Volume 1, No.11 | December 2017
Your monthly news & updates
Reminder
EXCITE Transformation for Libraries
Congratulations to EXCITE Cohort 1!

The Connecticut State Library, Division of Library Development and our partner Innovation Builders are very pleased to announce the library teams selected to participate in Cohort 1 of the IMLS Laura Bush 21 st Century Librarian Program CSL grant project: "EXCITE Transformation for Libraries”

We received many creative application videos, it was a challenge to whittle it down to 6 teams, but we are very pleased with the diverse representation of libraries from across the Eastern United States that will be embarking on the EXCITE experience in January, 2018.

Cohort 1 Teams:

Central Connecticut State University, Elihu Burritt Library, New Britain, CT
Charles County Public Library, La Plata, MD
Hall Memorial Library, Ellington CT
North Carolina State Library, Raleigh, NC
Ossining Public Library, Ossining, NY
Springfield City Library, Springfield, MA

For more information on the project and upcoming application submission dates for Cohort 2 , as well as pre-requisites for Standalone Bootcamps and Facilitator Training please visit our libguide:

For more information please contact Dawn La Valle at 860-757-6665 or [email protected] .
Service Spotlight
Thank You Public Libraries!

A big thank you goes out to all the public libraries that submitted their Annual Report this year. All 165 principal public libraries and 13 non-principal public libraries submitted their reports. The State Library will use these reports to submit public library data to the federal IMLS Public Library Survey. The reports will also provide the data for most of the resources the State Library makes available on the Library Statistics web page. 

Stay tuned for announcements regarding the preliminary version of “Connecticut’s Public Libraries, A Statistical Profile: July 2016 to June 2017” expected to be made available in December. 

Contact Tom Newman, [email protected], for more information.
Service Spotlight
Congratulations to Construction Grant Recipients

Congratulations go out to the 6 public libraries that were awarded library construction grants by the Connecticut State Library Board on Monday, November 27. The Board approved these projects:

·         Bridgeport Public Library - Newfield Branch, New Building                         $1,000,000
·         Haddam - Brainerd Memorial Library, Improve Accessibility, Remodel           $75,000
·         Milford Public Library, Improve Accessibility, Code Compliance, Remodel    $212,750
·         Old Lyme - Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library, Major Alteration                          $1,000,000
·         Portland Public Library, Improve Accessibility, Remodel, Energy Conserv.    $108,452
·         Simsbury Public Library, Major Alteration                                                        $405,525

Total grants awarded: $2,801,727

Once the libraries have reached their local funding goals, the State Bond Commission will consider final approval of state bond funding.  For more information on the library construction grant program, see http://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld/construction or contact Tom Newman, [email protected] 860-757-6573.

Because the legislature approved an additional $2.5 million for public library construction grants for FY2019, there will be more grant money available for next year. Notice of Intent forms will be due at the end of June, 2018.
Service Spotlight
Three Webinars on E-rate in December
 
The Connecticut Commission for Educational Technology will offer these three FREE webinars:

1.   Wednesday, December 6, 2:00-3:00 – E-rate Consultants E-RATE ONLINE, LLC
Important changes and updates to the E-rate program as well as E-rate 101 basic training, Form 470 filing, Category Two budgets, E-rate reviews and fiber.

2.   Monday, December 11, 2:00-3:00 – E-rate Consultants Kellogg & Sovereign, LLC
How to apply for Category 1 services, analyze your Category 2 budget, and maximize the impact of E-rate for your library.

3.   Monday, December 18, 2:00-3:00 – Maria Bernier, CT State Library
Category 2 services and products, and the process for libraries to become CIPA compliant in order to get a discount on these services as well as on internet access.


