What a difference two years makes! In the DLD 2020 Yearly Wrap-up, I shared the excerpt below from "Learning from the Future: How to make robust strategy in times of deep uncertainty,” an article by J. Peter Scoblic in the July 2020 issue of the Harvard Business Review:

• “In times of great uncertainty, it’s difficult to formulate strategies. Leaders can’t draw on experience to address developments no one has ever seen before. Yet the decisions they make now could have ramifications for decades. The practice of strategic foresight offers a solution. Its aim is not to predict the future but to help organizations envision multiple futures in ways that enable them to sense and adapt to change. Its most recognizable tool is scenario planning. To use it well, organizations must imagine a variety of futures, identify strategies that are needed across them, and begin implementing those strategies now. But one-off exercises are not enough: Leaders must institutionalize that process, building a dynamic link between thinking about the future and taking action in the present.”

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)-funded grant, Transformation for Libraries: The Futures School, has trained over 500 librarians from 40 states and American Samoa, further establishing Strategic Foresight as a core competency for the library profession. Futures School graduates have been implementing Foresight as organizational operating systems, strategy planning methods, and professional and programming development. Participants shared:

• “The Futures School opened my mind to so many more possibilities for libraries! I experienced hope and fear while looking at scenarios for libraries in the future, and I know what way I want my library to be headed! The long-term planning with strategic foresight is so necessary! I now have so many tools in my belt and can't wait to learn more!” 

– Ellen Shenk, Community Engagement Librarian,

State Library of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Cohort (October 2021)

• “The program gave me tools and strategies to proactively plan for the future. I no longer feel like I am at the whim of a fickle world but that I am an instrument to create a better world. Yvette, Nicole, and Frank were the perfect mix of professional and fun. The music was awesome. I'd love to be able to hang out with my cohort in real-time because our conversations were just getting started when the time was up.” 

– Mid-Atlantic Cohort Participant (December 2021)

• “I think my biggest breakthrough was discovering I was building my team the wrong way. I'm a Transformative person, so I was hiring other Transformative people. Now, I know that I really need to have a more rounded team to be effective. We can't all be dreaming about the future. We need people to hold our feet to the ground.” 

– Southeast Cohort Participant (September 2022)

As we move forward, library schools, such as the Information School at the University of Washington, are integrating Strategic Foresight into the curriculum, one of our key grant goals. With IMLS support, we boldly lead this national initiative in library program development. The work continues, stay tuned! 

I am humbled, appreciative, and proud of the extraordinary work of my staff for developing nationally recognized programs and initiatives, cultivating strategic partnerships resulting in statewide programs to benefit all CT residents; continuing to expand our digital resources… I could go on and on, but instead, I will let my amazing staff share their work that enhances library services in our state.

Happy holidays!

Dawn La Valle

Director, Division of Library Development

CT Digital Library

For 2022, eGO CT embraced a year of transition! In late 2021, we sunset SimplyE and began the move to the Palace Project app for April 2022 when we launched with six libraries. Now at the end of the year, we have 99 libraries live and 166 of the 190 CT public libraries configured in the Palace Project app – progress!

With LSTA grant funds, we also launched the eGO Community Share program for 170 schools. Currently, 84 schools are participating, sharing free ebook content with students through the Destiny catalog. And the eGO CT collection is growing! We purchased 3,531 items, including 634 items for schools in the eGO CT Community Share program.

Looking ahead, we aim to welcome the remaining public libraries into the eGO CT program to share free ebook content with their communities as well as expand the number of schools taking advantage of the Community Share program with Baker & Taylor. With more libraries, we also have a goal of increasing overall circulation of ebooks and eaudiobooks in 2023. Join us!

During FY2022, researchIT CT’’s databases saw over three million views demonstrating a cost savings that exceeded $41 million, an exceptional value for CT academic, school, and public libraries. Thanks to LSTA funds, we continue to provide Workforce Solutions, a suite of resources helping libraries promote workforce development. Turning to the new year, we are preparing to rollout EBSCO databases new user interface to be unveiled in 2023. 

