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WALS Fee Explanations

There are two categories of WALS participants. WALS Members are the largest libraries.  They are responsible for the overall WALS budget. Their annual fees range from $20,000 to $182,000.  The WALS Members Executive Council makes the policy decisions for WALS.

WALS Associates are libraries that use WALS for Internet access, circulation and the online catalog.  Their annual fees range from $6,143 to $9,021.


WALS Associate Startup Fee is paid when a new Associate joins WALS.  That fee includes:

  1. Consultation visits, including the WALS Coordinator attending library board meetings and municipal meetings if needed.
  2. Determining equipment needs, ordering the equipment.
  3. Assisting with cabling; providing the specifications.
  4. Arranging for the telecommunication line installation.
  5. Ordering, installing and configuring the telecommunications equipment.
  6. Training for barcoding the collection.
  7. Training for entering patron records.
  8. Training for using the circulation and request system.
  9. Central site hardware and software upgrades to accommodate the new library.

WALS Associate Annual Fee

The WALS Associate Fee Schedule is approved annually by the Winnefox board.   The Associate Fee is based on  the size of the service population of the library, library expenditures, and the library's circulation.

To determine fees for 2007, we will input statistics for 2005, add in new WALS Associates, and the recalculate the percentages. This will be done after the annual reports are completed in 2006.

The WALS annual fee includes the cost of a T1 telephone circuit from BadgerNet/Teach ($1200). The circuit allows the library to connect multiple PCs to the automated system and the Internet.

The remaining WALS fee is used for supporting and maintaining the WALS program.

That includes:

  1. Hardware maintenance for the central site computers and thetelecommunications equipment.
  2. Software maintenance for the programs that run on the central site computers.
  3. Salaries for three of the five WALS employees.
  4. Reimbursement to Oshkosh Public Library for database maintenance and circulation and online catalog support.
  5. Travel and training expenses for WALS staff.
  6. Travel and training expenses for several WALS meetings each year.
  7. Insurance, rent and overhead for space used in Oshkosh.
  8. Depreciation reserve for replacing central site equipment.
  9. Internet access charges.
  10. Internet filtering software.


If you have questions or comments, please contact Karen Boehning.


Note:

For newly automating libraries the Associate annual fee is pro-rated with charges beginning with the month the libraries start using the circulation system. 

Since the telecommunication costs are subsidized with federal E-rate funds, WALS libraries are required to offer public Internet access using at least one PC connected via WALS.