Agenda

Return

C. 39

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	Melinda Cervantes, County Librarian
Date:	May 12, 2020

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Contract with Califa to connect the Library to CENIC high speed broadband fiber network

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 05/12/2020

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:

Alison McKee, (925) 608-7790

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: May 12, 2020
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the County Librarian, or designee, to execute a contract including mutual indemnification with Califa Group, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $378,706 annually, to provide county libraries with high-speed networking services, for the period of March 18, 2020 through March 18, 2025.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The contract will be funded entirely by the Library Fund. Though the contract and payment issued will be $378,706, E-Rate will reimburse the Library $302,965, so the annual net cost will actually be $75,741.

BACKGROUND:

In an effort to provide cost effective, high bandwidth internet connection for patron access to information, the Library remains challenged given its current infrastructure. High speed internet is a primary tool for libraries to provide lifelong learning opportunities and educational resources. Currently the Library operates at significantly slow speeds. This reduced speed is especially noticeable and detrimental during peak use after school. Current speeds are the equivalent of 50-100 Mbps at small to medium sized libraries, and 250 Mbps at larger libraries. With this Califa Group contract, the Library will be able expand to a greater bandwidth of 10 Gbps and 500 Mbps circuits.

Califa Group is a nonprofit membership network of California libraries that aims to provide cost-effective delivery of services, programs and products. This agreement with Califa will improve internet access and provide pricing advantages from Califa's partnership with the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives (CENIC). CENIC is a nonprofit organization that operates a high capacity computer network among California schools and libraries. They are dedicated to developing and expanding network capacity across the world, and providing access for continued innovation, collaboration and economic growth.

On behalf of the Library, Califa will contract with CENIC for data circuits, and will assure that CENIC notifies the Library of installation requirements and necessary maintenance instructions. The infrastructure provided by CENIC is the California Research and Education Network ("CalREN"). Among the services that CENIC will provide to Library are the use of CalREN, and contracting for and providing data circuits supplied by network service providers. By keeping network related costs low and predictable, CENIC helps organizations meet challenging budget constraints, and obtain federal discounts on one-time and recurring costs.

Further, E-Rate, the Schools and Libraries Program will also provide a reimbursement thereby lowering the cost even further. The Schools and Libraries Program is administered by The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) under the direction of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). This program provides discounts to assist schools and libraries in obtaining affordable telecommunications and internet access. It is one of four support programs funded through a universal service fee charged to companies that provide interstate and or international telecommunication services.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

The Library will not be able to increase Internet and bandwidth speeds to effectively support the citizens of Contra Costa County.