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Director’s Note

As of March 1, 2023, the following DLD programs will be administered by:

borrowIT CT and Construction Grants – Dawn La Valle

deliverIT CT (Volume Study only)* – Gail Hurley

Public Library Statistics – Brad Bullis

*Please continue to refer deliverIT CT issues through the contact form on the deliverIT LibGuide.  



Experiencing America offers perspectives and voices that are intentionally human-centered explorations of identities and systems impacting contemporary America, the one we are all currently living with and within. 

Our hope is that these books and supporting resources will help people understand themselves, their neighbors, and their communities through shared reading and informed conversation. The sets of 12+ copies are designed to be easily borrowable by libraries for local book discussion groups.

·      Learn more on the Experiencing America LibGuide.

·      Reserve an Experiencing America Book Discussion Set.

Information about the Experiencing America panel discussion on March 7 can be found in the workshop section below!

borrowIT CT Report Forms due by Wednesday, March 15

February 2023 brings to a close the borrowIT CT reporting period for 2022-2023.

Libraries should complete the report form (an Excel file) for their March 2022 through February 2023 loans to non-residents.

This year’s form includes new certifications at the bottom in Rows 213 and 214 – make sure your report is submitted on the correct form. Find more information on the report form.

Send the completed form to Maria Bernier by email at maria.bernier@ct.gov as an attachment, and she will confirm receipt. If you have any difficulty with the form or have questions, please contact Maria ASAP.

The DEADLINE for submissions is MARCH 15. There are no extensions.

You are required to have accurate and complete figures in place by the deadline in order to receive a reimbursement payment. The 2023 funding for the borrowIT program is the same as last year at $703,638. Thank you for your participation in this important program.

After building a relationship through the COSLA Inclusive Services group, Karen Gravlin, Library Consultant for Inclusive Services and Director of the ABLE Library for the Vermont Department of Libraries, reached out to explore expanding GELS to VT.

As they prepare to regularize their continuing education offerings, Karen will be creating inclusive services trainings and thought that it could be beneficial for librarians who are looking for such trainings to have access to “GELS” – we may even collaborate in the future!

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Have you participated in a GELS workshop recently? We want to hear from you! We encourage anyone who has participated in a GELS workshop to fill out our

GELS Participation Survey let us know how GELS has impacted how you survey your patrons.

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For more information about GELS, including links to past GELS programs on topics such as family homelessness and CT libraries, racial equity, trauma-informed services, collections, and citizenship, as well as access to a multitude of resources, please visit our GELS LibGuide page. 

Dress donations are accepted all year long at the library, so if you know of any prom dresses hiding in the back of a closet... give them a new life!

CT Pages is a channel for sharing community engagement success stories by libraries with and for their communities. We partner with CT libraries to create and release short video conversations with the library staff who make things happen.

Do you have a creative program, service, activity, partnership, or project that you want to share with your library neighbors? We are always seeking submissions for consideration – Submit your idea!

Building Capacity for Community-Led Libraries Series

Community-led planning helps increase equity, creativity, and engagement in library programs and services. But many libraries struggle with building the mindset, culture, and structures to embrace it. In this four-part interactive series, you will learn how to apply the fundamentals of community-led planning in your library. The evidence-based strategies will cover three types of change, derived from Dr. Audrey Barbakoff’s original research: inspirational, transformational, and operational. We will discuss real-world scenarios to help you use the concepts in your work. Regardless of the size, type, or readiness of your library, you can build your capacity to equitably center community. 

In this Zoom workshop the goal is for you to make small, sustainable changes that will keep you focused and energized.

You’ll share best practices, experiment with a range of strategies for resolving conflict, learn why investing in yourself is critical, and to top it off you’ll have fun as you help each other. At the end of the session, you’ll have a personalized plan to help you maintain the essential balance of providing excellent customer service while caring for yourself.

