Over the next several months we will be offering workshops touching on various areas of library management. We are opening the series with three sessions in October and stay tuned for more in the coming months.

Join DLD staff in this interactive zoom session and participate in some of the exercises that contribute to a powerful community needs assessment. This information session is designed to help librarians who wish to apply for grants effectively determine the specific community and target audience for whom they will be creating programs or services. Participants should leave better prepared to fulfill the “need” requirement of a grant application than before. Organized around a case study, this session will allow library directors and all library staff to engage in hands-on experience with activities from the Aspen Re-Envisioning Libraries Guide. It will include exercises built from EXCITE Transformation for Libraries workshops that help a library learn to do empathy mapping and how to script community conversations that can reveal what patrons really want. Librarians in all staff positions who will be involved in writing grant applications are encouraged to attend.

"Rule #1: Once you have their money, you never give it back."

Library leadership comes in many forms. But many librarians do not feel that they have the power, savvy, or information needed to act as strong advocates for their libraries and push back against local leadership/administration and other stakeholders when being asked to make changes to their budget or services. Star Trek's Ferengi species have an answer to this dilemma—a list of rules that guide these ruthless alien entrepreneurs to maximize profit with minimal risk. The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition provide an amusing framework for exploring how, when, and why to advocate for ourselves and our libraries. Presenters will address how to approach communication with local leadership/administration and vendors, build strategic partnerships, and secure needed funds and resources with a little more guile.

Join CT State Librarian Deborah Schander and her colleagues:

Project management in libraries frequently falls to the Director. How do you keep the regular business of the library operating smoothly, maintain a work/life balance, and make sure the project goes as planned? In this presentation you will learn what it takes to make any project a success and more importantly, you will learn how to avoid the pitfalls that guarantee project failure.

Gail Santy is the director of the Central Kansas Library System and the Great Bend Public Library. Before moving into the director’s chair, Gail was a consultant to small and rural libraries for 10 years.

Learn more (no registration required)

READsquared has multiple reading programs available to engage your patrons all year long with customizable content and features. Join READsquared Support Specialist Kimberly DeRemer as she covers:

In partnership with Kedge: The Futures School, the CT State Library Division of Library Development is hosting a virtual gathering highlighting librarians and library staff that participated in Transformation for Libraries: The Futures School during 2020 and 2021 to discuss perspectives, learnings, and the future of foresight in libraries. The session will feature a panel of cohort members to provide their experiences and how they are using the training in their planning, partnerships, and beyond.

After The Futures School will be co-hosted by Nicole Baker-Rosa, Head of Human Design and Development at Kedge: The Futures School and Dawn La Valle, Director of the CT State Library Division of Library Development.

Opening keynote remarks from Stacey Aldrich, State Librarian, Hawaii State Public Library System.

Our panelists include:

This four-part series led by Libby Post focuses on the strategic communications needs of academic libraries. The four workshop titles explain what we’ll be talking about and focusing on. No matter the size of your library, strategic communications, understanding how to and effectively making your case to university leadership is essential. No matter the size of your library, strategic communications, understanding how to and effectively making your case to university leadership is essential.

The Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness will be providing part 2 of a 2-day training for library staff to build their toolkit as they potentially help people navigate their housing crisis. The training will provide an overview of the homeless response system and provide basic knowledge about available resources as well as focus on how to effectively intervene in a housing crisis and assist in connection to services. There will be an emphasis on the practice of Shelter Diversion, which is a strategy that prevents homelessness at the front door by helping people identify immediate alternative housing arrangements to shelter and, if necessary, connecting them with services and financial assistance to help them return to permanent housing. Diversion can reduce the number of households becoming homeless, the demand for shelter beds, and the size of program wait lists. This 2-day training will provide knowledge and resources and will also be interactive and engaging to coach you through having person-centered and respectable diversion conversations with those that are in the library and currently experiencing a housing crisis.

If your library is thinking of applying for a construction grant from the CT State Library in 2022, plan to attend an information session this fall or in the spring. Attendance at an information session is a requirement for the grant application. In this session, you'll learn what you need to do before applying as well as what's required after you receive the grant. Don't get tripped up -- just plan ahead and be prepared. Information about construction grants is available online.