Saskatchewan Provincial Library Grant Program
PROGRAM PURPOSE
The Multitype Library Board’s and the Saskatchewan Provincial Library’s vision emphasizes equitable access to library information and resources. Digital collections support this by providing universal access to cultural, historical and scientific resources.
In order to advance digitization efforts in Saskatchewan , the Saskatchewan Provincial Library and the Ministry of Education, has created a fund of up to $19,000 for one or more digitization pilot projects in the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2009 and ending March 31, 2010 (subject to the appropriation of funds by the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan). The project(s) will be a shared project involving at least two information providers, one of which must be a public library.
This program is a collaborative endeavour involving the Saskatchewan Provincial Library, Ministry of Education, the Multitype Library Board and the Saskatchewan Digital Alliance (SDA), a cross-sector committee of digitization specialists. The program will be administered by the Saskatchewan Provincial Library in consultation with the Multitype Library Board, with the Saskatchewan Digital Alliance in an advisory role.
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
This program is intended to:
- Increase the amount of digital content available to the people of Saskatchewan ;
- Encourage and stimulate partnerships and collaborative planning between libraries and other information sectors such as archives, museums, cultural institutions, etc.;
- Build digitization capacity throughout the province. Projects are expected to provide feedback on the experiences of developing a digital collection, so that a provincial set of standards and best practices may be developed; and,
- Demonstrate standards and best practices identified by the Saskatchewan Digital Alliance that will enhance interoperability among digital collections.
PROGRAM PRINCIPLES
- Criteria for Acceptance
- Projects must have Saskatchewan content;
- Projects must result in digital collections freely available to the public via the Internet;
- Metadata must be made available for sharing and harvesting , using OAI-compliant standards such as Dublin Core.
- Plans must be made for long-term access (e.g. “future proofing” and continued availability through in-house server(s) or hosting service);
- Projects must be collaborative partnerships involving at least one public library;
- The project’s team leader must have sufficient technical knowledge to be able to liaise with the SDA as described in principle #2.
- Open Communication
- Collaboration and Partnership
- Shared Vision and Common Goals
The partners articulate their vision and identify their common goals with respect to the improvement of their collections by making them available online. All partners share ownership, and take responsibility for the success of the collaborative project.
- Decision Making by Consensus
The partners use a consensus model for decision making where there is respect for each partner’s unique contribution and value to the overall success of the project. Conflict is resolved by committing to achieve common ground. An understanding of that common ground is arrived at by ensuring that all opinions are heard.
- Maximizing Use of Funding
Consultation and feedback sessions are held throughout the process to ensure the project funding is used to its fullest potential. The project will not duplicate existing programs or resources, but rather will seek to make unique content accessible in digital format.
The pilot project’s designated team leader needs to maintain regular communication with the Saskatchewan Digital Alliance in order to achieve this program’s desired outcomes. The project’s team leader or designate will complete an interim report for the SDA by August 31, 2009 . Communication will help ensure that the pilot project implements standards and best practices as identified by the SDA and that these standards and best practices can be modified to reflect the practical experiences of the project.
Partnerships and collaborative processes are the foundation of the Multitype Library Board. This partnership will expand the collaborative process to include different information sectors , so as to provide mutual benefits.
APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY
A joint application which includes at least one library and an institution from another information sector will be eligible for consideration. The grant money will be given to the library named under the “contacts” section in the Project Plan document.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
- Applicants must submit their completed Expression of Interest (using the outline in Appendix A) to the Saskatchewan Provincial Library , Saskatchewan Learning , postmarked , emailed , or faxed no later than Feb 16, 2009 . Click this link to obtain a copy of the Expression of Interest form.
- Each applicant will receive a letter of acknowledgement upon receipt of the Expression of Interest.
- The SDA will review all Expression of Interest forms and decide which applications best meet the evaluation criteria.
- If further information is needed to arrive at a final decision with a full understanding of the potential value and implications of the Expression of Interest, it will be requested from the applicant.
- Applicants that best meet the criteria will be notified and asked to submit a more fully developed Project Plan (Appendix B).
- Project Plans will be due by March 16, 2009 .
- Successful projects will be selected by the Multitype Library Board in April 2009.
- Funds will be distributed through the Ministry of Education budget process; 75% of funds will be available after Budget Day, 2009 and the remainder will be paid upon submission of the final report.
- Upon completion of the project an evaluation and financial report will be submitted to Saskatchewan Provincial Library, Ministry of Education.
- Applicants will have until March 15, 2010 to complete the final project report.
CONTENT OF THE EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
An Expression of Interest is a brief description of the project plan. It should address a common goal to build digital collections that will be freely available online. The Expression of Interest should identify the partnerships, state the shared vision and common goals and give a brief outline of the proposed project. Use the form outlined in Appendix A. Applicants who meet basic evaluation criteria will be requested to submit a Project Plan (Appendix B).
EVALUATION CRITERIA AND SELECTION OF SUBMISSIONS
Each project will be assessed according to the following criteria:
- The project has the potential to advance digitization in Saskatchewan by demonstrating best practices and by providing a model for other digitization projects to follow;
- The project uses current metadata standards that will enable interoperability with other digital collections;
- The project is based on the shared vision and common goals of the partners;
- The project conforms closely to the Program Principles;
- The project will focus on Saskatchewan content;
- The project will result in a digital collection that is publicly accessible;
- The project plan is well developed and articulated and includes timelines , budget and resource estimates , the roles and responsibilities of each of the partners , a statement of expected project outcomes (deliverables) and plans for assessment , reporting and fiscal accountability; and ,
- The project has implications for future collaboration and/or digital collections.
APPENDICES
- Expression of Interest (form)
- Project Plan (form)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
For further information or to request electronic copies of the form, contact:
Elgin Bunston ( ebunston@library.gov.sk.ca ) Phone 787-2355 or Jack Ma (Jma@library.gov.sk.ca) Phone 787-1306
Forward completed Expression of Interest forms to the Provincial Library by February 16, 2009
Expression of Interest forms and Project Plans may be submitted electronically to
Elgin Bunston (ebunston@library.gov.sk.ca) or by fax to 787-2029