DLD Weekly Wrap-Up | May 16, 2025 | | |
In honor of Asian American, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month:
“There are many ways in which America tells you you don’t belong…. A polite people, it is the facial muscles, the shoulder tension, and the silence that give away white Americans’ uneasiness with people not like them. The United States, a nation of immigrants, makes strangers only of those who are visibly different, including the indigenous people of the continent. Some lessons begin in infancy, with silent performances, yet with eloquent instructions.”
— Shirley Geok-lin Lim
Author of “Among the White Moon Faces”
| | Initiatives & Announcements | | |
CSL Construction Grants - Notice of Intent Due June 30
Is your library thinking about applying for a CT State Library Construction Grant this year? This is a reminder that Notice of Intent forms are due at 4pm on Monday June 30!
NOIs are designed for information gathering and are not a commitment to apply for a construction grant. The form is available for download under the "Grant Process" tab on the Construction Grant LibGuide.
| | | Have questions or need more information? Reach out to Dawn La Valle, Director of the Division of Library Development at Dawn.Lavalle@ct.gov or (860) 757-6665. | | |
Connecticut State Library Receives Notice of Reinstatement of Federal IMLS Grants
On May 5, the Connecticut State Library was notified by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) that its FY2024 federal grant in the amount of $2.16 million awarded under the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Grants to States program has been reinstated, reversing its April 1 decision to terminate Connecticut’s grant mid-year. IMLS also told the State Library it plans to issue a FY2025 LSTA award to Connecticut. IMLS provided no specific reason for either the initial termination or the reinstatement.
Library Services and Technology Act in Connecticut
The Connecticut State Library’s Division of Library Development (DLD) uses LSTA funds to support many of its programs, including:
- Early literacy and summer reading
- Support for veterans and military families
- Professional development for librarians and library staff
- Professional consultants
- Workforce development
- Interlibrary loan and resource sharing
- Digital connectivity and digital navigation
- A statewide digital library
- A statewide eBook and eAudio lending platform
- The Connecticut Library for Accessible Books
- The Middletown Library Service Center and its collections and equipment
LSTA supports 13 DLD staff members responsible for these initiatives.
More information about these and other services is available on DLD’s Federal Library Funding in CT webpage.
The Connecticut State Library will provide further updates as additional information becomes available.
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Canadian Travels! Kym Powe Presents at the Quebec Public Libraries Meeting
After being spotted on YouTube by our northern neighbors, DLD's Kymberlee Powe was invited to present at the tenth edition of the Quebec Public Libraries Meeting produced and organized by the Association of Public Libraries of Quebec in partnership with the Libraries of Montreal. This two-day hybrid training event took place earlier this month in Montreal and as a webcast experience.
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This year's training was built around the theme of Cultivating Kindness for a Fair and United Society and included experts from Canada and abroad in the field of libraries and beyond. Nearly 500 people participated!
As part of the Health and Well-Being of Users section, Kym presented, "Services for Adolescents: Behavior, Programming, and Relationship Building," covering the brain, emotional, and physical development of teens and how this impacts their relationship with public libraries. She offered space to discover how library staff can work with youth through programming, service, and support offerings.
Learn more about the Quebec Public Libraries Meeting.
| | The Connecticut State Library at Connecticut History Day | | CT History Day participants engage their curiosity at the CT State Library's event table. | | Christine Pittsley and Beth Burgess in front of the CT State Library's Outreach Van at CT History Day in Hartford on Saturday, May 3, 2025. | | Visitors explore the artifacts on display inside the CT State Library's Outreach Van. | | |
On Saturday, May 3, 2025, the Museum of Connecticut History brought the CT State Library Outreach Van to Central Connecticut State University for the Connecticut History Day State Contest. On display in the Outreach Van’s exhibit case, the museum showcased two powder horns from its collection: one elaborately carved with a map of New York once owned by a British soldier, the other a more simply designed item owned by a Patriot soldier and etched “Liberty 1775.” A small leatherbound account book from 1775, from the collection of the State Archives, was also displayed. These items relate to Connecticut’s early response to what would become the American Revolution.
The CT History Day contest draws several hundred middle- and high-school students from across the state who have already passed through the district competitions. Students and parents enjoyed viewing the artifacts inside the Van and engaging with one of the powder horns using augmented reality. The Museum was happy for the opportunity to represent the CT State Library as well as its upcoming exhibit commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary, Connecticut’s Revolution.
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Outreach with the CT State Library
Would you like to have CT State Library staff at your next event? Whether it’s hosting our Outreach Van at an outdoor festival, providing a presentation at your library, or staffing a table at a workshop or conference, we welcome opportunities to share information about the State Library’s many programs and services.
Interested? Please fill complete the Outreach Request Form to get in touch!
