This Month at CLC: February 2020
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DIRECTOR'S CORNER: Hitting the Ground Running
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January is a mix of reflection and looking forward. We’ve wrapped up our membership renewal, and you should soon be receiving your membership packet with our Year in Review, keyboard calendars, and key information to help you get the most of your membership. The CLC team members have completed our 2019 reflections and goal setting and, as you can read below, have jumped into the new year with gusto.
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We’ve had some changes to our board of trustees for 2020.
Mary Hogan
, director of the Cora J. Belden Library, Rocky Hill, has stepped down after almost 6 years of service to CLC. Mary not only was our board chair in FY15-16, but also led CLC through strategic planning during a critical time in CLC’s history. Under her leadership, CLC developed our critical new business plan designed to diversify our income and ensure our sustainability. We will miss her innovation and contributions to the board, but she plans to continue to contribute to our new professional development programs.
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Jason Pannone
, Head of Reference & Cultural Assets Manager at the East Hartford Public Library, has joined the CLC board, filling a seat vacated by Anthony Marrocolla. Jason’s academic, public and special library experience is an asset to his work on the Professional Development Task Force.
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Beth Dominianni
, director of the Mark Twain Library in Redding, has been voted in as our newest board member. Beth brings a wealth of experience at libraries of all sizes, and will round out our board with a small public library perspective.
2020 is not only the year, but aptly describes the clear vision we have of CLC’s direction and focus. With a strong team in place, an active board of trustees, supportive vendor partners, and a robust and communicative membership, we are confidently moving forward into a new decade of service.
Jennifer Keohane
Executive Director
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AND THE PERIODICAL CONTRACT GOES TO ...
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Jacqueline Cashin
Vendor Relations Manager
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Happy New Year! As I write this, Jen Van Nostrand and I have just returned from the American Library Association’s Midwinter Conference. Several of the outstanding supply partners that work closely with the Connecticut Library Consortium were there, and it was a good opportunity to visit with them. Midwinter is not as large as the annual conference, so this gives us the opportunity to connect on a more personal level with current suppliers as well as those that offer products that we are researching for the future. We were also able to visit with many librarians in attendance. Networking is such an important part of our work, and making connections helps the CLC team keep their finger on the pulse of the various industries we work with so that we can bring better products and services to the Connecticut library community. And on that note ...
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Our big announcement this month is that we have awarded our Periodical Subscription Management Contract exclusively to
WT Cox Information Services! WT Cox gave our library community a wonderful bid with outstanding discounts and services for all of our library constituencies. They are known industry-wide for their outstanding service standards, and their systems are intuitive and easy to use.
If you are currently working with another provider and you would like to take advantage of the new contract with WT Cox, a plan is in place to transfer your service easily and seamlessly. WT Cox has a transition specialist available on-site, and their customer service team leader is ready to assist via phone, email or online. Written documentation and videos are also available. The customer service team at WT Cox will also provide training on their web-based interface for collection management via live webinar (one-on-one or for a group of staff members) or on-site by request.
A separate email about this new contract will be going out soon, but if you have any questions please visit the
WT Cox page on our website, or contact me or your CLC Member Relations Manager (
Jen V. for public & special libraries,
Julie for academic & school libraries) and we will be happy to fill you in.
It’s been an outstanding start to 2020, and I am looking forward to hearing your new ideas for products and services in the coming year!
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Jennifer Van Nostrand
Member Relations Manager, Public & Special Libraries
I’m writing this from the train after a whirlwind weekend in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia. Thousands of librarians from across the country descended on the cheesesteak capital of the world to attend ALA Midwinter to network, learn, research, and have fun. As a newbie to this conference, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect – how would it compare to the “big” annual conference? What would I take away that would be useful to the Connecticut library community? I will confess I spent much of my time meeting with existing and potential new vendors that CLC could work with in the future, so until formal agreements are in place, I can’t spill the beans about those just yet! What I can say is that the smaller nature of this conference made meeting with exhibitors a breeze – I found it much easier to get facetime with vendors, authors, and other colleagues at this “mini” ALA event. Also, the timing of this conference makes a bit more sense for librarians, in my opinion – I’ve heard many of you say you’d love to attend Annual, but leaving the library for five days right at the start of summer reading is all but impossible, especially for children and teen departments. I loved that midwinter had a cozier and more connective feeling to it.
