Library vs. Library System:
There appears to be considerable confusion within the library community with respect to applicant type and application structure required by EPC. The confusion can be traced to several factors, including:
- EPC enforces strict parent-child (and consortium) relationships that were not well defined or enforced within the Form 471 application process in previous years.
- USAC’s current use of the terms “library system” and “library” often varies widely from the library community’s use of “library system,” “library,” “library branch,” or even “library outlet.”
- The official status of special library entities, such as bookmobiles, varies by state.
Perhaps the easiest way to consider library types for E-rate purposes is to consider the analogous school types. A “library system” is like a school district. Just like a district, a library system acts as the “parent” organization for its various “children” — perhaps a main library and several smaller branches. Typically, in this case, the library system is administered out of the main library. The system would have a Billed Entity Number (“BEN”), and the main library and the other branches would have their own Site Entity Numbers (“SENs,” sometime just referred to as “entity numbers”).
A standalone, single-site library would operate like an independent school. Essentially, it would be its own “parent” and would have its own BEN.
More confusing is that an organization, typically called a “library system” (or “library cooperative”) by librarians, is not defined as a system by USAC. Such an organization is often not a library in the traditional sense, but it does provide a variety of regional support services for a number of separate member libraries (with or without branches). The school equivalent, based on the types of services offered, is a regional Educational Service Agency (“ESA”).
Bear with us on this. For E-rate purposes, there are two types of ESAs. An ESA with schools of its own is considered a school district. An ESA without its own schools is — drumroll please! — a new type of E-rate entity, just now being introduced by USAC, called (perhaps not surprisingly) an “ESA without schools.” This newly designated type of ESA is eligible to receive discounted Category 1 services. Its discount is based on the eligibility of the total number of students in its member districts.
There is currently no library equivalent to an ESA without schools. As stated above, library system or cooperative, as a provider of library services, but without its own libraries, is not a library “system” according to USAC. That leaves two E-rate options. The system could be:
- A library, eligible for discounts on its own services, if so considered by its state — a strong possibility if it is eligible for LSTA funding; and/or
- A library consortia filing for discounts on behalf of its member libraries (or library systems).
One more potential source of confusion, new to E-rate this year, is an “annex.” In the school world, an annex is an instructional site, which is not defined as a “school” within its state, and which is not located on the same campus of its main school. For both Category 2 budget and discount rate purposes, a school annex is considered part of its associated school.
In the library world, a library annex would be a site which is providing lending and/or research facilities to the public, but which is not itself considered a separate “library” by its state. As with a school annex, it too would share the Category 2 budget of its associated library.
A bookmobile is yet another interesting special case. Depending upon how they are defined by the state library agency (or state statute), for E-rate purposes a bookmobile can be considered either an annex or a separate library outlet.
EPC may require libraries to review what they have done in the past regarding application type, and to make any necessary changes to accommodate USAC’s new EPC definitions. Libraries with questions on their status may want to contact their state library agency for more information. Contact information for State Library E-rate Coordinators can be found on our State Information pages or from the American Library Association’s (“ALA”) E-rate site.
Contract Profile Review, Upload, and Submission:
Information on any contracts cited in a Form 471 must be pre-populated in the contract profile section of each applicant’s EPC account. To add contract information — and, optionally, to upload copies of contracts — click on “Related Actions” in the left-hand activities column, then select:
The “Manage Contract” function has two pull-down menu options,
Under either option, a user will see a list of contracts in that mode, and will be given an option to “Add a New Contract.” The distinction between a draft contract and one that has been submitted, however, is critical. In draft mode, information on a specific contract can be added, modified, or deleted. Once contract information is “Submitted,” it is there to stay.
We recommend entering contract data and keeping it in draft mode until needed as a reference in the FRN portion of a Form 471. At that point, check the draft contract, click the “Edit” button, and step through the ten pages using the “Save & Continue” button until reaching the final summary page. To submit, click the green “Complete” button.
The second page of contract information — available only in the draft mode — provides the user with the option of uploading a copy of the contract into EPC. Although not required, the advantages to uploading contracts are that (a) it may save time during the PIA review process, and (b) it provides an online backup for document retention purposes.
Hopefully, EPC will ultimately permit applicants to update contract information and/or upload actual contracts post submission. For now, however, it’s best to keep contracts in draft mode until needed which, given the impending Form 471 deadline, is not much longer.
Large Applicant Connectivity Profile Option:
EPC requires every non-consortium applicant to manually complete a connectivity profile for each school or library before filing a Form 471. Each connectivity profile has 7 data or pulldown fields. For smaller applicants, this is not much of a burden. For large applicants, the process is time-consuming. At best, using the keyboarding tip discussed in our newsletter of March 7th, each entity profile requires two mouse clicks and 13 key strokes before moving to the next entity. There is no upload template.
Last week, apparently after fielding complaints from large applicants, USAC issued a Special Edition News Brief offering to do the data entry for large applicants (those with 50 or more entities). As USAC’s announcement indicates, this is an “extraordinary measure.” We would agree.
To utilize this option, larger applicants must complete a Connectivity Questions Worksheet, and email it to USAC by April 4th. “USAC will ensure the data is entered into the system on your behalf and notify you when the process is complete” — presumably in time to meet the application deadline. For those interested and qualifying for this option, we would recommend not being last in line.