Come Visit Us at CLA in Danbury April 23 & 24

Don’t forget that the Connecticut Library Association’s Annual Conference is taking place on Monday and Tuesday, April 23 and 24 in Danbury. More information at http://ctlibraryassociation.org/2018_Annual_Conference

If you are going, please check out the great programs we have planned as follows and visit the Connecticut State Library booth in the exhibit hall and help us build a library!

Monday, 10:30 Build a better library through EXCITE Transformation for Libraries (2-hour session)

Jeanine Esposito (Innovation Builders) and EXCITE participants will lead you through a mini version of the EXCITE Transformation for Libraries grant-funded project for libraries of all types. Participate in a fun collaborative exercise and practice ideation for an intriguing library issue to illustrate how to stretch your thinking and make ideas real.

Tuesday, 3:00 CSL's IT Services: Fair, Equitable and in Demand

Come to this session for an update on the Connecticut State Library's (CSL) Division of Library Development (DLD) IT services: researchIT CT and eGO with Eric Hansen (CSL), findIT CT and requestIT CT with Steve Cauffman (CSL) and Carl DeMilia (Executive Director, Bibliomation),and deliverIT CT with Dawn La Valle (Director, DLD,CSL).

Hope to see you there!

Important BorrowIT CT Information

1.  borrowIT CT funding was reduced from $781,820 in FY2017 to $703,638 in FY2018.

2.  2017-2018 borrowIT CT Payments.   Payments should go out to libraries during April. Municipal libraries should check with their Town Treasurer to make sure these funds are made available to the library, as required by statute.

3.  Your Library’s Statistics. For information on your library’s Payment, Loans, Borrows, and Net-Plus Loans, go to: https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld/ccard/statistics

4.  Reporting borrowIT CT Loans in 2018-2019. Download an Excel report form which you will then send to me after the borrowIT year ends next February. Download that form here: https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld/ccard/report

5.  Required Expenditure Report. Libraries must report now how they spent the payment they received last year in April 2017. Most libraries have already spent this money, so please go to this survey form and submit your figures:   http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CCardExpReport

You do not need to submit a paper form.

6.  borrowIT Regulations.  Find them here: https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld/ccard/regulations

Some reminders:

a.        By statute sec. 11-31b, the payment “may be used for general library purposes and no portion of the grant money shall revert to the general fund of the town …”

b.      “In no case shall a library issue a card to a non-resident for use as a borrowIT CT borrower card.” If you choose to issue a card to a non-resident, the card must include a “for use in the [issuing library] only” statement on the card.

Thanks for your library’s participation in borrowIT CT. Email [email protected] with questions.

LSTA Planning Grant Information Sessions

 

Applications for LSTA Planning Grants will be accepted on a rolling basis every two months, with the next deadlines coming up in June and August. These six-month planning grants will provide up to $5,000 to assist libraries with planning initiatives to explore new services, assess and address the needs of changing population and patron bases, develop partnerships and collaboration, or write new strategic plans or long-range master plans.

 

All potential applicants must attend an information session about the assessment and planning tools available from the CT State Library as well as grant application instructions, regulations, and fiscal management. Register for the session of your preference at http://cslib.libcal.com/ .

·          Monday, May 7, 9:30-11:30, Middletown Library Service Center

·          Wednesday, July 11, 9:30-11:30, Middletown Library Service Center

 

Additional information sessions will be offered bimonthly in the fall and winter. If you would like to host an information session at your library, please contact Maria Bernier, LSTA Coordinator, at [email protected] or 860-704-2204.

 

More information, including the grant instructions and application, is online at http://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld/lstagrants/grantapplication .  

The findIT CT project staff is accepting updated library holdings files now through June 1st. The staff will process and upload the files to the statewide catalog, findIT CT. We are accepting updates on a yearly basis for now. Should the update frequency change, we will let you know. Note: if your library is part of Bibliomation, CONNcert, Library Connection, LION, or SECONN, we will get your library’s holdings from your network.

Information on contributing your holdings can be found at: https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld/finditct/contributing . If you have forgotten the username or password for the file transfer step, please email Gail Hurley, Gail.Hurley@ ct.gov, for that information.

We will be implementing enhancements to requestIT CT, including improvements to retargeting, automating data loading, and the ability to print pull lists. The enhancements will be rolled out in the second and third quarters of 2018.

Development Update

 

LYRASIS has added access to the OverDrive collections of the Beacon Falls Public Library, Bentley Memorial Library, Cornwall Free Library, Derby Neck Library, and Derby Public Library to the Bibliomation circulation manager, and testing for access to those libraries in the iOS SimplyE app is underway. At the same time, LYRASIS added access to the OverDrive collections of the Mansfield Public Library, New Britain Public Library, Simsbury Public Library, Welles-Turner Memorial Library, and West Hartford Public Libraries to the LCI circulation manager. A circulation manager for Libraries Online, Inc. (LION) is under development.

 

Testing of the Android version of the SimplyE app continues. These libraries are now functional in it: Bibliomation: Ansonia Public Library; LCI: Avon Free Public Library, Bentley Memorial Library, Cornwall Fee Library, Derby Neck Library, Derby Public Library.

Professional Development – April

Facing the Future: Facilitating Climate Change Conversations at Your Library

In person workshop

Tuesday, April 10, 10 am to 3 pm (Rescheduled from March)

Middletown Library Service Center, 786 South Main St., Middletown, CT 06457

Cost: Free

For details and to register, visit https://cslib.libcal.com/event/3703284

Number, Please! Dewey Decimal Classification

In person workshop

Tuesday, April 10, 9 am to noon 

Middletown Library Service Center, 786 South Main St., Middletown, CT 06457

Cost: Free

For details and to register, visit https://cslib.libcal.com/event/4049560

requestIT CT Training

In person workshop

Wednesday, April 11, 9 am to noon 

Middletown Library Service Center, 786 South Main St., Middletown, CT 06457

Cost: Free

For details and to register, visit https://cslib.libcal.com/event/3998281

For more professional development opportunities,

visit the Division of Library Development’s Continuing Education Calendar at

https://cslib.libcal.com/

Reminder: MLSC Hours – April 2018

A reminder that in addition to 8 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday, the Middletown Library Service Center’s hours for April will include:

Thursday, April 5: Open 8 am to 8 pm

Saturday, April 7: Open 9 am to 12 pm

Questions?

Contact us at 860-704-2200, our main phone number.

Contact Linda Williams ( [email protected] ) for specific theme/grade level requests.

Contact Grace Burchard ( [email protected] ) to reserve book sets.

Contact Grace or Judy Crooks ( [email protected] ) to pull general selections of children’s books or

Books on CD in advance of your visit.