Sharing Across Libraries

borrowIT CT enables any CT resident to borrow from any CT public library – and they do! This year, DLD offered refresher information sessions on this statewide service, so that all libraries are lending physical materials fairly and equally to non-residents. The two webinars were attended by 112 library staff, with the recordings (available on our YouTube channel) watched 129 times so far. Many of the attendees were unfamiliar with the near 50-year history of this statewide resource sharing program.

findIT CT, Connecticut’s statewide library catalog contains over 25 million bibliographic records and over 19 million items from 334 libraries. In 2022, findIT CT had 355,615 visits and 4,762,859 page views.

requestIT CT continues to grow using our fulfILLment ILL platform with usage in 2022 seeing a 20% increase over 2021 – 10,195 in 2021 compared with 12,212 in 2022!

Connecticut Libraries Help Center: Sample Policies LibGuide page got a refresh with new policies shared by CT libraries. Outdated holdings were removed and approximately 100 new and updated policies were added.

CT State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped 

The CT State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (LBPH) formally joined DLD, making the move from Rocky Hill to the Middletown Library Service Center in February 2022 – and LBPH staff kept going! In 2022, LBPH conducted 43 outreach sessions, sharing information with low vision support groups, conferences, health fairs, and public libraries. LBPH reached over 600 people with these visits and outreach will remain a focus in 2023. In October, LBPH relaunched its book club in virtual format with eight patrons joining LBPH Reader’s Advisor, Paula McLean for a discussion of Finding Chika by Mitch Albom.  

In the fall, LBPH began laying the foundation to establish LBPH hub libraries at public libraries throughout CT and is now establishing partnerships with select libraries. LBPH hub libraries will serve as regional access points for potential and current LBPH patrons. We expect LBPH hub library displays to be ready for use in early 2023 – stay tuned!

Library Data We Can All Use

Each year, we collect and analyze data submitted by all CT public libraries for the State Annual Report, noting trends and tracking changes. As we unroll the official Statistical Profile in early 2023, we will again offer a suite of fact flyer options and a series of social media posts about CT library use and data trends, all geared towards supporting libraries in their impactful, data-infused storytelling. Looking ahead, we plan to update the Excel chartmakers of Annual Report data to integrate even more library use measures, such as the percent of residents with library cards.

Of note this year is the significant investment in CT libraries from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant, with 153 libraries reporting on their grant spending of $1,886,243 for digital inclusion, safe pandemic response, implementation of public health protocols, and library services that meet the needs of communities.

Continuing Our Education

In January 2022, we conducted our annual survey to assess the training needs of CT libraries and inform our work. We offered 102 virtual and six in-person workshops on a variety of topics with over 3,400 registrants. We continue to offer self-paced tutorials for all library staff through the CT State Library Niche Academy, seeing over 6,000 views of 272 different tutorials. In late 2022, archived webinars from Library 2.0 and PCI along with an extension of Andrew Sanderbeck’s 6-week Front-Line Customer Service course were added to Niche Academy. Of special note this fall, we offered CT public libraries a subscription Northstar Digital Literacy.

Sharing All

The DLD Weekly Wrap-ups, monthly newsletters, and the Children and YA Newsletter continue to receive positive feedback along with the bi-annual Directors’ Notes emails receiving the highest open rate at an average of 70%! DLD’s welcome letters greeted 17 new public library directors in CT this year.

Planning for the Future: CT State Library’s Library Services and Technology Act Five-Year Plan, 2023-2027

In accordance with the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), the CT State Library set out to create a five-year plan, 2023-2027 that details library service goals based on identified needs within our library community and reflecting the purposes and priorities outlined in the LSTA. In fall 2021, DLD conducted five focus group sessions, directly impacting the content of our plan, which incorporates an ambitious and potentially transformative new goal on social justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (SJEDIA). The plan was subsequently approved by the State Librarian, the State Library Board, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). As we established in the plan’s Overview:

• “The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fact that not all libraries across the country were prepared to be immediately responsive to the needs of their communities with robust and resilient programs, services, and resources. With the social justice movement simultaneously swelling and intersecting with the pandemic, libraries, like many others, began coming to terms with the inequity vibrantly present in their histories, practices, and policies. Many are beginning to acknowledge the gaps in their antiracist understanding and education, and so this work both continues and begins again. The CT State Library will direct its efforts towards strengthening libraries and their staff during times of essential learning and rapid change so they in turn can better serve all their communities. DLD will continue to emphasize the role of libraries as community anchors while providing support for statewide sharing of resources, professional development, knowledge, and services. As always, DLD will embrace flexibility to catalyze and capitalize on new opportunities, and to be mobile and adapt as needed in response to the library communities’, and the greater statewide community’s, self-identified needs.”

