================================================================= ALAWON Volume 6, Number 101 ISSN 1069-7799 November 19, 1997 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (106 lines) -SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES CORPORATION UPDATE _________________________________________________________________ SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES CORPORATION UPDATE The Schools and Libraries Corporation Board (SLC), chaired by KG Ouye of the San Mateo Public Library, met Monday, November 17 in Washington, DC to discuss the universal service discount program. The Corporation Board also received updates and reports on the status of the implementation efforts. Topics discussed included the availability of the SLC website, a brief discussion of outreach, an overview of key regulatory and policy questions, and a report on the ongoing staffing efforts. According to the CEO of the Corporation, Ira Fishman, the website for processing applications is tentatively scheduled to be finished the week of January 12, 1998. Applications will not be accepted until this website is completed and operational. However, applications are scheduled to be made available to the public several weeks before the website is available. Apparently these applications are already in the final approval stages. Additional information on the applications will be sent through ALAWON when it is available. Outreach continues to be one of the key issues facing the SLC. To this end, Fishman will shortly be sending information on the program, including a series of Questions and Answers, to libraries, schools, and service providers. Presumably, this information will also be made available online. Fishman also promised to open regular lines of communications with all of the communities involved with this program, and to continue to work with the national associations to get information out to libraries and schools. The SLC Board also discussed a number of key policy and regulatory issues. The FCC Report and Order specifies that only services being used for "educational purposes" will be eligible for discounts. The Commission is seeking to define "educational purposes." The SLC Board passed a policy resolution which defined educational services to include services delivered to classrooms and other places of learning. Services delivered to personal residences or to locations that do not host places of instruction or are not accessible to library patrons, with the exception of a centralized district office or similar facility, are not eligible for support. The final text of this resolution is not yet available; however, it should be available soon from the NECA website posting the SLC minutes at http://www.neca.org/funds/slc.htm. The Board also asked Fishman to arrange for a series of Questions and Answers dealing with this question and others to be made publicly available in the near future. The SLC Board also examined the issue of applicants purchasing extensive network facilities. The Board expressed a serious concern that large entities, such as states, would draw disproportionately from the fund if they decided to try to use the universal service fund to help purchase network facilities. A related issue deals with the ability of states and other public entities to seek reimbursement from the fund for services delivered to libraries and schools. This issue is apparently under consideration at the FCC, and will be addressed in a reconsideration order shortly (most likely in December). Fishman reported to the Board that staffing efforts are moving along at a rapid pace as the Corporation seeks to put together a team for ensuring that the program runs as smoothly as possible. Tom Carroll, the former director of the Technology Innovation Challenge Grant Program at the US Department of Education, was hired to deal with the complicated issues surrounding the approval of technology plans. Kate Moore, formerly with the United Way, will be joining SLC as the Chief Operations Officer, effective November 24. Finally, Debra Kriete, formerly with the Pennsylvania Public Utilies Commission, will be joining SLC as the General Counsel, effective December 1. _________________________________________________________________ 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 S. Johnson All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================