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Now Available! Fact Flyers for CT's Public Libraries:
Statistical Profile FY2024
| | 2024 Year in Review Fact Flyer provided by the Edith Wheeler Memorial Library in Monroe. | |  | 2024 Programming Fact Flyer provided by the Edith Wheeler Memorial Library in Monroe. | | | |
Summer With the Library
Summer Reading is right around the corner and we're ready for it. This year's summer reading theme for the State Library is "Level Up at Your Library" hosted by iREAD. All codes for the iREAD Resource Guide were shared with one person from the libraries that registered the week of November 24, 2024. Check with your colleagues, one of them may have received the access email. The sign-up list for the 2026 resource guide will open in May.
There are other helpful resources on the Summer with the Library Libguides page:
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Resources from our first-ever Summer Symposium, including program swap resources, programs pulled from the iREAD resource guide, and slides from our presenters.
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NEW! CT State Library Suggested Summer Reading Lists
We are proud to share for the first time the CT State Library Suggested Summer Reading List! Our libraries have a lot of books, and through resource sharing, we have access to even more books, and at times, it can be overwhelming for kids, teens, and caregivers.
The accessibly-formatted Suggest Summer Reading list has been compiled around this year's theme, Level up at Your Library, full of play, games, puzzles, and adventure.
| | | The suggested list is just that, suggested! It's been created to provide guidance to library workers and a starting point to library users that matches the age breakdowns and number of titles as the Department of Education reading challenge lists. | |
Need Summer Ideas?
Remember CT Pages!
Maybe it's been a while, or perhaps this is your first time hearing about it. Either way, explore these CT Pages Summer episodes to see what your colleagues at neighboring libraries have created.
And CT Pages covers kids, teens, adults and community, too - explore all the CT Pages episodes!
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This Week's Notable Articles...
Please feel free to pass them along to colleagues and patrons!
Honoring National Mental Health Month:
President Harry S. Truman signed the National Mental Health Act on July 3, 1946. The National Institute of Mental Health was officially established on April 15, 1949. That same year, Mental Health Awareness Month was launched by Mental Health America to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and promote understanding and support for mental health issues.
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According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 1 in 5 U.S. adults, or 20% of the adult population, experience a mental illness each year. Furthermore, 1 in 20 adults face a serious mental illness. Among youth aged 6 to 17, 1 in 6 experience a mental health disorder.
Books, Authors, and Reading:
For the Love of Learning:
| | Professional Development & Continuing Education | | |
Welcoming Deaf Kids and Families to Your Library
Wednesday, May 21 | 10:00-11:30am
Register for Welcoming Deaf Kids and Families to Your Library
In this interactive overview, you’ll learn communication tips for interacting with deaf kids and parents, information about American Sign Language and Deaf Culture, best practices for program access, and even some basic ASL vocabulary to introduce yourself and help families navigate the library.
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Youth Services Critical Conversations
Friday, May 23 | 1:00-2:00 pm
Register for Youth Services Critical Conversations
Relationship-building, professional learning cohorts, and idea sharing are integral ways for library staff to stay inspired, engaged, innovative, and intentional.
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To this end, the Division of Library Development will begin to hold Youth Services Critical Conversations to serve as an informal and open-ended opportunity for Youth Services folks in Connecticut to connect, talk, idea-share, and build community.
Four times a year, the Connecticut State Library will provide a virtual space for youth services, early learning, school-age, and teen services workers in public libraries to come together. While Zoom sessions will be hosted by Children/ Young Adult Consultant Kym Powe, conversations are intended center and run primarily with public library voices.
Bring your successes, questions, ideas, and challenges! Ask questions and ask for resources. What supports are needed, what information is needed, help us help you!
These meetings are intended as interactive spaces, so we ask that registrants have a camera, microphone, and a designated space to allow for vocal conversation. These meetings will be driven by voices of attendees!
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CT Ready to Read: Reimagining School Readiness Training
Thursday, May 29 | 1:00-3:30pm
Register for Reimagining School Readiness
Do you wonder what research really says about how to support school readiness?
The Reimagining School Readiness Toolkit is a suite of research-backed activities, and these upcoming trainings will introduce library staff to help families prepare children ages 0 to 8 for success in school and in life.
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Through an interactive online presentation, this training will introduce library staff to the research, practical implications, and resources offered in the toolkit, which is available in its entirety for FREE online.
Participants will understand key findings from current cognitive and developmental psychology research, reflect on the implications of those findings for their daily work, and gain practical ready-to-implement ideas for activities, as well as resources for staff trainings, and for parents/caregivers.
You will benefit from this workshop if you work with children ages 0 to 8 and their families and would like to learn more about how to offer research-backed programming in your library!
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Counting Programs and Activities - Updates for FY26
Thursday, June 5 | 11:00 am - noon
Register for Counting Programs and Activities - Updates
Programs and activities are integral to library services and keeping track of programs and attendees is an important part of the CT Public Libraries' Annual Report.
| | | Join Barbara Ghilardi, CT State Coordinator, for a refresh on how to count programs and activities as well as how to use the Program and Activity Counts spreadsheet, which has been updated for FY26. | | |
Little Hands Signing in Storytime
Wednesday, June 18 | 10:00-11:30 am
Register for Little Hands Signing in Storytime
This presentation will cover the benefits of using basic American Sign Language with all children and offer a variety of simple techniques for making your programs more fun, educational, and participative through the use of signs with audiences of all ages.
