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Iowa Library Technology Grant Application
Application Deadline: November 1, 2013
Read through this application and instructions before you begin the application. Provide answers to all
questions. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Provide as much detail as you can.
1.
Name of Library or Group: Lamoni Public Library
2.
Name of Library that will serve as fiscal agent if a group is applying: Lamoni Public Library
3.
Contact Name: Rebecca Ramsey
4.
Contact Telephone number: 641-784-6686
5.
Contact e-mail address: lamonipl@grm.net
6.
Contact Address: 301 W. Main
7.
City/Zip: Lamoni, IA 50140
8.
Project title: Lamoni Library Projector Project
9.
Grant amount requested: $1500
10.
Do you have local funding for this project? If so, how much?
We do not have local funding for the specific objectives of this project, that is, buying a projector,
cabinet, and screen. We have used local money for related objectives. For instance, a local women’s
club called As You Like It has purchased our public performance license for the last 3 years to allow us
to show movies using the projector. Purchases of a DVD player and DVDs to use with the projector
have come from the library’s budget in the city’s general fund. So have salaries to pay library staff to
provide programming using the equipment. If it happens that we receive a grant for the projector and
related equipment but the cost is more than anticipated, there are willing donors in town who will be
able to make up a shortfall of up to around $300.
11.
Describe your project. Include information about implementation, goals and objectives, project
schedule and budget.
Overview: About three years ago, we realized that library programming could be made more appealing
and more useful to the community if we had the ability to display movies, internet content, and
Powerpoint presentations for groups attending events at the library. With no room in our budget for the
necessary equipment, we patched together a solution using no-cost, second-hand equipment. We are
using a borrowed projector that is around 8-10 years old, a rickety rolling cart that was being discarded
by its previous owner, and a 1970s-era stereo system and speakers to amplify sound.
Using this less-than-adequate equipment, projected content has become a much-appreciated resource for
library programming. Our book club has used the projector several times to view author interviews and
background information on the books they are discussing, and to allow them to see a movie, then
compare it with the original book. Community groups holding classes in our meeting room have used
the projector for presentations on subjects ranging from creating and following a household budget, to
basic auto maintenance, to job search skills, to a women’s Bible study series. Alley Kids, an afterschool program for middle school students organized by AmeriCorps workers, has held movie nights at
the library. We’ve used the projector in our summer reading programs to sing and dance along with
You-Tube videos of theme-related music, and to “visit” far-off places including Jupiter and Neptune.
We’ve displayed Powerpoints that show features of EBSCOHost, WILBOR, and our new on-line library
catalog to several classes that introduced community members to electronic resources available at the
library.
But probably the most-appreciated use of the projector is at Early Out Movies. We have begun our third
year of showing movies at the library on days that school lets out early for professional development or
parent-teacher conferences. Because the school is across the street from the library, this is a natural fit.
Attendance has grown from 4 kids at the first movie afternoon to 26 kids at a recent event. (Our
meeting room only has 24 chairs.) At the last movie of each school year, we’ve asked the group
whether this is a good program, and whether we should continue next year. Both years we’ve gotten
resounding shouts of “Yes!” accompanied by applause.
In short, projector-enabled programming has made a huge contribution to our library’s impact on the
community. The only problem is, we’re using a borrowed projector, and we’ve kept it for nearly 3
years. It’s past time that that projector be returned to its owner, who never intended to make it a
permanent loan and would like to be able to use it himself. This means we need to get a projector of our
own, so that the benefits of projector use can continue.
The makeshift equipment we are using with the borrowed projector limits its effectiveness. We would
like to upgrade to a more adequate speaker system, and to a more stable and secure storage cabinet. We
would also like to add a screen that would improve the picture quality displayed and allow us to use the
projector in areas of the library where a blank wall is not available.
Goal 1: To help meet the information and entertainment needs of the community, as well as provide a
safe setting that encourages children to form relationships with caring adults, by providing the
equipment necessary for both library staff and community users of library facilities to display movies on
DVD, YouTube videos and other internet materials, and Powerpoint presentations and other computerbased applications to groups of people in the library meeting room or elsewhere in the library.
Goal 2: To save the library staff’s time and effort in moving and setting up equipment, and to increase
library patrons’ access to both the projection equipment and the room in which the equipment is used
and sometimes stored, by providing a sturdy, secure way to store, move, and use the equipment.
Objective 1. Do the research necessary to develop technical specifications of equipment needed to meet
the following objectives.
