[LIBRARYDIR] ACTION NEEDED: Registration for the Microsoft IT Academy

Mon Jul 22 09:33:27 PDT 2013

When I checked this morning, 129 library outlets have been registered
for the Microsoft IT Academy. Of that 104 are public libraries, 8 are
two-year college libraries, and 6 are tribal libraries. The remainder
are from WSL institutional branches in correctional facilities and state
hospitals. Since the institutional branches lack Internet access, we
have signed up and will be exploring providing the Microsoft IT Academy
without the use of the Internet. In early conversations, IT Academy
staff indicate this is a possibility.

Thanks to those who have signed up. Registration helps us in planning
for upcoming staff training and IT Academy deployment. The current
number of library outlets signed up is roughly 30% of the total number
possible.

Many of you have had questions. We are in the process of developing a
Washington State Library, Services to Libraries, webpage for the
Microsoft IT Academy within the next day or two. This page will link to
resources and provide an FAQ. In the meantime, my top three follows.

1) What is the cost of participation to my library?

For the remainder of the biennium, i.e., approximately the next two
years, there is at no cost to a library other than a commitment of a bit
of staff time to help patrons get signed up, answering the questions
which patrons are bound to have, and helping people access the site (esp
for those still new to the world of computers and the Internet). You may
also incur some travel cost to attend a training if another option
doesn't work for your library.

Microsoft is donating 90% of the cost if I have my facts in order. The
legislative appropriation covers the other 10%.

If people desire certification or if you desire to set up proctoring for
certification that is separate from what is being provided. In that
case, the individual would likely need to pay for those costs.

2) Once I've registered, what comes next?

Washington State Library staff meet with IT Academy staff on Thursday
July 25, 2013. This day is devoted to the planning for the deployment of
the IT Academy. Training for library staff, promotion of the IT Academy,
and roll-out to library patrons are all part of the discussion. Training
for library staff will occur next. More details will be announced next
week after our meeting with IT Academy staff.

3) My computer hardware and software are dated and the Internet at the
library is slow. What about this location?

We encourage you to register for the IT Academy. Most locations should
be fine. Microsoft staff have expressed their interest in exploring
different ways of providing this program and also testing what works.
Similar conditions  are found in the K-12 schools. The IT Academy is
available in 720 high schools around the state. Library patrons may also
access the IT Academy remotely from the computer at their home, their
school or college, and their place of employment/business.

More information will be sent out as it becomes available. 

Finally, register this week if you haven't yet. Knowing the numbers will
help us plan to move forward.

Jeff Martin

Library Development Program Manager

Washington State Library | Office of the Secretary of State

Voice: (360) 704-5248 | Fax: (360) 586-7575

E-mail jeff.martin at sos.wa.gov <mailto:jeff.martin at sos.wa.gov>  

Web  http://www.sos.wa.gov/library

________________________________

Message originally sent Tuesday, July 16, 2013:

Please forward this message to the appropriate person(s) in your library
who will complete the registration process.

We're pleased to open the library registration process for the Microsoft
IT Academy.  In order to start the process, we need to collect
information on each library location/branch that will participate in the
IT Academy so that a unique identifier may be assigned to that location.
We have chosen to use Survey Monkey to collect your responses, organize
the information and export it in a format that is easy for us to use.
The link to the survey is toward the end of this message. A new survey
needs to be completed for each library location/branch. At the end of
the survey you may follow the link to provide information for the next
library location/branch or select "Done" to exit the survey.

Two types of information will be needed to complete the registration
process. The first collects information on the library location/branch.
The second collects information on the contact/program administrator for
the library.

Library location/branch information includes Library (System) Name,
Branch Name if needed, and a street address. Please make sure the
address listed in Address 1 is a street address and not a PO Box. A
street address is a required part of the registration process. If you
also list a PO Box, please do so as Address 2 or Address 3.

The Program Administrator should be the library staff person that will
lead the Microsoft IT Academy project for your library.
Responsibilities for this person include:

*         Coordinating program implementation within the library

*         Promoting the program to staff and patrons

*         Receiving communications from the IT Academy Program 

*          Identifying library staff to attend training(s) on the
Microsoft IT Academy Program.

If you have additional staff involved in the project, the Program
Administrator will be the link between the library, Washington State
Library staff and Microsoft IT Academy staff.

The Program Administrator can easily be changed and updated. If the
administrator should change moving forward, there is an easy update
process.

Two options for assigning a Program Administrator are available: 1)
include the name of a different program administrator for each library
location/branch; or 2) use the same program administrator for all
library locations/branches. If you choose the latter option, you may
indicate on the form the use of this option and enter the information
required on only the first survey completed. When we export your
information, staff at the Washington State Library will copy that
information to the different library locations/branches associated with
your library (system).

Contact/program administrator information includes the person's name,
title, address and contact information.

That's it! The information you provide will be transmitted to IT Academy
staff for their use in setting up the accounts for the IT Academy
Program to move forward.

Deadline for registering: We have a planning meeting with IT Academy
staff regarding the set-up of training and deployment on July 25th. We
ask that if at all possible registrations are submitted prior to that
date, i.e., on or before July 24th. That will allow a more productive
use of time during this meeting. Note that registration will remain open
throughout the next two years for additional library locations to be
signed up and registered.

Survey link for registration: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7Z2KWKT

In addition to offering the Microsoft IT Academy to your patrons, each
participating location will receive up to 50 licenses for the current
version of Microsoft Office (currently MS Office 365). If you cannot use
all 50 licenses on your library computers, I believe the opportunity
exists to share the licenses with other branches which have more than 50
computers and/or between libraries. More on this last part as
information is available.

The Washington State Library is in the process of obtaining a project
manager to support participating libraries. This person will work
closely with IT Academy staff to implement the program. They can help
link you to resources, answer basic questions, refer you to IT Academy
staff when needed, and troubleshoot if things aren't working as
expected. We hope this additional point of contact will smooth the
process as we move forward.

Until this person is on board, please feel free to contact Jeff Martin
with questions, comments, and issues.

We hope that you take advantage of this opportunity. 

Rand Simmons, Ph.D., State Librarian 

Library Division | Office of the Secretary of State

(360) 570-5585 desk phone | (360) 790-1392 cell | (360) 586-7575 fax

rand.simmons at sos.wa.gov <mailto:rsimmons at secstate.wa.gov>  

Jeff Martin

Library Development Program Manager

Washington State Library | Office of the Secretary of State

Voice: (360) 704-5248 | Fax: (360) 586-7575

E-mail jeff.martin at sos.wa.gov <mailto:jeff.martin at sos.wa.gov>  

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.ctc.edu/pipermail/librarydir_lists.ctc.edu/attachments/20130722/ef27465d/attachment.html>