LSTA Equipment Policies
Equipment purchased as part of a LSTA grant is subject to federal regulations (45 CFR 1183.32), state and grant requirements.
Inventory Requirements
Equipment costing more than $5000 per item purchased in part or in whole with federal funds must be carried on a federal equipment inventory. Each piece of equipment meeting the above requirements must carry a sticker with the project number, library inventory number and date of purchase. In addition federal regulations require that the following information be kept as part of the equipment inventory form:
- A description of the equipment including manufacturer's model number, if any
- Identification number, such as the manufacturer's serial number
- Identification of the grant under which the equipment was acquired
- Vendor, acquisition date and cost
- Federal share (percent of acquisition cost paid by LSTA funds)
- All pertinent information relating to the ultimate transfer, replacement or disposition of the equipment
All equipment purchased as part of a LSTA grant must be inventoried. For cooperative projects equipment must remain on the inventory of the administering agency for the lifetime of the award. It is recommended that upon termination of the grant, the administering agency request, in writing, that the inventory be transferred to the participating libraries. Requirements for equipment disposition then become the responsibility of the individual libraries.
Guidelines For Equipment Disposition Due To Upgrades, Broken Or Obsolete Equipment
Should a library wish to dispose of equipment purchased as part of a LSTA grant they need to notify the State Library. A letter or email should be sent to the LSTA office indicating the grant name and project number or year, what equipment is to be disposed of and why. State Library staff will respond indicating that the library may trade–in, sell, or discard the equipment and any proceeds received shall be allocated for the library's technology projects.
Guidelines For Equipment Disposition In Cases Of Library Closures Or Mergers
Should equipment no longer be needed for use in the library, it must revert back to the State Library for reallocation to another library. The State Library will redistribute equipment based on the following guidelines:
- Equipment may not be transferred to a classroom or other facility not associated with a library.
- If the Subgrantee Library has other operational library facilities (branches of a public library, media centers in a school district for example), the subgrantee may request permission from the State Library to transfer the equipment to one or more of the operating facilities.
- If the Subgrantee Library does not have other operational library facilities or can not use the equipment in those facilities the equipment will be redistributed by the State Library in one of the following ways:
- If the original LSTA grant was through a cooperative project (DASite, Regional Library System for example) the administering agency will make a recommendation to the State Library as to which library(ies) from the original grant should receive the equipment.
- If the original LSTA grant was awarded to an individual library, the State Library in consultation with the library administration and other regional or network providers will determine what library (ies) should receive the equipment.