Objective 2. Purchase a projector and the necessary connecting cables to display content from either a
DVD player or a laptop computer. The display should be of adequate size to be seen clearly from
anywhere in the meeting room when shown on the meeting room wall, and of adequate brightness and
contrast to be seen clearly in the lighting conditions of the meeting room during daytime with the lights
off and the shades drawn.
Objective 3. Ensure that listening to movies and sound from other applications being shown on the
projector is a pleasant experience, either by purchasing a projector with internal speakers that are
adequate for hearing a movie played in a meeting room full of not-entirely-quiet children and the
connections and cables necessary to play sound from either a computer or a DVD player, or by
purchasing a compact, easy-to-use external speaker system that meets the same criteria.
Objective 4. Purchase a rolling cart or cabinet that meets the following criteria:
a.
Sturdy; stands up to being rolled to different locations in the library.
b.
Rolls easily and can fit through the meeting room door.
c.
Secure; the projector, speakers, laptop, and DVD player can all be locked inside the cabinet
for storage, allowing them to remain in the meeting room while the room is in use for other
events.
d.
Easy to use; all equipment can stay mostly “hooked up” during storage in order to minimize
time needed for set-up before each use.
Objective 5. Purchase a compact, easy-to-use screen that can be used with the projector
Objective 6. Set up the new equipment, test it, and use it successfully to show an early-out movie
Objective 7. Create easy-to-follow instructions for using the new equipment with either the library’s
DVD player or the user’s own laptop computer
Objective 8. The library board will create a policy for use of the new equipment
Project Schedule
Date
Milestone
12/02/2013
Notification of grant award.
01/15/2014
Complete research and write technical specs for equipment to be purchased.
01/31/2014
Choose equipment and suppliers; determine actual costs. Solicit additional funds if
necessary,
02/07/2014
Order equipment
02/28/2014
Receive equipment and get it set up and configured. Keep old equipment set up for
backup use.
02/28/2014
Submit receipts for reimbursement.
03/01/2014
Submit status report.
03/11&13/14 Early out movies. Attempt to use the new equipment. If there are problems, revert to
04/09/2014
the old equipment so the show can go on, and work out the problems later.
05/07/2014
04/30/2014
Write instructions for using new equipment. Have library staff or volunteers test
following the instructions and edit as needed.
05/07/2014
Write draft of policy for using new equipment.
05/14/2014
Library board meeting. Discuss equipment use policy, modify as necessary, and
approve.
06/01/2014
Begin publicizing availability of new equipment to potential meeting room users.
06/01/2014
Take down old equipment. Return projector and stereo to their owners.
07/31/2014
Submit final report
Budget: While finalizing the budget cannot be completed until after projector and speaker research is
finished, this estimated budget provides a good idea of probable costs.
Item
Estimated Cost
Documentation
Projector
$480 - $800 *Epson Powerlite 83+ Multimedia Projector, 2200 Lumens, 1024-768
pixels, 1.2x Zoom, with 10W built-in speakers, is $600 + $10.49
shipping through Amazon Marketplace
* Epson PowerLite 1761W WXGA 3LCD Projector (# V11H478120),
2600 lumens, HDMI input, is $799.99 with free shipping from
www.epson.com
* Epson Powerlite Presenter Widescreen Projector / DVD Player
Combo (WXGA resolution 1280x800), 2500 lumens, 2 10W speakers,
HDMI, (model #V11H335120) is $754.99 with free shipping from
Amazon.com
* ViewSonic PJD5533W WXGA Portable WXGA Projector (XGA
1024x768 resolution), 2800 lumens, no speakers, is $479.99 with free
shipping at Amazon.com
Cabinet
Screen
Speakers
Cables and
cords
Labor
TOTAL
12.
$375 * Balt AV Traveler Projector Cart (Item # WB-670510 from ACP
Direct) is $349.95 + $17.95 shipping
* Jumbo Plus Presentation Cart by Oklahoma Sound (ASIN
B00AW19FZ8 at Amazon.com) is $372.05 with free shipping
$120 – $170 * Elite Screens Tripod Portable Projection Screen with 80”x80”
viewable area (Item # T113UWS1 at Amazon.com) is $109 with free
shipping
* Trimaxx Portable Tripod Projector Screen, 60”x60”, is $119.00 at
Projector Discount Store (www.projectordiscountstore.com)
Da-Lite Portable Tripod Projector Screen, 60”x80”, is $169.00 at
Projector Discount Store (www.projectordiscountstore.com)
$0 - $150 Whether or not speakers are needed will depend on the projector
chosen. Sample speakers include:
Epson ELPSP02 Active Speakers – 30W speakers with built-in
amplifiers, $149 with free shipping at www.epson.com
Logitech Z623 Speaker System -- $149 at www.staples.com
$100 Whether or not cords and cables are needed will depend on the
projector, cabinet, and speakers chosen. Allow up to $100 for this
category.
