Volume 3, No.5 | May 2019
Your monthly news & updates
Service Spotlight
Connecticut State Library Promotes STEM Learning and Summer Reading

Connecticut State Library, Division of Library Development Director, Dawn La Valle and Library Development Consultant Gail Hurley exhibited at the New England Air Museum's annual Space Expo Saturday, April 6 which saw an attendance of 861 people. We also had an exhibit table at the CLA Annual Conference April 29 and 30 as well as a program session at CLA on the 30th.

The Connecticut State Library is one of 14 State Libraries in the United States to be awarded a grant to partner with NASA as part of its NASA @ My Library program. The goal of this program aims to bring STEM resources to the public through the state and public libraries, and especially to underserved STEM populations and geographic regions. NASA is working closely with the Collaborative Summer Library Program this year because of the national theme "A Universe of Stories", which is a natural fit! As part of the NASA @ My Library program the CT State Library received 3 NASA STEM Kits to circulate to public libraries for programming, and have duplicated each of them in order to make more available to our CT libraries especially during the summer months. Two half-day workshops will be held May 22 to review the contents of the kits and other resources available to libraries (see professional development section below).

For the Space Expo and CLA exhibits, we brought along items from the NASA STEM Kits including sunoculars, celestron binoculars and infrared thermometers; a range of space themed books, and a variety of promotional bookmarks and stickers from NASA and A Universe of Stories. We had the pleasure of engaging with approximately 300 kids and families at Space Expo who were so excited to hear that the summer reading theme at their public libraries would be a space theme. It was great to see so many library staff come by the exhibit table and program at CLA to talk about what they are planning for the summer. We encourage CT libraries to take advantage of this popular theme this summer and to continue the programming year-round.
 
The 50th anniversary of the lunar landing is this July and NASA will be turning 60, which is a great opportunity for libraries to highlight the roles their communities played in these groundbreaking events. There are hundreds of resources available to libraries including free programming and great ideas through registering for STARnet's Summer of Space. These resources and others are consolidated on our libguide: https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/DLD/NASA. For your summer reading software needs, the State Library has a 3-year subscription to READsquared summer reading program which we offer as a FREE service to all CT public libraries. 

Questions? Contact Gail Hurley at Gail.Hurley@ct.gov or call 860-704-2222
Service Spotlight
Construction Grants Available for 2019!

The Connecticut State Library will be accepting construction grant applications this year from public libraries for library expansion, new buildings, major alterations, remodeling, accessibility, code compliance, emergency preparedness, and energy conservation. Available funding is expected to be approximately $8 million.

Public library construction grants fund one-half of total project costs up to a maximum of $1 million. The minimum projected project cost must be $60,000. All interested libraries MUST submit a “Notice of Intent” form by June 30. Applications will be due by September 1. The new “Notice of Intent” form and other documents explaining the grant program are available on our Construction Grants web page here: https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld/construction/constructiongrants. Some of the details regarding the grant program may be revised in late May following the State Library Board meeting.

Contact:
Dawn La Valle |Director, Division of Library Development | Dawn.lavalle@ct.gov | Office: (860) 757-6665
http://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld/home | 231 Capitol Ave. Hartford CT 06106 | Fax: (860) 757-6503
Service Spotlight
LSTA Grant Information Session

Although the deadline for literacy grants has passed for 2019, applications for planning grants are accepted on a rolling basis every two months, with the next deadlines on June 24 and August 26. 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. The next session is scheduled for Thursday, May 23 , 9:30-11:30, Middletown Library Service Center. Register online.
 
Additional information sessions will be offered bimonthly throughout the year. If you would like to host an information session at your library, please contact Maria Bernier, LSTA Coordinator, at maria.bernier@ct.gov or 860-704-2204.
 
