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The Spring 2010 OPLIN CIRCUIT is now available.
In this issue:
    * Our capital budget requests
    * More Dynamic Website Kits launched
    * Connectivity policy changes
    * Info on the Spring Database Preview
    * Three items from the OPLIN Support Center
    * Speed tests: do they really work?

As part of a process to prepare a statewide application to obtain federal stimulus funding that would benefit Ohio public libraries, Connect Ohio is conducting surveys to gather additional data about the public computers in libraries and how they are used. Connect Ohio Executive Director Tom Fritz has recorded a 40-minute presentation that provides some background information and details the data gathering and grant process. You can access the audio and the slides at http://www.swonlibraries.org/connectohio.

The winter edition of the OPLIN CIRCUIT is now available.

What's inside?

Info on the new statewide broadband contract, open source in the OPLIN
office and more!

As we do every year, we respectfully request that every Ohio public library system participate in the OPLIN annual survey of public computer access. The purposes of this survey are:

On Friday July 31, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will open the application process for $50 million of a $200 million earmark in the Recovery Act for expanding computer center capacity under their Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). This is the first of three rounds of funding releases; applications for this first $50 million round of funds are due by 5:00 p.m. EDT on August 14, 2009.

We understand that, in these budget-strapped times, it is more important than ever for public libraries to show their communities that they are vital and trustworthy institutions that can provide the same advanced features as other kinds of sites.  We also know that library staff have even less time and/or staff to manage their websites.  OPLIN's Dynamic Website Kits offer a host of options for little investment of time and funds.

As we approach the end of the state fiscal year, and the time for the Libraries Connect Ohio (LCO) partners to renew purchases of the Ohio Web Library collection of databases, and the final version of the new state budget, changes to the Ohio Web Library collection are finally coming into focus.

Recent developments in the newspaper business are going to force some major changes in the selection of newspapers currently available in the Ohio Web Library collection.

We are pleased to announce a new tool for searching the archives of the OPLINTECH mail list at http://oplin.org/techsearch. This search interface is easier to use than browsing the mail list archives, and you don't have to be a member of the OPLINTECH list to use it.

Next time you have a question about library technology matters, try http://oplin.org/techsearch.