This Month at CLC: August 2019
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What do you do when you get a call from a vendor who wants you to purchase their product? We hope one of your first moves is to have them contact CLC. If you don’t, you are not realizing the full benefit of your CLC membership.
What do I mean?
As a CLC member, you are paying for access to our publicly bid contracts that meet state and municipal purchasing requirements. Every time you negotiate on your own or begin to work with a vendor, you decrease the “Power of We” - CLC’s ability to leverage our 800+ members into a deeper discounted group contract. In addition, members who purchase a product we don’t currently have a contract for are less likely to be able to get our negotiated discount once we have a contract in place.
Your membership dues are also paying us to take vendor negotiations off your overflowing plate. Vendors are highly motivated to work with CLC because we have over 800 library members. This motivation is translated into deeper discounts for you. Yes, sometimes an individual library can negotiate a good deal for a year or two due to budget constraints, but long-term this isn’t a sustainable negotiation strategy. CLC also is able to work with vendors to provide value-adds like marketing materials, training support, and other assistance to help you get the most value out of your purchases.
Help us help you. When a vendor calls, consider using a script like this one, which was sent to us by Mary Hogan of the Cora J. Belden Library: "We do not have a budget right now to add a database. We are members of the Connecticut Library Consortium, so when we do have money, we purchase using CLC negotiated contracts. You can lean how to work with CLC by contacting their Executive Director, Jennifer Keohane, or via their website:
https://www.ctlibrarians.org/vendors
." That's it!
It may be summer, but here's your homework. If you are interested in a product or service, call us and let us know. And more importantly, let the vendor know you are part of CLC and purchase through CLC contracts, and encourage them to contact us. The Power of WE will get those prices down for all of us!
Jennifer Keohane
Executive Director
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WHAT YOU'RE DOING MATTERS:
A first-time trip to ALA Annual
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As a relatively new member of the CLC team, I felt very lucky to get the opportunity to travel to Washington, DC for my first ever ALA Annual Conference. I know several other Connecticut librarians were also in attendance, and it was fun to see some of you in a new setting! Let’s just get this out of the way: like everyone says, it’s a very overwhelming event, especially for a newcomer. There is so much to see and do, and often, two sessions I wanted to attend were happening at the same time which forced me to brush up on my eenie-meenie-miney-moe skills. However, there were some things I knew I couldn’t miss. I woke up extra early on a Saturday morning to catch the DC metro to see U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Sonia Sotomayor’s discussion
. The justice talked about the things you might expect: the
children’s book
she’s published, how the
Parkchester Library
in the Bronx was her safe haven as a child, the experience of being the first Latina justice appointed to the Supreme Court. Then, much to the chagrin of the security that accompanied her, she did something extraordinary. She walked off the stage and weaved up and down the aisles as she spoke, shaking hands with several people in every row and looking us in the eye. It added such an element of personality and warmth to her words, and I thought to myself: this is the right way to speak to a room full of librarians. This is what we do with our patrons every day - meet them on their level, see their struggles up close, connect with them in ways that truly transform their experiences. So often in that process, we ourselves start to feel invisible, suffer from burnout or compassion fatigue, or even lose sight of why we entered this profession in the first place. Sonia looked at each of us in a way that said “I see you, and I appreciate you. What you’re doing matters.” To me, that was the greatest gift she could have given us. I hope all of you take a moment today to reflect on the great work that you do, and remember, when things get overwhelming, CLC is here for you.
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On that note, we are putting together an informal
ALA recap event
for anyone who attended ALA Annual to debrief on our experiences and share what we learned and saw (it’s truly impossible for one person to do it all)! We’ll be chatting over drinks and pizza at Witchdoctor Brewing Company on Thursday, July 25 at 5:30pm. We’d love to see you there and hear all about what you did in DC!
Visit this link for more details and to RSVP
.
P.S. I also met Hoda Kotb, and she is a true national treasure.
Jennifer Van Nostrand
Member Relations Manager, Public & Special Libraries
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HOT ... HOT ... HOTSPOTS
(take our little survey please)
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CLC launched our
Sprint wifi hotspot program
three years ago, and in that time CLC members have acquired over 200 of these little wonders. CLC's negotiated discount features FREE hotspots and a cheaper data plan than the state of Connecticut offers, so we think it's a pretty great deal. Visit
ctlibrarians.org/hotspots
for more information or to order.