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I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that I got to witness one of Connecticut’s very own library superstars receive the “I Love My Librarian” award – one of only ten recipients across the nation. Hartford Public Library’s Homa Naficy, Executive Director of HPL’s
The American Place, accepted the honor and spoke about TAP’s involvement and importance in the immigrant and New American community. (This was the only time I wished the conference was bigger – I wanted more people to hear about this uniquely awesome resource in our capital city.) The nine other award winners were equally impressive and made me feel proud to be part of the library community.
I hope you will start to see some of the benefits of our trip to Philadelphia very soon as we implement new ideas and partnerships we fostered. And if you get a chance, I highly recommend attending the ALA Midwinter meeting in the future!
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Julie Yulo-Medeiros
Member Relations Manager, School & Academic Libraries
What’s stressful, unavoidable, and dreaded in March for students and educators? You guessed it: March Madness, a.k.a. Smarter Balanced Assessment. Are you prepared? Do you have enough earbuds and headphones for your students?
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A recent Zoom meeting with our Demco rep, Kris Snow, reminded me that Demco's CLC contract offers
earbuds for $0.89 and
headphones for $10.09. In fact, we have a wide array of the most popular library supply items discounted an average of 43% - with some over 70% off! If the item you need isn't on our specific list, remember that CLC’s Demco contract includes a blanket discount of 18% off most library, office, and technology supplies, and 7% off most archival supplies, learning materials, furniture, and equipment items. Learn more about CLC's Demco discounts on
CLC’s Supplies Contract page.
In addition to reviewing our current contracted offers, Kris showed Jen Van Nostrand & me some cool new tools on the Demco website:
Demco>New - A quick way to access new products, including my favorite, the
Copernicus Classroom Cruisers. I’ve said since the beginning of my teaching career, every classroom should have a stationary bike to help students manage their energy. These bikes are designed for students in PreK-6. How cool is that?
Demco>Ideas & Inspiration
and
Featured Idea Galleries
- Are you remodeling, looking for new furniture, or perhaps thinking about creating a makerspace? Start your search here to get inspired and to learn about options you might not even have thought about for your library. If high school hadn’t been so awkward, I would wish to go back in time to be a student at
Badger High School
in Wisconsin just to hang out at
this library
.
Demco>Interiors>Interior Services - Amazing services to help with your remodeling and redesigning projects, including needs assessment, design development, product consultation, product management, installation, and follow-up support.
Demco>Upstart>Activity Calendar
- includes Children’s Activity Calendars and Early Literacy Activity Calendars. What are your plans for Take Your Child to the Library Day, National Tell a Fairy Tale Day, or Library Lovers’ Month?
And here’s some inside scoop: CLC is considering a furniture bid. Please send us your suggestions for companies and or products you would like to see CLC include in this bid. If you need to purchase furniture soon, I can help you navigate the CREC and State of CT contracts.
I look forward to speaking and meeting with you soon. Please reach out to me with questions, or just to say hi: 860.344.8777 x102 or
jyulo@ctlibrarians.org
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TAKE YOUR CHILD TO THE LIBRARY DAY ...
LET'S MAKE SOME NOISE! (AND TAKE SOME PHOTOS)
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Amanda Stern
Events & Special Projects Manager
I love being able to work on Take Your Child to the Library Day. From reaching out to performers in the fall to discuss programming discounts, helping libraries connect with community partners to promote TYCLD, and crafting press releases to distribute to media outlets statewide, Take Your Child to the Library Day lasts more than a day. It’s something I think about all year long.
