Alabama Funds Virtual Library

Libraries to Issue Statewide AVL Card
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Lamar Veatch, APLS Director

(334) 213-3900

Alabama students, teachers and citizens will have online access to essential library and information resources, thanks to the state Legislature?s passage of a $3 million appropriation for the Alabama Virtual Library during its last day of the session.

On June 11, Gov. Don Siegelman signed the $4.1 billion Education Budget, which includes the AVL funds as part of the Alabama Public Library Service?s appropriation.

The Virtual Library will provide online databases through the Internet to public school systems, two and four-year-colleges and public libraries. The AVL will save money through cooperative licensing of online information products, expand information access to meet learning needs and reduce unnecessary duplication of resources.

APLS has the role of fiscal manager of the project, with the Alabama Supercomputer Authority housing the AVL, said APLS Director Lamar Veatch. A steering committee will be appointed soon to oversee the AVL, he said. Committee members will include representatives from the Alabama Public Library Service, Alabama Supercomputer Authority, State Department of Education, Department of Post-Secondary Education, Alabama Commission on Higher Education, and their constituents.

All of these agencies worked as a coalition in pushing for AVL funding, said Veatch. The committee intends to have the AVL available for the beginning of the school year, he said.

The AVL was "the first tangible program that demonstrated all of the Education sectors were willing to work together for a common goal,"said Sue Medina, director of the Network of Alabama Academic Libraries. Building partnerships and strong grassroots support which reached out beyond the library community were two reasons the funding was approved, she said.

No public library, school or college will pay for access to the AVL. Thanks to a $2.7 million grant from Microsoft?s Bill Gates last year, public libraries in every county have Internet access. Under the new E-rate federal program, Alabama schools and libraries received $46 million this year for Internet hookups and to pay phone bills. All two- and four-year colleges and universities are connected to the Internet.

Most of the AVL funding will be used to license electronic databases, such as online encyclopedias, almanacs, indexes to information contained in books and magazines and the full text of online books and magazines. Participants will provide their own hardware, software and telecommunications for Internet access to connect to the AVL.

More information can be found on the AVL website, www.virtual.lib.al.us.

Public libraries will soon begin issuing Alabama Virtual Library cards to patrons which will allow them to access statewide databases from their home computer.

This remote authentication, available at no cost to the patron, will allow access to all databases available through the Alabama Virtual Library. This service will be provided by local public libraries with technical support by the Alabama Supercomputer Authority.

The AVL, still in its first year of operation, provides online access to essential library and information resources, thanks to the state Legislature's passage of a $3 million appropriation. All public library patrons, public school systems, two- and four-year colleges have access to the AVL.

Users will be issued an AVL card with a unique password from their local public library. This will allow the user to access the AVL from home, office, school or any Internet-connected computer. The card should be available for use by the end of March, said APLS Director Lamar Veatch.

The AVL is a service to the citizens of the state by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education, Alabama Public Library Service, Alabama State Department of Education, and the Alabama Supercomputer Authority.

Funding is provided by Gov. Don Siegelman and the Alabama Legislature through the Special Education Trust Fund.

For more information, visit the AVL website at www.avl.lib.al.us.

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