More information about LSTA grants, including grant instructions and applications, is online at http://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld/lstagrants/grantapplication
Service Spotlight
eGO Production Libraries Status

Thanks to continued great work on the part of LYRASIS and the New York Public Library, eGO is pleased to announcement the following library additions:

System libraries previously configured, to be moved into production in the next 3-4 weeks:
Beacon Falls Public Library
E.C. Scranton Public Library
East Lyme Public Library
Milford Public Library
New Britain Public Library
New Milford Public Library
North Branford Public Library
West Hartford Public Library

Libraries not previously configured, now in the beginning phases of configuration:
Farmington Libraries
Goshen Public Library
Groton Public Library
Waterford Public Library

Other libraries now configured, to be put into production in the next release of the SimplyE app:
Ferguson Public Library
Hartford Public Library
New Fairfield Public Library(VERSO)
New Haven Free Public Library

Libraries put into production offer the SimplyE app to selected staff and/or patrons for product testing, followed by a voluntary online survey and focus group conference call.

Thanks to all library systems and their libraries who participate, and welcome aboard to those libraries who are now or will soon be put into production!
Service Spotlight
reQuestIT Update

Steve Cauffman will be offering another “Do’s and Don’ts of requestIT” session on Wednesday, May 22 from 1 pm to 4 pm at Scotland Public Library. He will review the FulfILLment system and updating process, show some of the newer features, and talk about ILL workflow. This session is for those who have been trained on and are currently using requestIT CT. You can register for this session at: https://cslib.libcal.com/event/5345234  
Professional Development

Brief Report on DLD’s Continuing Education Offerings

The Connecticut State Library's Division of Library Development Continuing Education (CE) offered 30 continuing education sessions in FY 2018 covering a range of subjects relevant to library work, such as library management, strategic communications, book repair, and customer service.

DLD partnered with the Conn. Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services on mental health awareness training, partnered with Connecticut law librarians for workshops on legal reference, partnered with CLA for a daylong program on diversity in books for children and teens, and hosted a group viewing of the Public Library Association’s Virtual conference. We also hosted a Media Smart workshop and coordinated and hosted EXCITE programs. 97% of attendees' evaluations Strongly Agreed or Agreed that attending a DLD Continuing Education workshop provided a valuable outcome.

In FY 2019, DLD has offered 25 CE sessions through April 30, 2019 with 13 more workshops planned for May and June, 2019. 

Professional Development & Training Opportunities – May 2019

STAR POWER: Sing Talk And Read Play On and Write for Easier Reading—Putting Every Child Ready to Read Parent Workshops into Practice (presented by Saroj Ghoting)
In person workshop
Thursday, May 9 , from 9 am to 4:30 pm
Wallingford Public Library, 200 North Main Street, Wallingford, CT
Cost: Free
For details and to register, visit: https://cslib.libcal.com/event/4984501

Supercharging Your Storytimes: Using Interactivty, Intentionality, and Community of Practice to Help Children Learn with Joy (presented by Saroj Ghoting)
In person workshop
Friday, May 10 , from 9 am to 4:30 pm
Avon Free Public Library, 281 Country Club Road, Avon, CT
Cost: Free
For details and to register, visit: https://cslib.libcal.com/event/4984515

Director/Board Relations (Library Management Series)
In person workshop
Monday, May 20, from 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/5358265

Stand Out Every Time You Talk
In person workshop
Tuesday, May 21, from 1 pm 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/5276934

NASA @ My Library / Summer Reading Programming
In person workshop
Wednesday, May 22; two sessions: 9:30 am to noon and 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm
Middletown Library Service Center, 786 South Main St., Middletown, CT 06457
Cost: Free
For details and to register for the morning session, visit: https://cslib.libcal.com/event/5318943
For details and to register for the afternoon session, visit: https://cslib.libcal.com/event/5321650

Coming in early June:

Budgeting & Financial Management (Library Management Series)
In person workshop
Monday, June 3, from 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/5358274

Customer Service in the Trenches
In person workshop
Wednesday, June 5, from 1 pm to 4 pm
Manchester Community College, Great Path, Manchester, CT
Cost: Free
For details and to register, visit: https://cslib.libcal.com/event/5258381
Professional Collection
Contact Judy Crooks judy.crooks@ct.gov if you are interested in borrowing any of these titles.

For more new books at MLSC , visit https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld/professional
Hours Reminder
"Catch the Spring Reading Bug"

MLSC Hours – May 2019

Monday to Friday: 8 am to 4:30 pm
Thursday, May 2 (the first Thursday of the month): Open until 8 pm

The Service Center will be closed on Monday, May 27 for Memorial Day. 
DLD | CSL |860-757-6665 |  http://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld/home