Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awards grants to WebJunction

DUBLIN, Ohio, USA, 21 April 2005—WebJunction, the online community of library staff dedicated to sharing knowledge and experience to provide the broadest public access to information technology, has been awarded three grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to expand the community’s opportunities for learning and sharing.

The grants, totaling more than $8 million over three years, will make it possible for WebJunction to offer new tools and services that allow public libraries to make the most of their public access computing programs, provide local workshops for rural library staffs, and better meet the technology needs of Spanish speakers in their communities.

“Community members rely on public libraries for computers and Internet access.  The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is pleased to be a partner with WebJunction in helping libraries continue to meet their communities’ technology and training needs,” said Kara Palmer, advocacy officer for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  “These grants will help library professionals become more proficient in managing successful computer programs for the long-term and to better serve a more diverse population.”

In 2002, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded OCLC a three-year grant to create a portal for public libraries and other organizations that provide open access to information.  WebJunction builds on the Gates Foundation’s U.S. Library Program, which has provided more than 47,000 computers with Internet access to nearly 11,000 libraries across the United States.

“We are moving from the period of creation of WebJunction to the period of growth and community development,” said George Needham, Vice President, OCLC Member Services.  “The focus has shifted from inventing a new service and proving its value to creating a rich and varied set of resources.  The Gates Foundation grants will help us to take WebJunction to another level of service for our online community, and will help us to reach out so that more libraries, and more library patrons, can benefit.”

The new Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grants include funding for:

Managing Public Access Computing (MPAC) Program ($6.8 million)
This three-year grant will make it possible for WebJunction to offer new tools and services that will allow public libraries to better sustain public access computing programs.  Part of the MPAC program will be to create a skills-based learning program that will cover the areas of technology, resource development, planning, advocacy and training.

Rural Libraries Sustainability Program ($1.074 million)
WebJunction will partner with all 50 state libraries to provide local workshops to empower rural library staff to better manage and sustain public access computing programs.

Spanish Language Outreach Program Pilot ($471,900)
WebJunction has partnered with four state libraries to provide local workshops that will enable library staff to better meet the technology needs of Spanish speakers in their communities.  For more information, visit www.webjunction.org/Spanish.

More information about WebJunction can be found at www.webjunction.org.

About OCLC
Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, OCLC Online Computer Library Center is a nonprofit organization that has provided computer-based cataloging, reference, resource sharing and preservation services to 53,000 libraries in 96 countries and territories.  For more information, visit www.oclc.org.

About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to promote greater equity in four areas: global health, education, public libraries, and support for at-risk families in Washington state and Oregon. The Seattle-based foundation joins local, national, and international partners to ensure that advances in these areas reach those who need them most. The foundation is led by Bill Gates's father, William H. Gates Sr., and Patty Stonesifer.

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