But any successful program has room for improvement, so we are looking for your feedback - whether you already have hotspots or are thinking about them. We are also gathering information about your interest in other carriers. Please help us help you by filling out this short survey by Wednesday,
July 31
:
We value your feedback on this and all other products and services offered through CLC. Contact your CLC Member Relations Manager at
members@ctlibrarians.org
.
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One of my favorite parts of my job at CLC is partnering with community organizations to bring interesting and unique opportunities to our members. This spring and summer we’ve worked with Goodspeed Musicals on several programming initiatives surrounding their summer show
Because of Winn Dixie
.
At the end of June, our friends at the Goodspeed invited CLC members to a special
insider’s look at the making of the musical
. A group of 30 of us enjoyed a fantastic afternoon in the theater world. We toured Scherer Library, the only library in the world dedicated to musical theater. We observed a technical rehearsal from the balcony of the opera house, a special treat usually reserved for high-level donors and VIPs. We even spent 45 minutes in a rehearsal studio with Nell Benjamin, author of the script and lyrics, who talked about what it was like to bring
Because of Winn Dixie
to the stage and answered all our questions about the show. She was wonderfully down to earth and funny. Afterward, we all gathered at the Gelston House for snacks and to talk about what a great afternoon we had.
But the fun with
Winn Dixie
is not over! There are still two opportunities for you.
Create a library display related to
Because of Winn Dixie
, share a picture on social media using the hashtag #ReadToWinnDixie, and be entered to win a read-to-the-dog program at your library with Bowdie, the dog who plays Winn Dixie, and his world-famous trainer
Bill Berloni
!
Get all the details here
. Hurry - you must enter by
July 22
.
SEE THE SHOW! WITH A DISCOUNT!
One of the perks that we can offer CLC members is
$15 off tickets to Wednesday and Friday evening performances through
August 2
. For the promo code, visit
ctlibrarians.org/discountsmo
(you will need your CLC username and password) or contact me directly for assistance –
astern@ctlibrarians.org
or 860.344.8777 x104.
We hope you will take advantage of these special opportunities. You don’t need to take a kid or be a kid to enjoy
Because of Winn Dixie
- most of the CLC staff went to see the show last week, and we all loved it! There is something for everyone: an earnest main character who reminded me of Annie, a parent struggling to do his best through a tough situation, a cast of community members who each have unique struggles, and a lovable dog that’s part poodle, part something big! Don’t miss your chance to experience it!
Amanda Stern
Events & Special Projects Manager
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DID YOU GO TO ALA?
LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT WE LEARNED!
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Thursday, July 25
5:30 - 7:30PM
Witchdoctor Brewing Company, Southington
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Did you attend the ALA Annual Conference in Washington DC?
There was so much to see and do, and we want to know what you saw and did! What did you learn? What vendors and products caught your eye? What initiatives do you want to try in your library?
Please join CLC's Jennifer K. and Jennifer V. at
Witchdoctor Brewing Company
in Southington for an informal facilitated discussion about all things ALA Conference! CLC will provide dinner and non-alcoholic beverages.
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Thursday, July 18, 9:30am
Ridgefield Library
LIBRARIANS WHO BRUNCH!
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Let’s get together for a lighthearted chat about our trials, tribulations, and occasional triumphs at the reference desk. Brunch will be served, of course!
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Tuesday, July 23, 10:00am
Blackstone Memorial Library, Branford
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Join your fellow library directors for an open discussion of
issues facing public libraries in the CT river valley and shoreline area. Topics include advocacy to local legislators, emerging service and staffing trends, and anything else of interest. Refreshments provided by Blackstone Library.
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Tuesday, August 13, 12:30pm
Stony Creek Brewery, Branford
MAKERS PLAYGROUND AT THE BREWERY!
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We are gathering at the beautiful Stony Creek Brewery directly on the Branford River waterfront to swap snacks, ideas, and inspiration! This is the perfect opportunity to pilot a new activity with fellow Makerspace enthusiasts in an informal, supportive setting. Some possible on site activities may include button making, simple stop animation using Playdoh, squishy circuits, sewable electronics, AR/VR merge cubes, & more! Please consider bringing along a Maker toy, tool, or project, to share.
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Summer is typically light on roundtables, but many groups are already planning for the fall. Don't miss out - visit our continuously-updated calendar and roundtable pages and start getting dates on your calendar now!
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