Delivering as Promised

The Nevada State Council on Libraries and Literacy (SCLL) is leading the way for Nevada's libraries to adopt vital 21st century technology. At the end of the annual 2017 Nevada Library Association (NLA) conference, it was announced that Nevada libraries would have a robust continuing education opportunity to learn about virtual reality (VR) and deploy it in their facilities in early 2018! These libraries are part of a select group of emerging technology early adopters in the country. Partial resources for this VR initiative are provided by the Nevada State Legislature with funds from SB-549.

See below for a detailed timeline of the pilot program.

ETEAP Timeline (REVISED May 8, 2018)

July

• July 6: Continuing education and virtual reality webinar #1
  • VR basics
• July 13: Continuing education and virtual reality webinar #2
  • Software
• July 20: Continuing education and virtual reality webinar #3
  • Measuring metrics
• July 27: Continuing education and virtual reality webinar #4
  • Deploying your program

The Rundown on ETEAP

A select number of libraries have been chosen to receive a fully loaded VR system, complete with a VR-enabled computer/software/ educational media catalog and  Oculus Rift headgear. Libraries will receive training and ongoing support for their VR systems through a web portal that provides information and resources on VR technology, capabilities, applications in libraries, and promising practices.

The selected libraries represent a range of types and geographies. These libraries demonstrated a need and have well-conceived ideas for incorporating VR into their library programs. Participating libraries are required to collect and submit statistics, which we will use to evaluate demand for VR technologies and ways they can be used. This data will help determine possible future directions and support for VR projects and programs. This project relates to Nevada’s current  LSTA 5-Year Plan and the intention of the Nevada Legislature’s SB-549 (2017).

Questions? Contact Tammy Westergard, Nevada State Library assistant administrator and ETEAP program manager, at 775-684-3306 or twestergard@admin.nv.gov.
 

Late July - September

• July 30 – September 30: Soft launch
  • Begin deploying the program in your library
  • Connect with local teachers/schools to establish a program timeline
    • Align program with provided metrics

October – Mid-November

• Oct. 1 – Nov. 18: Pilot program begins

November

• Nov. 30: Program concludes
  • Metrics due

December

• Dec. 31: Results of pilot program announced