic investments to achieve digitally-inclusive communities.
Deadline for proposals is August 30, 2010, with the anticipated award amount of $150,000. The award will be for a maximum of six months from date of award. The estimated award date is October 15, 2010, with a start date of November 1, 2010, contingent upon fiscal year 2011 funding.
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