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G2S Project Code: 2020-WV-86375
State: West Virginia
Fiscal Year: 2020
Grantee
West Virginia Library Commission

Project Director
Director Name: Karen Goff
Director Phone: (304) 558-2041
Director Email: Karen.e.goff@wv.gov
General Information
Title: State Library Network
State Project Code: network
Start Date: 10/01/2019
End Date: 09/30/2021
Abstract: The State Library Network provides internet accessibility and hardware/software support for 1,806 computers in 142 West Virginia public libraries. Services include but are not limited to library operations software support, infrastructure support, computing, Internet connectivity, or wiring.  West Virginia Office of Technology staff works with the West Virginia Library Commission to ensure all public libraries on the network have technical support.  

State Goal: Goal 1 - Expand Access to Information
Budget Information
LSTA
MATCH-State
MATCH-Other
Total
$704,772.79
$388,566.76
$0.00
$1,093,339.55
Intent(s)
Improve library's physical and technology infrastructure.
Broadband adoption
Systems & Technologies
Activities
Activity Details
Title: Network Infrastructure and Broadband
Narrative: Five pilot sites moved to Frontier, the new broadband vendor, in January 2021 to test reliability and bandwidth consistency.  After two months, the West Virginia Library Commission and Office of Technology finalized the procedures to move the remaining libraries. The switch over for the remaining 139 public libraries began in April and was completed in August 2021.   At this time, the public libraries have access to 100 Mbps.  The Library Commission has requested bids to purchase larger capacity switches to bring the 142 public libraries up to 500 Mbps by the end of the federal fiscal year 2021.


Intent: Improve library's physical and technology infrastructure.

Activity: Instruction
Mode: Consultation/drop-in/referral
Format: In-person


Quantity
Total number of consultation/reference transactions: 142
Average number of consultation/reference transactions per month: 11


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: Yes
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: Yes
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: Yes
Specific Locations: No
Library Types
Public Libraries: 142
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 1
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 0
Other: 0
Activity Details
Title: Technology Support
Narrative:

The West Virginia Office of Technology completed its transition to providing the public libraries with technology support this year.  There were a lot of growing pains for the public libraries and the Office of Technology.  The biggest challenge was breaking habits.  The public libraries preferred method to report technology issues was to call field technicians directly.  The Office of Technology required the public libraries to call or email to submit tickets in a tracking system.   That presented a challenge since the Office of Technology did not set up the ticket tracking system to handle requests from the public libraries.  Therefore, public libraries' technology needs were not assigned or completed promptly. Getting access to statistics has been another issue due to the new ticketing system implemented by the Office of Technology.  The Library Commission is not aware of how many requests come in from the public libraries or the time it takes to resolve the issue  The number of transactions are those that were reported directly to the Library Commission before the Office of Technology fully took over.

An obsolete server prompted the public libraries to either transition to Google Workspace for non-profits or to remain with an email system option supported by the Library Commission and WVNet, the company housing the new server.  The West Virginia Library Commission moderated the public library email and website server transfer.


Intent: Improve library's physical and technology infrastructure.

Activity: Instruction
Mode: Consultation/drop-in/referral
Format: Combined in-person & virtual


Quantity
Total number of consultation/reference transactions: 1,445
Average number of consultation/reference transactions per month: 120


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: Yes
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: Yes
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: Yes
Specific Locations: No
Library Types
Public Libraries: 171
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 1
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 0
Other: 0
Project Outcomes
Project Outcomes
List any important outcomes or findings not previously reported:
The West Virginia Office of Technology and the West Virginia Library Commission have two different key performance indicators for supporting the public libraries. When the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) five-year plan was approved, the Library Commission's in-house technical staff could meet the plan's goals, a two-day turnaround for service calls. Even though the Office of Technology has a larger capacity for serving libraries, the Office of Technology services a multitude of state agencies whose needs are often more of a priority. As the partnership goes forward, identifying performance indicators that meet both the Office and Technology and the Library Commission will be critical for the success of the project in the next five years.
Please briefly describe the importance of these outcomes and findings for future program planning:

Explain one or two of the most significant lessons learned for others wanting to adopt any facets of this project:

Do you anticipate continuing this project after the current reporting period ends:
Yes
Do you anticipate any change in level of effort in managing this project:
No
Explain:
As the library IT duties transition fully integrates into the Office of Technology system, the Library Commission will receive monthly bills for service calls to libraries. The agency plans to shift its focus away from infrastructure to digital resource access and information.
Do you anticipate changing the types of activities and objectives addressed by the project:
No
Explain:

Was an evaluation conducted for this project:
No
Was a final written evaluation report produced:
No
Can the final written evaluation report be shared publicly on the IMLS website:
No
Was the evaluation conducted by project staff (either SLAA or local library) or by a third-party evaluator:
Third-Party
What data collection tools were used for any report outcomes and outputs:
Did you collect any media for the data:
What types of methods were used to analyze collected data:
Other:
How were participants (or items) selected:
What type of research design did you use to compare the value for any reported output or outcome:
Exemplary: No
Exemplary Narrative
Project Tags: IT, technology