MaintainIT is producing a series of monthly 30-minute webinars focused on topics from the Cookbooks and designed to get you started on a project today. May's topic: Notes on wireless acceptable use policies from West Des Moines Public Library.
Get started in 30 Minutes
What do you need to know?
Take two minutes to tell us what you'd like to know more about so we can improve the resources we create. Thanks!
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Have a story to tell?
Tell us about your daily routine maintaining public computers, or a moment when you were particularly proud. Don't forget that what might be "that's nothing" to you may be an "aha!" to someone else!
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Shopping for software?
Visit TechSoup to find donated and discounted software and technology products for your library.
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About Us
Who we are
The MaintainIT Project is a three-year project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We gather stories from public libraries on how they support public computers and publish their tips and techniques in Cookbooks and articles, available for FREE on the project web site. The Project works with libraries throughout the U.S. and Canada, while focusing on libraries in the 18 states that are receiving the first round of hardware upgrade grants from the Foundation.
The MaintainIT Project is a three-year project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We gather stories from public libraries on how they support public computers and publish their tips and techniques in Cookbooks and articles, available for FREE on the project web site. The Project works with libraries throughout the U.S. and Canada, while focusing on libraries in the 18 states that are receiving the first round of hardware upgrade grants from the Foundation.
MaintainIT is a project of TechSoup, (www.techsoup.org) a nonprofit with extensive experience helping other nonprofits use technology effectively. TechSoup works closely with community technology centers (CTCs) that offer access to public computers and have many of the same issues as public libraries. Techsoup Stock (www.techsoup.org/stock ) has distributed over 2.5 million donated and discounted products to nonprofits and public libraries, freeing more than $600 million dollars for other uses.
Chris Peters
A longtime lover of libraries who wishes he could read faster, Chris graduated from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with a Master’s in Information Science in 1997, and worked for the Gates Foundation’s U.S. Libraries Program for five years. He wrote The Joy of Computing: Recipes for a 5-Star Library as a contractor and did such a terrific job that we hired him full time to join our team and keep writing. He’s still adjusting to San Fran (no one calls it that--he's *that* new!), and is awed by the creativity, enthusiasm and deep knowledge of the techies in the Bay Area.
His hometown library: Scranton Memorial Library in Madison, CT.
Kami Griffiths
Kami is passionate about bridging the digital divide. An enthusiastic volunteer in public computer centers, she’s constantly dreaming up new ways to help those in need and counts her experiences with public libraries as key to learning how to even the playing field. A big city girl with small town roots, Kami loves discovering new haunts in the City.
Sadly, Kami’s hometown library has fallen victim to closure: Cleveland Public Library, Cleveland, MN R.I.P.
Lea Policoff
Lea directs the MaintainIT team with vim and vigor, often using her high tolerance for caffeine to keep the team jazzed and on task. An avid book reader and sometimes book writer, Lea loves working on a project that showcases the important work of libraries.
Her hometown library: Berkeley Public Library, Central library
Mary Duffy
Mary makes sure the team delivers on deadlines, and as extra encouragement she sometimes dons a chef’s hat (it works!) Inspired by the creativity and curiosity of librarians, Mary admires how library staff roll up their sleeves and make things happen for their communities.
Her hometown libraries: Jersey City Free Public Library and Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School Library
Sarah Washburn
Sarah has spent much of the past decade living the life of a librarian, from working on the US Library Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to co-founding The September Project, to her time now with the MaintainIT Project. A lifelong supporter and user of libraries, if she’s not in a library, she’s reading a library book, or telling someone to go to a library. (Go!)
Her hometown library: Omaha Public Library, W. Clarke Swanson branch
Susan Hellein
Susan manages to keep the team on the straight and narrow by drawing from her experience as a project manager in the corporate world and from her academic pursuits in psychology (happiness rates have soared since she joined the team). A newbie to the land of libraries, Susan dreams of setting up house in a grand old building packed to the gills with books and unhindered by laws that keep people like her from calling the library home.
Her hometown library: Free Library of Philadelphia, Central library
The MaintainIT Project is guided by an impressive steering committee from the public library community.
Bernard Vavrek
Director, Center for the Study of Rural Librarianship
Christopher Jowaisas
Library Systems Grants Administrator, Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Helene Blowers
Digital Strategy Director, Columbus Metropolitan Library, Ohio
Janet McKenney
Coordinator of Learning and Technology Services, Maine State Library
Jean Montgomery
Technology & Network Administration, Superiorland Library Cooperative, Michigan
Jessamyn West
Community technologist, MetaFilter moderator, and editor of librarian.net.
Malavika Muraldcharan
Development Consultant, Arizona State Library
Margaret Miles
County Librarian, Plumas County Library, California
Mary Haney
Director, Hennessey Public Library, Oklahoma
Jennifer Peterson
Community Programs Manager, WebJunction