NMRLS Newsletter - September 2003

The statewide program, implemented to help offset the cost of resource sharing between libraries across regional boundaries was discontinued last year due to lack of funds. Although a popular program with public and academic libraries, the program is not offered this year, also due to lack of funds. No statewide ILL net lender programs are planned for the near future.

A Long-Range Plan can do even more for your library than provide a blueprint for future development, position it to meet funding challenges, and assure that resources go where your community needs them most. It can provide funds to help these things happen through the Library Services and Technology Act direct grant program. Having a Long-Range Plan and an annual Action Plan update of your Long-Range Plan's goals and objectives qualifies you for this important federal program.

Next year's LSTA calendar will have some changes, and libraries who are submitting new Long-Range Plans or updated Action Plans should be aware of them. (Please note that the grant cycle that the MBLC begins preparing for in October 2003 is the federal Fiscal Year 2005. If you are completing an Action Plan for a grant you will apply for in December 2003, it should contain activities for the period from July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005.)

New long-range plans will be due on October 1, 2003. Action Plan updates will be due on December 1, 2003, not on the same day as LSTA Letters of Intent, as was the case this year. Because of staff shortages, we are no longer able to process Action Plans and Letters of Intent at the same time, so please bear this in mind when setting fall meeting schedules if your governing board signatures are necessary. If you are unsure whether your existing Long-Range Plan is still valid for the coming year, please see the "Long Range Plan Expirations" table below.

For more information about the grants that were offered under the current year's LSTA program (there may be modifications in the FY2005 program), see: http://www.mlin.lib.ma.us/mblc/ldev/lsta/04announce.shtml. Scroll to the bottom of the page for .PDF fact sheets about individual offerings.

Here are some examples that may clarify just when a new plan is due, and when an Action Plan is "enough." After the coming fiscal year (which is Federal FY05), if a library has a plan, which has expired, it will have two years from the date of its expiration to file a new plan. There is a grace period, beginning at the end of last year, for all libraries whose plans expire in 2002 or before.

Old (Current) Plan	New Plan Due Date	Action Plans Due Dates
1992-1997	October 1, 2005	December 1, 2003 December 1, 2004)
1997-2002	October 1, 2005	Same as above
1999-2004	October 1, 2005	Same as above
2000-2005	October 1, 2006	December 2005.

As you can see from the examples, many libraries will need to have new plans on file by October 1, 2005. Because community input is such a large part of a good plan, most plans take three to six months to complete.