================================================================= ALAWON Volume 6, Number 89 ISSN 1069-7799 October 23, 1997 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (87 lines) REPORT ON THE SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES CORPORATION MEETING _________________________________________________________________ REPORT ON THE OCTOBER SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES CORPORATION MEETING The Schools and Library Corporation (SLC) Board met Tuesday, October 21 in Washington, D.C. The Board, chaired by K.G. Ouye, city librarian for the San Mateo (Calif.) Public Library, addressed a number of issues important to schools and libraries -- aggregation, the status of contracts, and options for certifying technology plans. After intense debate and consideration of several positions, the Board agreed to give applicants the choice of either completely disaggregating, or using a combination of aggregated and disaggregated discounts for shared and "unshared" services. The exact methodology of how to determine which services are "shared" and which are "unshared" was not finalized. While the authority to make a final decision on how to deal with aggregated discounts rests with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), FCC staff indicated that the recommendations of the Board will carry a great deal of weight in the Commission's deliberations. A final decision from the FCC on the aggregation issue is expected shortly. The Board also announced that Ira Fishman, former special counsel and director of the Task Force on Education with the FCC, was offered the position as SLC's chief executive officer. One of the CEO's first tasks will be to set up a method for allowing libraries and schools to seek alternative approval mechanisms for technology plans. Several states have indicated that they are unwilling to review technology plans for all of their public schools, and private schools in many states are urgently seeking a methodology for having their plans approved. To the best of ALA's knowledge, all 50 state library agencies are willing and able to review technology plans from public libraries applying for the universal service program. Although the SLC does not formally have authority to settle issues related to the technology plan approval mechanisms or the issues surrounding existing contracts, the Board did debate these issues publicly in the meeting. The Board also urged the FCC to decide as soon as possible whether existing contracts will be eligible for discounts. Representatives from the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA) informed the Board that they estimate the NECA website will be able to accept discount applications around December 15. NECA, citing that the FCC has yet to release the official forms, was unable to commit to a firm date. The Board will have its next meeting in Washington, D.C. on Monday, November 17. _________________________________________________________________ ALAWON is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. To subscribe, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc @ala.org. To unsubscribe, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/ washoff/alawon. Visit our Web site at http://www.alawash.org. ALA Washington Office 202.628.8410 (V) 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, #403 202.628.8419 (F) Washington, DC 20004-1701 800.941.8478 (V) Lynne E. Bradley, Editor Deirdre Herman, Managing Editor Contributors: Aleck Johnson Andrew Magpantay All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================