Participants will leave armed with a vocabulary of very basic signs to start using right away.
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Now Live: borrowIT CT and State Aid Grant (SB2) Expenditure Report Forms
The borrowIT CT and State Aid Grant (SB2) expenditure report forms are now live. Both of these reports are due at 4pm on October 31, 2025.
For more information and to access the report forms, please use the links below:
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Coming Soon! FY26-29 Programs and Activities Spreadsheet
The Programs and Activities spreadsheet for FY26-29 will be available at the end of May.
An announcement will be made in DLD communications and will be available for download on the Annual Report page of the CT Public Libraries Statistics Libguide.
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researchIT CT Database Highlights for May
MasterFILE Premier contains full text for general reference magazines and publications covering a wide range of subject areas including business, health, education, general science and multicultural issues. It also includes 1,550 full-text magazines and journals and access to 750 full-text reference e-books.
GreenFILE is a research database covering all aspects of human impact to the environment and includes 15,813 open access full-text records covering the following subject areas:
• Global climate change
• Green building
• Pollution
• Sustainable agriculture
• Renewable energy
You can find flyers and other promotional material on the researchIT CT Libguide and in EBSCO Connect.
For more information about these and other valuable resources, visit researchIT CT or contact Brad Bullis at Bradley.Bullis@ct.gov.
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In mid-April, MLSC received the 2026 Nutmeg Book Award Nominees – a total of 480 books generously donated the Nutmeg Book Award Steering Committee. In a mere week, team youth services members Abbey and Cathy processed ALL OF THEM. Yes, 480 books individually covered, barcoded and readied for borrowing in ONE WEEK!
The new sets launched on May 1 – peruse and reserve!
Book sets are used for Nutmeg book clubs and regular book clubs, battle of the books, extra summer reading copies, classroom texts, and more! Our most popular intermediate title last year, Invisible, a graphic novel by Christina Diaz Gonzalez and illustrated by Gabriela Epstein, went on to win the category (see write-up below)!
MLSC keeps sets after their nomination year creating an extensive backlist of quality titles too. Nutmeg book sets circulate for 45 days, and current Nutmegs cannot be renewed/extended due to demand – everyone wants a Nutmeg!
| | Congratulations to the 2025 Nutmeg Book Award Winners! | | |
Community STEM Exploration with Kits from MLSC
Summer is the perfect time to make use of NASA STEM kits, Solar Eclipse kits, and Sunocular kits for passive and facilitated programs-day or night.
Eclipse kits can be used to learn about the sun and moon anytime, not just during big celestial events.
Kits include equipment and instructions to launch programming directly out of their boxes.
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Equipment includes refractor telescopes, thermometers, binoculars, and Sunoculars (glasses to safely view the sun). Supplies include materials to experiment with UV protection, measure the distance between planets, investigate the composition of planets, and learn about shadows.
Kits can be reserved up to 365 days in advance through the Middletown Library Service Center catalog and delivered to your library.
Due to their size, the Solar Eclipse Activities for Libraries: Multigenerational Programming Kits MUST be picked up and returned in person.
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Make Music Day on June 21
Planning events for Make Music Day on June 21st? We have just what you need to make some noise!
Browse our catalog and reserve Musical Instrument Kits to expand or enhance your library's selection. Percussion, rhythm sticks, preschool, toddler, and funky band instrument kits are available for 30-day loan periods and can be reserved up to 365 days in advance.
| | | Questions? Need help picking the right instruments for your needs? Please call the Middletown Library Service Center at (860) 704-2200. | |
Braille Discovery Kits
The objective of the Braille Discovery Kit is to promote awareness about braille, support braille literacy, and provide Connecticut libraries with resources for making library programming for children more inclusive and accessible.
The Braille Discovery Kit is designed to facilitate learning activities for children of all ages and abilities.
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The kit can be used by people who are blind, people who have low vision, and by people who are sighted. The kit circulates for 45 days and includes:
- Lego Braille Blocks
- Lego braille kit activities sheets
- Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille – Twin Vision Book
- Clark the Shark – Twin Vision Book
- Bear Came Along – Twin Vision Book
- Exit Sign with braille
- Braille alphabet cards/bookmarks
- Print/Braille alphabet flash cards
- Kitten’s First Moon – board book with braille
- That’s Not My Train – board book with braille
- My Braille Blocks – practice braille blocks with instruction booklet
- Muffin tin and 6 tennis balls – provides large braille cell to practice the braille alphabet
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Middletown Library Service Center
Open Hours:
Monday-Friday | 8:00 am-4:30 pm
MLSC staff, whether in the office or telecommuting, are responding to voicemail and e-mail during business hours of 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday, except for state holidays.
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Connecticut State Library | Division of Library Development
Middletown Library Service Center
786 South Main Street | Middletown, CT 06457
(860) 704-2200 | libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld
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