Stay tuned for forthcoming services and workshops built to support SJEDIA efforts across our state, including Experiencing America, a collection of adult and young adult nonfiction book discussion sets and resources offering perspectives and voices that are intentionally human-centered explorations of identities and systems impacting contemporary America, as well as a new subset of Growing Equitable Library Services (GELS) called ADA and Beyond, training to support and provide the best services for patrons with a variety of abilities and needs.

Digital Inclusion

This year, the CT State Library moved forward supporting digital inclusion work by CT libraries by spearheading the formation of CT Libraries & Partners for Digital Equity (CTPLDE). CTLPDE held ten educational member meetings with topics including participatory research for community needs, the ACP and undocumented residents, advances in accessibility tools for digital content, and other key issues. CTLPDE, with the help of public libraries, was visible at numerous Juneteenth festivals, educating about digital equity as a civil rights issue. In August, the alliance developed “An Argument in Favor of BEAD Subgrants for Digital Inclusion Activities” in response to a request for information on broadband infrastructure by the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP). In September, four public libraries completed IMLS/ARPA-funded Digital Navigation pilot projects under the guidance of DLD, enriching a state model for replication. CTLPDE sponsored a successful Digital Inclusion Week event in October featuring American Library Association (ALA) President Tracie D. Hall and a panel of speakers from community organizations familiar with the need for digital navigation and device distribution. 

As a result of these contributions, the CT State Library was invited to join the team developing Connecticut’s forthcoming digital inclusion plan. Also in 2023, CTLPDE will focus on helping prepare libraries to reach out and collaborate with partners to share information about digital navigation with their towns. CTLPDE will speak to municipal organizations about all that libraries have learned about effective digital inclusion, as well as provide workshops for libraries planning to engage with their towns on developing the digital inclusion ecosystem in CT.

Growing Equitable Library Services

In 2022, Growing Equitable Library Services (GELS), well, grew! GELS is a workshop series that strives to provide the trainings that help libraries become strength-based, trauma informed, antiracist, social and emotionally conscious community institutions. This year, we offered workshops including the Racial Equity Institute’s Groundwater Training, Inclusive Storytime with the State Education Resource Center (SERC), a four-part series on trauma-informed approaches to library services with Patrick Llyod, former Library Social Worker at the Texas State Library Archives and Commission, Building Diverse Classroom Collections and Facilitating New Conversations with DLD’s Kymberlee Powe, a three-part series with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and a session with The Healing Library: Nontraditional Lending to Empower Community Wellness. 

For 2023, look for the multi-part series ADA and Beyond, a four-part series on building capacity for community-led practices with Dr. Audrey Barbakoff, Youth and Adult Mental Health First Aid with Hartford HealthCare, and more.

Summer Reading Grows

With an outcome-based summer reading program utilizing iREAD’s 2022 theme Read Beyond the Beaten Path, 98 CT libraries ran 11,374 programs and activities with 216,740 attendees! Through the patron surveys, we learned that:

• 95% of children strongly agree or agree that they were made to feel welcome 
• 84% of children strongly agree or agree that they learned something 
• 89% of children strongly agree or agree that they plan to take part in library activities after summer
• 96% of teens 12-18 years old strongly agree or agree that they were made to feel welcome 
• 71% of teens 12-18 years old strongly agree or agree that they learned something 
• 69% of teens 12-18 years old strongly agree or agree that they plan to take part in library activities after summer

In 2022, DLD introduced the Summer Enrichment Grant Program empowering libraries to enhance summer reading with enriched library-led programs and activities that spark creativity and productivity, engage individuals, and benefit their communities. Grants of up to $2,000 were awarded with the goal that a program that would positively change one’s skill, knowledge, attitude, behavior, condition, or status. Over $44,000 was distributed to 24 libraries serving over 500 CT residents with a variety of opportunities for kids and teens including STEM programming, literary advancement, summer camp visits, oceanography lessons, town trail maps, and more. Families reported reading more to their children during the week and increasing their library attendance. What else did folks say? Here, in their own words:

• “Please do something similar again! The whole family had fun doing it, and we went places we might not have gone to otherwise (like the historical society), and we'd definitely participate in something like this again!”