Several days ago, I was delighted to see a Facebook post my mother had shared: my hometown library is participating in Take Your Child to the Library Day. Though I know
libraries across the nation and around the world participate with us, learning that the library that helped me become a reader is participating in TYCLD gave me a sense of connectedness – that what I do from here in my office in Connecticut is helping reach families all around the world. It truly is an honor to do this work.
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PHOTOS PLEASE!
We have a request for all of you who are participating: will you please share your TYCLD celebrations? Take pictures - lots of pictures! - and share them on your library’s social media channels tagged with our official hashtag -
#TakeYourChildtotheLibraryDay - so we can see all the fun! Please also email up to 5 of your favorite photos to this address:
library@takeyourchildtothelibrary.org. We'll post them on the
Take Your Child to the Library Day Flickr account.
(Note: You must have permission from the subjects photographed; parent or guardian if under 18.)
As we begin our planning for next year’s 10
th anniversary celebration, we’ll want as many photos as we can get! Thank you so much for your enthusiastic support of Take Your Child to the Library Day!
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Congratulations to the winners of Scholastic Book Prize Packages:
Edith Wheeler Memorial Library
(Monroe),
Ferguson Library
(Stamford), and
Kent Memorial Library
(Suffield)! All libraries that registered their TYCLD participation were eligible to win these prizes, generously donated by Scholastic.
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DISCOUNT HIGHLIGHTS
CLC has current offers from all of the following vendors & partners. Please visit our website to learn more!
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Order by February 24
for March 15 start
New offer! CLC public & academic libraries now save on the premier business & consumer database.
Sign up for free training session:
March 12 in Wallingford
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February 6 at 2:30pm
Webinar for K-12 educators & administrators
Current subscribers, join our webinar and learn to get more from your Turnitin subscription! Not just for librarians - invite your colleagues.
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Order by February 10
for March 1 start
Public & school libraries, join our discounted subscription group and save on all of your favorite Scholastic Digital products: Bookflix, Trueflix, Freedomflix, Scienceflix, GO Suite,
NEW
Scholastic Teachables,
NEW
Watch & Learn Library.
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Order by March 20
Now is a great time to order a new AWE digital learning workstation or tablet. CLC members save 10% + $50 off each unit, plus an additional $150 off for new customers. Trade in your older unit and save $150 off a new one.
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Entertainment Showcase
February 20, East Hartford
CLC has once again partnered with the CT Recreation & Parks Association to bring you members-only pricing on their
entertainment showcase
. Just $25 for a full day of programming inspiration!
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March 31 - April 2
Arlington, VA
CLC is pleased to offer our members discounted registration for the 2020
Computers in Libraries conference
. Multiple options available, including Internet@Schools for K-12 educators, the Library Leaders summit for directors and administrators, and more. Save up to $190. Register by
2/28
for best pricing.
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ADVOCACY BOOTCAMP
New session added in southeastern CT!
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Tuesday, February 25, 2020
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Mystic & Noank Library
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"I thought it was a great workshop. It is refreshing not to look at a PowerPoint, isn’t it? I plan to train staff at next week’s staff meeting on collecting stories, as we prepare to launch a capital campaign next year. I will be using these stories at board meetings, with the town’s board of selectmen, in newsletters, etc, etc, etc. It was a terrific morning – time well spent. Thank you, CLC, for providing this." --
Gretchen Hachmeister, Executive Director, Hotchkiss Library of Sharon
“The program was wonderful and a bargain. I thought it was inspiring, timely and useful." --Elizabeth Van Ness, Reference and Adult Services Librarian, Canton Public Library
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Every library has a compelling story. Discovering that story, and learning to tell it the right way, can yield powerful benefits. At this ALA workshop conducted by Julie & Amanda from CLC, you will first uncover and hone your library's story. Then, you'll learn narrative techniques to help you secure funding, turn your staff into advocates, and send a consistent message that your library is a smart investment! For all library types. $10 for CLC members.
