Fact Sheet
OPAL: Online Programs for All (www.opal-online.org)
OPAL is an
international collaborative effort by libraries and other organizations to use
web conference software to advance the missions of its member organizations,
especially by providing live, online, web-based programs, training, workshops,
meetings, conferences, and other group-based communication and
collaboration.
OPAL offers
a time- and cost-efficient alternative to in-person meetings and expensive
telephone conference calls.
OPAL uses
web conferencing software from Talking Communities that allows voice-over-IP
online conversations, text chatting, co-browsing, document sharing, and
more. Live online events can be
recorded, archived, and podcast with ease.
Annual OPAL
organizational membership options include:
·
2-seat
online room: $100 per
membership year
·
10-seat
online room: $250 per membership year
·
25-seat
online room: $500 per membership year
·
50-seat
online room: $750 per membership year
·
100-seat
online room: $1,000 per
membership year
New OPAL
organizational members are welcome to join at any time. Your organization’s membership year can begin
at any time that best meets needs of your organization and its budget and
funding cycles: January 1st,
July 1st, August 15th, etc.
Two or more
organizations are welcome to share an OPAL organizational
membership. For example, three public libraries could share a 25-seat
membership. They would decide how to split the membership dues and how to
coordinate the scheduling of the online room.
An OPAL
organizational member is welcome to split its seats into two or more
rooms. For example, an organization with a 50-seat membership may want to
have a 10-seat room for small meetings and workshops and a 40-seat room for
larger online events.
If your organization
needs a larger room on a spot basis, you are welcome to reserve
one of the communal rooms (e.g., the Auditorium or the Atrium), or we can
increase your room's seating capacity for a day -- assuming overall OPAL demand
on that day is not high.
If your
organization has a special need for online web conferencing services that does
not fit well into one of these four membership categories, custom quotes are
available.
To get
started, simply email Tom Peters, indicating that your organization would like
to become an OPAL member. Please make
your check payable to TAP Information Services and mail it to the address
below. If you require an invoice with
special information, such as a purchase order number, please notify Tom Peters,
the OPAL Coordinator.
Tom Peters, OPAL Coordinator
TAP Information Services
phone:
email: tapinformation@yahoo.com
web: www.tapinformation.com
TAP Information Services helps organizations innovate.
Jan. 2008