WebJunction

hi deetech,
I found a similar question answered in this [url /forums/click.jspa?searchID=18557&messageID=9064]Software[/url] discussion. It looks like you should still be eligible to "obtain them regardless of 501(c)3 status as long as you are recognized as a public library by your state and appear in the NCES database".

Be sure to look at the libraries specific page on [url http://www.techsoup.org/stock/libraries/default.asp]Tech Soup[/url].

Do you have to have Photoshop? There are other alternatives out there that might do the job depending on the task and most of them are cheaper than Photoshop. Or have you already tried them? Specifically, I am thinking of GIMP - which is free and it runs on Windows.

http://www.gimp.org/

"It has many capabilities. It can be used as a simple paint program, an expert quality photo retouching program, an online batch processing system, a mass production image renderer, an image format converter, etc."

Also, again, depending on what your exact needs are some of the other Adobe products might meet your needs at lower costs. Maybe Photoshop Elements might work for your needs.

And if you absolutely have to have Photoshop, then I would call someone at your state library. Almost every state has some sort of statewide contract for the big software vendors like Adobe and Microsoft and they will extend that state contract pricing to almost any local governmental entity that receives tax support. This usually results in a 20-40% discount off of list, but YMMV. If nothing else, you usually get some sort of better support or renewal terms. I poked around the Missouri Office of Administration site (http://www.oa.mo.gov/purch/contracts/), but could not find anything. You might have better luck contacting them directly.

One last bit of advice is to ask a local software vendor even if it is a chain - their managers often have discretion on these types of things - depending on what you are going to use it for, I have found it is amazing what people will give away when they hear it is for the library.

In addition to Gimp, there is also Paint.net - http://www.getpaint.net/index.html

Both of these are free and have a lot of functionality. Gimp has the largest user community, and you can find lots of help and instruction, including videos at places like: http://www.sutree.com (recently found this nice site that is all user uploaded instructional videos).

Both of these programs also have quirky, not always intuitive interfaces - though you can say the same for photoshop...

Another option to look at if you want Photoshop is Photoshop Elements. They are on version 6 now and there are really only a few things it doesn't have that full Photoshop does, and at a fraction of the cost. And unless you already know Photoshop well, the user interface of Elements is much easier to learn.

Dale

(p.s. Yes, the Library Software Donation program through TechSoup is a Microsoft program. They are the only major company I know of that donates software to libraries)