Our hope is that these books and supporting resources will help people understand themselves, their neighbors, and their communities through shared reading and informed conversation. The sets of 12+ copies are designed to be easily borrowable by libraries for local book discussion groups.

Join us for this special event to learn more about the book sets and supporting resources and to hear from a panel of expert book discussion leaders who have used these and similar titles with their patrons. The panelists will share tips for managing their book clubs, picking books, creating discussion questions, facilitating difficult conversations, and lessons learned. There will be plenty of time for questions from attendees.



Featuring:

• Christy Billings, Russell Library
• Caitlyn Orlomoski, Saxton B. Little Free Library 
• Megan Quigley, Saxton B. Little Free Library
• Rachel Tonucci, Bloomfield Public Library

This panel will be useful for administrators thinking about introducing some navigation into their library, for front-line staff who may need to refer patrons to navigators in other state programs, and for those who want to prepare to navigate. There will be plenty of examples and time for questions. 

Presenters: 

• Aujahdai Ambrose, East Hartford Public Library
• Magdelena Wittenzellner, East Hartford Public Library
• Dave Scanlon, Hamden Public Library

JJ Pionke is the Applied Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is an award-winning librarian whose research revolves around disability and accessibility for library patrons and employees. His most recent work focuses on the educational and competency needs of library science graduate students and current library employees regarding disability and accessibility in libraries.

This session will be fairly interactive so come prepared to pop answers into the chat and engage with the material! 

Building Capacity for Community-Led Libraries Series

Community-led planning helps increase equity, creativity, and engagement in library programs and services. But many libraries struggle with building the mindset, culture, and structures to embrace it. In this four-part interactive series, you will learn how to apply the fundamentals of community-led planning in your library.

The evidence-based strategies will cover three types of change, derived from Dr. Audrey Barbakoff’s original research: inspirational, transformational, and operational. We will discuss real-world scenarios to help you use the concepts in your work. Regardless of the size, type, or readiness of your library, you can build your capacity to equitably center community. 

Now is the time for libraries to get back to showcasing how and why they are essential to their communities, and work to secure the funding they need from their local town boards and city councils. This workshop will give you the tools and skills you’ll need to get this important work done.

JJ Pionke is the Applied Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is an award-winning librarian whose research revolves around disability and accessibility for library patrons and employees. His most recent work focuses on the educational and competency needs of library science graduate students and current library employees regarding disability and accessibility in libraries.

Building Capacity for Community-Led Libraries Series

Community-led planning helps increase equity, creativity, and engagement in library programs and services. But many libraries struggle with building the mindset, culture, and structures to embrace it.

In this four-part interactive series, you will learn how to apply the fundamentals of community-led planning in your library. The evidence-based strategies will cover three types of change, derived from Dr. Audrey Barbakoff’s original research: inspirational, transformational, and operational. We will discuss real-world scenarios to help you use the concepts in your work. Regardless of the size, type, or readiness of your library, you can build your capacity to equitably center community. 

Visit our calendar

April 24-28 is Military Saves week. Military Saves is a component of America Saves, and as a participant in the Department of Defense Financial Readiness Network seeks to motivate, support, and encourage military families to save money, reduce debt, and build wealth. 

Each day during the week of April 24, there will be a specific theme related to financial wellness.

The daily themes this year are:

Day 1 (April 24): Saving Automatically

Day 2 (April 25): Save for the Unexpected

Day 3 (April 26): Save for Major Milestones

Day 4 (April 27): Paying Down Your Debt Is Saving

Day 5 (April 28): Saving at Any Age

If you want to participate as an organization, getting started is easy!

Even if you don't formally participate, you can create displays or provide links on your website to share this valuable resource.

EBSCO has created new flyers and bookmarks that you can access for free on our LibGuide to share with your patrons! Let your community know what's available for them in the researchIT CT suite of databases.

Learn more about the researchIT CT Program by contacting Brad Bullis at bradley.bullis@ct.gov.