ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 7, Number 150 December 1, 1998 In this issue: E-rate Application Window to Open 12/1/98 for New Year; Special Web Site Hours Set to Prepare Note: The following is a November 30 E-rate Newsflash from the Schools and Libraries Corporation. On December 1, 1998, at 7 a.m. ET, the Schools and Libraries Corporation will begin accepting E-rate applications for the 1999- 2000 funding year. Schools, libraries, and consortia are invited to begin submitting their requests for services by filing a Form 470 application, Description of Services Requested and Certification Form, for discounts on services that will run from July 1, 1999 through June 30, 2000. The application window, during which all completed applications received will be considered as if they had arrived on the same day, will remain open for at least 80 days, closing on February 19, 1999 at the earliest. (The final window closing date will be announced soon.) To qualify as having filed your application "in the window," applicants must successfully file Form 470, wait 28 days, then assure that SLC receives a completed Form 471 before the window closes. As we complete final preparations for the opening of the new application window, the SLC Web Site, , will go off-line at 6 p.m. ET on November 30, 1998. The Web Site will re- open at 7 a.m. ET on December 1, 1998, and will then be open daily from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. ET until further notice. The two-hour reduction is necessary to accommodate simultaneous data processing of new Forms 470 along with Forms 486, 472, and service provider invoices for the 1998 funding year. When the Web Site opens at 7 a.m. on December 1, applicants will be able to: * File Form 470 online. (Form 471 is expected to be available for online filing in January 1999). * Download and print out PDF versions of Forms 470 and 471, with revised instructions and updated addresses. (Printed versions of the forms will also be mailed soon to school districts, main libraries, and non-public schools across the nation.) Please note that while the instructions for Form 470 and 471 have been revised for clarification purposes, the forms themselves remain unchanged except for the return address, which is now: Schools and Libraries Corporation, P. O. Box 7026, Lawrence, Kansas 66044- 7026. The SLC Client Service help line, (888) 203-8100 is available toll-free from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday. In addition, all guidance documents are available via our toll-free fax-on-demand service, (800) 959-0733. ****** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. To subscribe to ALAWON, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc@ala.org or go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. To unsubscribe to ALAWON, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org or go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. ALA Washington Office, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Suite 403, Washington, D.C. 20004-1701; phone: 202.628.8410 or 800.941.8478 toll-free; fax: 202.628.8419; e-mail: alawash@alawash.org; Web site: http://www.ala.org/washoff. Editor: Lynne E. Bradley; Managing Editor: Deirdre Herman; Contributors: Mary Costabile, Adam Eisgrau, Anne Heanue, Carol Henderson, Peter Kaplan, Claudette Tennant and Rick Weingarten.