LEARN MORE & REGISTER
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ROUNDTABLE ROUNDUP:
Takeaways from some of last month's meetings
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Couldn’t make it to roundtables last month? Here are some highlights for you.
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Children’s Librarians Roundtable Northwest (1/13/20) enjoyed a presentation from Oliver Wolcott Library staff member Dr. Caroline Wilcox Ugurlu, who demonstrated the pre-reading program she developed for children 4-7 and their caregivers. This program is designed to bridge the gap between reading curricula in schools and the science behind why many children struggle in the early stages of the process. Dr. Ugurlu has published a book on this topic,
Letters are Characters, available from Amazon.
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YA Librarians Roundtable Fairfield County (1/17/20) held a lively and timely discussion about developing programs and services for underserved teen populations – specifically LGBTQIA+, new adults, and neurodiverse teens. We discussed the importance of all library staff being able to identify common traits of patrons with Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD, so we can approach teens and caregivers with understanding and compassion. Some characteristics include sensory challenges (lights, loud noises), lack of eye contact, the repetition of rote phrases or self-soothing, a desire for routine, or meltdowns. It’s important to remember that it’s a spectrum, so not every individual will exhibit all of these traits.
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LGBTQ+ Roundtable (1/21/20) focused on equity, diversity, and inclusion, and began to craft an EDI statement for CLA, working to develop language and principles to ensure that CLA creates an equitable and inclusive environment. If anyone is interested in helping, please contact the chairs:
Kristina Laureau and
Marissa Bucci.
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Reference and Instruction Roundtable (1/23/20) hosted Kayla Del Biondo, Digital Services Librarian at New Canaan Library, who talked about technology programming and instruction. She shared how she uses augmented reality to make art exhibits in the library interactive. As patrons move around the exhibit, they can use their phones to view short video clips of the artist talking about their work. Tech instruction services at New Canaan Library include
Book-a-Librarian (up to 50-minute sessions of direct instruction), Open Tech (drop in hours for one-on-one technology reference services), and On-the-Fly instruction in the tech center. New Canaan Library also provides a referral sheet of local technology businesses to help patrons with more complex technology problems.
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Middle School Librarians Roundtable
(1/23/20) spent their inaugural meeting sharing programming ideas and book recommendations. One idea discussed at length was
Breakout Boxes
, a great way to collaborate with teachers and get classes into the library. Students love the collaborative nature and structure of learning with Breakout Boxes. After the initial planning with the teacher, the rest of the instructional design work is completed by the school librarian.
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ROUNDTABLE ROUNDUP:
Coming Attractions
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Monday, February 10, 9:30am
Easton Public Library
INAUGURAL MEETING!
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This is a new roundtable geared toward administrators and others who work in small libraries (pop. less than 10,000). This first meeting will be an opportunity to establish interest and set upcoming dates and topics.
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Thursday, February 13, 1:00pm
Cragin Memorial Library, Colchester
INAUGURAL MEETING: SUMMER READING
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Are you a youth services librarian? Join us to talk about summer reading. We'll discuss block booking, prizes, incentives, craft programs, and all that jazz.
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Thursday, February 20, 10:00am
Middletown Library Service Center
A MEETING DEDICATED TO WOMEN
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As we gear up for Women's History Month and the centennial of the 19th Amendment, we are dedicating a meeting to women. Learn from expert presenters on women's history resources, women's health resources, women and business, and women in the arts. Don't miss this educational meeting.
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Tuesday, February 25, 1:00pm
Killingly Public Library
STORYTELLING WITH CT HUMANITIES
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Learn about CT Humanities and their wonderful offerings to the library community.
Two of their talented storytellers, Carolyn Stearns & Eshu Bumpus, will join us to illustrate the power of storytelling! Get inspired for the 2020 summer reading theme, Imagine Your Story.
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These are just a few of this month's roundtables! Don't miss out ... visit our continuously-updated calendar and make plans to attend a roundtable today.
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