BTOP Update
On February 23, 2010, the State Library received the word that they had been awarded an $8.8M grant from the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) of the Department of Commerce. There are many facets of the three-year program, all geared to promote workforce development and make a difference in the lives of our citizens. Here is an update as of February 28, of what has been accomplished so far:
- 9,379 members of the general public have registered for 1,047 classes;
- Deployment of eight portable laptop labs for statewide training;
- Purchase of 640 laptops for checkout in public libraries (three libraries pilot testing implementation now);
- Purchase of accessibility equipment and software for every parish;
- Implementation of HomeworkLouisiana for all residents of Louisiana;
- Addition of three new online resources to the Louisiana Library Connections: Teen Health & Wellness, Learning Express’ Testing module and computer skills module; and,
- Twenty three technology audits and customized training have been held.
More to come:
- Addition of more online resources to Louisiana Library Connection;
- Complete rollout of laptops statewide; and,
- Deployment of accessibility hardware and software to every parish.