Join us on Tuesday, June 21 at 10:00 a.m. at http://libraryofmichigan.adobeconnect.com/trigdevicepurchasing/ for a webinar with Wendy Hand of Kalamazoo Public Library to talk about a discount hardware purchasing solution for Michigan libraries. Last year, Michigan libraries were invited to participate in an important initiative. The Technology Readiness Infrastructure Grant (TRIG) program is involved in developing, issuing and administering statewide bids for mobile devices and desktop computers. It provides for lower purchase prices on many products, as well as accessories and even some services such as installation. The nice thing about this program is that it allows you to purchase off the bid and know you're getting a good price without actually issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) yourself. This year's program includes brands and products such as HP, Dell, Lenovo, Chromebooks, Android tablets, iPads and MacBooks. Accessories include onsite warranty, mice and keyboards, adapters, RAM upgrades and DVD RW drives. Last year nearly 170,000 devices were purchased off the bid. Unfortunately, libraries made up a very small percentage of this number but the savings for those libraries was substantial - $60,000. In our January issue of the LM Dispatch<http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MILOM/bulletins/12e4185#link_1390312287563>, Wendy Hand of Kalamazoo Public Library (KPL) wrote an article about how KPL bought Chromebases last year to use as an OPAC solution. On Tuesday she will be conducting a webinar through the LM to talk more about the device purchasing program and walk you through the steps of the ordering process. I would like to encourage you to learn more about this program. If you're thinking about buying hardware this year, the purchasing window is open now through October 15th. To learn more about this program, check out the TRIG website<http://22itrig.org/activities/device-purchasing/spot-faqs/> or join us for the webinar. I hope to see you there! Sonya Schryer Norris Library Consultant Library of Michigan 702 W. Kalamazoo St. P.O. Box 30007 Lansing, MI 48909-7507 Ph: 517-373-4457 Fax: 517-373-5700 Check out the curated content on the LM homepage including state and national CE offerings, LM events, stats reports, headlines from around the library world and intriguing snapshots of our varied collections at http://michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan http://mel.org<http://mel.org/> http://michlibrary.org<http://michlibrary.org/> Our collective efforts can help make Michigan a Top 10 education state in 10 years! Here are the goals and strategies: http://mi.gov/top10in10/ [cid:image001.png@01D1A46B.DA1302F0]