Service Spotlight
IMLS Grants to States Public Portal
 
IMLS distributes funding to each of the state libraries through its Grants to States program, also known as LSTA. Every December, the states report back to IMLS on their projects and spending via the State Program Report. Members of the public can now use an online tool to search these project reports across all states (from Federal FY2014 and FY2015), refine results by faceted options from within the SPR, and export results in CSV or text-based formats. Take a look at http://labs.imls.gov/Public/Projects

Service Spotlight
EBSCO is offering researchIT CT based training webinars in December and January. Here are program descriptions:

Advanced Searching in OneSearch and EBSCOhost
researchIT CT OneSearch and the EBSCOhost interface provide simple tools that enable a relatively unsophisticated searcher to easily retrieve highly relevant search results. In this session we will explore options available to the more advanced searcher, including use of the Advanced Search Screen, field codes, and Boolean operators to construct more precise searches. Additional advanced search functions such as proximity and wildcard operators will be discussed, along with the Thesaurus features in EBSCOhost. We will also learn the benefit of the search history and how it can be used to combine search statements to create complex searches.

researchIT CT OneSearch for Academic Libraries
OneSearch is a unified index of information resources provided by researchIT CT. This overview will focus on key features and functionality, focusing on use in the academic library. We will explore basic and advanced searching and manipulating the results list to locate relevant full-text content. Saving results and setting up search alerts via the My EBSCOhost folder will also be covered.

For dates and registration links, see:
Service Spotlight
The State Library has entered into an agreement with LYRASIS to develop and host the eGO platform, and with the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) to participate in its Content Exchange, powered by Feedbooks.

The work will begin with a pilot project in which LYRASIS will develop one circulation manager for eGO with as many public libraries as possible running on it, but at least one such, by April 2018. At that time the State Library will confer with LYRASIS to plot the path forward for the remaining public libraries. 

The DPLA Content Exchange will be the means of content acquisition for eGO as well as several other partner library consortia. Feedbooks includes thousands of public domain titles as well as titles published by Macmillan, HarperCollins, and Hachette.  Agreements are pending with Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster. Content curation will be undertaken by Exchange content curators, to include the eGO and researchIT CT Coordinator. 
Service Spotlight
findIT CT Logo
findIT CT Update

We are beginning to update the findIT CT catalog. We have received updated records for libraries in Bibliomation, LION, and Library Connection. We will be begin asking for updated records from the other networks and from independent libraries soon.

As of November 21, 2017, there are 280 libraries in the findIT CT catalog. The list of libraries in findIT CT is at http://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld/finditct/librariesinfindit. The list also contains the date the library’s holdings were update in findIT. 

Questions?
Contact Steve Cauffman, [email protected] or 860-704-2223.
Service Spotlight
requestIT CT Update

Through the end of November, 132 libraries have been trained on requestIT CT, the statewide Interlibrary Loan service. The list of libraries participating in requestIT is at

We have training sessions taking place on Friday, December 8 at the Middletown Library Service Center and on Thursday, December 14 at Bridgeport Public Library. For more information on upcoming requestIT training sessions, visit https://is.gd/wxmC7I  

Questions?
Contact Steve Cauffman, [email protected] or 860-704-2223.
Professional Development
How to Write a Grant Proposal – Impact, Methodology
In person workshop
Tuesday, December 12, 9 am to 4 pm
Middletown Library Service Center, 786 South Main St., Middletown, CT 06457
Cost: Free      
For details and to register, visit https://cslib.libcal.com/event/3686027

Managing Library Partnerships and Community Engagement (Library Management Series)
In person workshop
Monday, December 18, 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/3719978

For more professional development opportunities,
visit the Division of Library Development’s
Continuing Education Calendar at https://cslib.libcal.com/
Hours Reminder
Reminder: MLSC New Hours – Decenber 2017

A reminder that in addition to 8 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday, the Middletown Library Service Center’s new hours for October will be:
Saturday, December 2: Open 9 am to 12 pm
Wednesday, December 6: Open 7 am to 4:30 pm
Thursday, December 7: Open 8 am to 8 pm

Note: the MLSC will be closed Dec. 25-27 for the Christmas holiday and state furlough days.

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.
DLD | CSL |860-757-6665 |  http://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld/home