• “This was a wonderful way to learn about the community as new residents.”

New this summer was also Camp Sparkler! The CT State Library, the CT Office of Early Childhood, 211 Child Development, and Sparkler offered this free eight-week virtual experience to CT families. Each week was a new theme with five playtime activities and two prerecorded storytimes by CT librarians. One parent shared, “I thought his favorite part would be the spot story, but it was actually the ASL hello and goodbye songs. He doesn’t get to see many people outside his family use ASL.” 

We can hardly wait for next summer!

CT Pages

Highlighting the innovative work happening at libraries around the state, CT Pages shares and elevates community engagement success stories by libraries with and for their communities. Each short video features library staff who make things happen. We have released 20 videos with over 576 views! The most viewed include:

• Easton Public Library’s Summer Reading Program
• Canterbury Public Library’s Memory Kits
• Norwalk Public Library’s Indie and Local Author Celebration
• East Hartford Public Library’s Summer Enrichment with Parks & Rec Youth Services
• Hamden Public Library’s Hotspotting the Community

We continue to solicit and review submissions and pack our recording schedule, so come share!

All CT Reads

This year marked the official launch of All CT Reads, a year-long initiative to promote lifelong reading, learning, and connection that uses a rotating community committee structure to select one main book title and three shortlist book titles, each calendar year for three age groups: kids (ages 8-12), teens (ages 13-18), and adults. With the books, All CT Reads provides a supported programmatic structure for CT libraries built around the titles with room for individuality and creativity. All CT Reads partners with the Connecticut Library Consortium (CLC) and the Connecticut Association for School Librarians (CASL) and is supported by a generous grant from EBSCO Information Services to the Connecticut Heritage Foundation. 

We were thrilled to learn that in response to a resolution submitted by CASL, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) formally commended All CT Reads in November 2022 (read the full ALA Member News Release)! That month we also announced the 2023 titles (explore them all!) along with the Virtual Author Launch on Thursday, January 12 at 5 pm – register to join us!

Building Equity Based Summer Programs

The CT State Library partnered with five state libraries for Building Equity Based Summer Programs (BEBS) supported by an IMLS grant. Through training and codesign, year one participants will work with their state library consultant and the project teams to build staff skills, summer programs, and services that foster equity for their communities. Participants will evaluate: Do summer programs demonstrate attention to equity? How are libraries determining if and how summer programs achieve equity goals? What impact are summer programs having on those that need them the most? As McEachin, et al point out, “simply offering a program does not guarantee it will benefit students.”

CT StoryWalk® Program

The CT State Library launched a new partnership with the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection State Parks & Public Outreach Division (CT DEEP SPs) to create the CT StoryWalk® Program. StoryWalks® engage families in literacy while being physically active through walking or hiking. Pages from a children’s book are printed and placed in wood frames along a walkable park path. Families read aloud together, building children’s reading interest while enjoying the health benefits of exercise and fresh air. The CT StoryWalk® Program encourages children and families to visit multiple permanent sites including Kellogg Environmental Center in Osbornedale State Park in Derby, Dinosaur State Park in Rocky Hill, Meigs Point Nature Center at Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, and Goodwin Conservation Education Center in Hampton. Come visit!

Reimagining School Readiness

The CT State Library joined an IMLS grant with the Bay Area Discovery Museum to amplify the Reimagining School Readiness Toolkit, available for free online with a suite of research-backed activities. The training taught library staff to help families prepare children ages 0 to 8 for success in school and life. Through an interactive presentation with hands-on activities, the training introduced library staff to the toolkit’s research, practical implications, and resources.

Libraries Without Borders US

In partnership with Libraries Without Borders US (LWB US), DLD is launching a twelve-month pilot project with a group of six CT public libraries to co-create intentionally temporary library satellites in community spaces, modeled on other LWB US initiatives and customized for CT. The goal is to build trust and grow habits that ultimately help connect new users to permanent resources available through their public library. 

Libraries Without Borders US (LWB US) is the American branch of the global NGO Bibliothèques Sans Frontières, which delivers knowledge and information to communities in crisis. LWB US has worked to assist people experiencing challenges caused by the digital divide, communities living in book deserts, and those who, for various reasons, do not feel comfortable accessing their local libraries.

You made it to the end! We thank you for all you do for your libraries and our statewide CT community. Take care and happy new year!