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I have some good news.

But we have to start at the beginning. At the CLC September Board Meeting, Katie Bauer, our Board Chair and Assistant Director at Bernhard Library at Quinnipiac University told us some bad news. The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), the accrediting body for the colleges and universities in New England had released new draft accreditation standards and they had stripped out all mentions of libraries, librarians and information literacy.

Why does this matter? Well, accreditation standards inform the funding and organizational priorities of these institutions. No mention of libraries in the standards? Then perhaps no need for a library.

But we fought back.

From this meeting, CLC wrote a letter offering formal comment to NECHE and sent an email to our academic librarians letting them know what was going on. I informed John Chrastka of EveryLibrary who put together this brief and emailed it out to their list informing the wider library community. CCALD (the CT Council of Academic Library Directors) put this on their agenda and sent a formal comment. And, over 500 people sent in comments and letters in support of adding librarians back to the document. Because of all of this collective action, NECHE added an additional comment session specifically for librarians and we maxed out the zoom limit at 300 attendees. So, did it matter?

Yes. Yes it did.

Last week we heard that NECHE had updated their draft standards to include librarians. To be clear, it's one mention in the entire document so I hesitate to get too excited but it's still a win, no matter how small.

I'm really proud that this collective action started at a CLC board meeting. If Katie hadn't brought up this issue, I'm convinced no one in the library community would have noticed this change in the standards until it was too late.

I'm also really proud that the academic library community stood up, showed up and spoke out. It mattered. The collective action mattered and it influenced change for the better. And that is something to celebrate.

Town of West Hartford says 'yes' to a larger library for the University of Saint Joseph.

Mobile "library" will focus on early education. Library is intentionally in quotation marks.

Middletown paying for Russell Library staff pay increases raises larger funding questions.

A senior at Connecticut College, and native of Suffield, pens an op-ed for the CT Mirror: The Books Not on the Shelves.

Pequot Library expands Books for Teachers program directly to the classroom.

CT launches new guidance to help school districts support students learning English. Small mention of stocking school libraries.

NEW NON-PRINT MEDIA CONTRACTS COMING SOON - Beginning in January, CLC will have new discount contracts for physical media materials - books on CD, music CDs, vinyl, DVDs, Playaways, video games, and more. CLC has awarded returning vendors Alliance Entertainment, Ingram, Mackin, Midwest Tape, and Playaway Products; and a new vendor, Vast, which specializes in video games. We'll send an email later this month with more details. 2 important notes:

• Ingram's discounts for non-print media will be substantially reduced beginning 1/1. If you are planning a significant order, do it by 12/31.
• Tonies is on our supplies contract. Follett offers physical audiobooks via their book contract. These contracts are NOT ending.

Monday 12/8

Maker Roundtable

10:00-11:00am, Stratford Library

Topic: Managing a makerspace during the holiday season. We'll discuss holiday programming and marketing, and managing patron expectations for the holiday rush. After the meeting we will tour uCreate Space, Stratford Library's makerspace. 

Tuesday 12/9

Academic Library Special Collections & Archives Roundtable

10:30-11:30am, Online

On Display: How to curate an exhibit without a museum staff. In this meeting, we will discuss how to create exhibitions that show off your special collections in a safe, economical, and aesthetically pleasing way. Please come with questions, tips, tricks, and ideas for future or current exhibitions.   

Wednesday 12/10

Marketing Roundtable

3:00-4:00pm, Online

First meeting! This group is a forum for library staff to share ideas and strategies on marketing topics such as social media, branding, websites, newsletters, and accessibility. This kickoff session will introduce the co-chairs, outline the group’s goals, and shape future discussions.  

Thursday 12/11

Academic Library Tech Services Roundtable

2:00-3:00pm, Online

This meeting will explore how libraries manage IT projects, whether it's front-end systems, back-end infrastructure, or the never-ending stream of updates and implementations. Come ready to share your experiences, challenges, and solutions related to library technology services.

LOOKING AHEAD

December 15-19

Wednesday 12/17

Library of Things Roundtable

2:00-3:00pm, Online

This will be a general discussion about Libraries of Things. Please bring questions, success stories, and topics to brainstorm with the group.

Wednesday 12/17

Graphic Novel and Manga Roundtable

3:30-4:30pm, Online

Topic: Collection development strategies, with a special focus on manga. We’ll explore trends, challenges, and best practices to support strong graphic novel and manga collections in libraries.

Thursday 12/18

New Librarians Roundtable

3:30-4:30pm, Online

New and new-ish librarians, join us for an open discussion that focuses on brainstorming and creativity. Share techniques and advice that foster imagination, vision, and improve our own processes. 

If your library has been in the news and I've missed it, please let me know.

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Thoughts about this newsletter? Drop me a line. I'd love to hear from you.

Ellen

Ellen Paul, Executive Director

epaul@ctlibrarians.org  | 860.740.3043

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