ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 7, Number 159 December 31, 1998 In this issue: [1] SLC Releases Third Wave of Funding Commitment Decision Letters; Fourth Wave Expected Shortly [2] New Materials on Forms and Prepaid Services Available on SLC Web Site [1] SLC Releases Third Wave of Funding Commitment Decision Letters; Fourth Wave Expected Shortly On December 23 the Schools and Libraries Corporation released the third wave of funding commitment decision letters to libraries and schools. According to the SLC, libraries comprise approximately 17 percent of the E-rate applicants (not including multi-entity consortia) and approximately 3 percent of the funding being requested. The 3 percent in the third wave was broken down as follows: 8 states with 4 or more libraries represented 6 states with 3 libraries represented 6 states with 2 libraries represented 8 states with 1 library represented 28 states with 78 libraries represented the total in the third wave The total dollar allocation in the third wave was $654,663.76 for all libraries (3 percent of the approximately $21.8 million allocated in the third wave). The average allocation was $8,392.74; $189,249.12 was the highest allocation and $223.20 was the lowest. State reports from the first three waves are available at http://www.slcfund.org/Reference/fndcommit.asp. Applicants who received funding commitment letters are urged to submit, within five business days, a Form 486 for services that are already in place. The Form 486 and Form 472, the billed entity applicant reimbursement form, are enclosed in the mailing. (Note: The SLC has posted a sample of first and last pages of a funding commitment letter at http://www.slcfund.org/Reference/FCSampleLetter.asp.) If your library has not yet received a funding commitment letter, note that the SLC is still only processing funding requests for internal connections for libraries and schools with a 90 percent discount. No decision has been made yet about libraries and schools with a discount in the 89-50 percent range. Those with a discount of less than 50 percent will not receive funding for internal connections. As for funding requests for telecommunications and Internet access, the Federal Communications Commission ruled that all requests inside the 75-day window would be funded regardless of the discount status of the library or school. For more information about the funding commitment process, see "20 Questions (and Answers) About the Waves," at http://www.slcfund.org/Reference/FAQ/waves_QA.asp.) The fourth wave is expected to be released within the next two weeks. Subsequent waves are expected throughout January. [2] New Materials on Forms and Prepaid Services Available on SLC Web Site On December 22 the SLC released additional reference materials on their Web site. These documents should be useful for the libraries who have received their E-rate funding commitment letters and for those who will receive them in January. * Tips for Completing Your Form 486 at http://www.slcfund.org/Reference/486ag/486tips.asp This document reconfirms that the actual service start date must be no earlier than January 1, or 28 days after posting Form 470 for services. It also restates that the 5 business days deadline has been relaxed. Finally, it explains that contracts must be extended for an additional six months and confirms that extension on the Form 486 to receive a discount for any contracted services from 1/1/99 through 6/30/99. * Tips for Completing Your Form 472 BEAR at http://www.slcfund.org/Reference/472/472tips.asp and Guidance on Timing of BEAR Reimbursement Payments to Service Providers at http://www.slcfund.org/Reference/472/472_pay.asp This document provides some important information for completing the BEAR process. It is important for the libraries who have received their funding commitment decision letter to note that the filing deadline has been extended from 12/31/98 to 1/31/99. The document also states that if libraries do not have alternative arrangements with their service providers to get reimbursed for services provided without the discount for 1998, the BEAR form is used to track and assure payment. There is additional information on on-time payments vs. monthly payments, pre-paid services, and rights and responsibilities of service providers. * Clarification on Discounts for Prepaid Services at http://www.slcfund.org/Reference/472/disc_clarif.asp This document explains how services that were prepaid will be considered. Services must be received and delivered after January 1, 1998 or the signing of a contract within the funding year. However, a library could have pre-paid for the service prior to the January 1 implementation date. For example, an Internet access service could be from a pre-existing contract where the bill is paid prior to a year of service. In such an example, if a library pre-paid for December 1, 1997 for the entire year of 1998, those services would be eligible for the discount. On the other hand, if, for example, your December 15, 1997 bill covers services rendered through January 15, 1998, this should not be prorated and is not considered pre-payment. * Tips for Completing Your Form 470 at http://www.slcfund.org/Reference/470_App_Guid_Docs/470tips.asp This document suggests reading the Minimum Processing Standards directions that will go into effect January 4, 1999. In addition, it explains how to apply for basic telephone services only in detail. Finally, it confirms that the SLC will send each applicant a receipt acknowledgment letter to confirm that you are in the window. This letter will spell out the ending date of your 28-day waiting period. ****** 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. 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