$0 All labor will be completed by library staff or volunteers.
$1075 - $1595 Estimated total cost. (These numbers came from adding up the lowest
numbers and the highest numbers in the range for each line item. Note
that the most expensive projectors include speakers, which would
mean that external speakers aren’t needed. Therefore it’s unlikely that
the cost would go over $1500.)
What is the economic need of your library or group of libraries?
Lamoni is in Decatur County, which has the long-term distinction of being either the poorest, or one of
the poorest counties in Iowa. For FY13, Decatur County had the state’s lowest rural valuation at
$156,635,724 – far below the average of $543,021,721. The Lamoni Community school district
consistently has about 60% of the students eligible for free or reduced lunches. This high poverty rate
has led to the school being designated as an all-school Title I school: due to the poverty rate, the entire
school population is considered at-risk for reading difficulties.
The city of Lamoni’s budget has been extremely tight for several years due to lowering property tax
rates. The budgets of all city departments have been trimmed to the bare bones. The city council has
the difficult task of trying to fund all city departments adequately with the limited resources available.
They feel a perfectly reasonable need to support police, fire, and EMS – the city services that sustain life
and safety – before the library and parks and recreation. As library budgets have remained flat but
utilities, insurance, and other fixed expenses have risen, our budget for library materials and technology
is being squeezed. We will not be able to fund technology improvements out of regular library funds in
the foreseeable future.
13.
How will this project improve the lives of the citizens in your community?
Using our borrowed projector has allowed us to improve the lives of our community members in many
ways. People have learned to get information from digital sources including e-books and databases.
People have had their cultural horizons expanded and deepened relationships with other community
members by discussing books and movies seen using the projector. Children are discovering that the
library is a fun place, and developing supportive relationships with library staff, by attending movie
events. A father who had never been in the library began bringing his kindergarten daughter and 2 ndgrade son to early-out movies about a year ago. They attended regularly all school year. Eventually, the
kids began waiting for dad in the children’s area of the library. Finally, after the May movie, dad and
kids came into the library. Dad applied for a library card, and the kids excitedly ran to pick out one
book each to check out. That family has continued to attend movies, and to read library books. Without
the use of a projector to show movies, they might never have entered the library.
When we return the borrowed projector that we’ve been using for nearly three years, we will no longer
be able to offer these programs that have improved people’s lives. That is, we won’t be able to offer
them unless we receive a grant that will allow us to purchase our own projector and related equipment.
We hope we’ll be able to continue offering these programs that make a difference.
14.
How is your project unique or how does it demonstrate an innovative use of technology?
This project is unique in that it already has a proven track record before any money is spent. We have
seen the positive impact that programming using a projector has had on a wide cross-section of the
community. Because of the experimentation and experience we’ve had during over 2 years of
programming with a borrowed projector, we should be able to “hit the ground running” when we are
able to purchase a projector and related equipment of our own.
15.
Describe how the project will be evaluated. What are the results you are hoping for with this
project? How will you know if the goals and objectives are achieved?
Our hope is that we will be able to provide the same or improved level of programming that we’ve
offered with the borrowed projector, with an upgrade to the new technology of a new projector.
Evaluation will be by observation and anecdote. Specific evaluation questions are:
 Was a projector purchased and put into use? Does it provide equivalent or improved quality of
projected movies?
 Was a screen purchased and put into use? Does it provide increased clarity of images, compared to
projecting on the wall? Has it been used successfully in the children’s area of the library?
 Was a cart/cabinet for storing the projector and related equipment purchased and put into use? Does it
save staff/time and effort in moving equipment around? Does it improve access to the meeting room
for patrons?
 Is the sound quality from the new equipment sufficient for hearing movies over the sound of quiet
talking and munching of popcorn?
 Have instructions for using the new equipment been written? Have people unfamiliar with the
equipment been able to use them to use the equipment safely and effectively?
 How has the new equipment been used?
 Provide at least one anecdote showing positive impact of the new equipment on someone in the
community.
 Report the number of programs using the new equipment, and the number of people attending,
between the time the equipment is acquired and June 30, 2013.
Send hardcopies to:
Iowa Library Technology Grants
Iowa Library Services
1112 East Grand Ave.
Des Moines, Iowa 50319
Send e-mail attachments to:
grants@lib.state.ia.us
Fax to:
515-281-6191