The CT Resource Sharing Philosophy frames a goal, that "Connecticut's libraries willingly cooperate and collaborate with each other and affiliated organizations to provide maximum access to materials, services and expertise for the mutual benefit of all."

Even though we cannot gather in person, we still want to see you all! Join the DLD staff for a virtual open house this month. Leading us off in the morning, hear from Director Dawn La Valle as she welcomes everyone and shares an overview of updates from DLD. For the rest of the day, choose to attend the open office hours with each DLD staff member – pop into one, or come to all!

10:30 am          Office Hour | Dawn La Valle, Director

11:00 am          Office Hour | Maria Bernier, Statewide Data Coordinator

11:30 pm          Office Hour | Ashley Sklar, Adult Services & Community Engagement Consultant

12:00 pm          Lunch Break

1:00 pm            Office Hour | Gail Hurley, Professional Development Coordinator

1:30 pm            Office Hour | Brad Bullis, Digital Content & Innovation Coordinator

2:00 pm            Office Hour | Kymberlee Powe, Children’s & YA Consultant

2:30 pm            Office Hour | Christine Gauvreau, E-Rate Coordinator & LSTA Grants Coordinator

In late summer, the Utah State Library hosted a webinar series highlighting public libraries making the most of CARES Act funding. Public libraries in our state and across the country are rising to this opportunity in a myriad of ways: lending Chromebooks and hotspots; strategically planning and implementing expanded Wi-Fi in unconnected communities; expanding device loan programs and freely distributing refurbished devices; offering connectivity and training in non-traditional outposts beyond the library walls; and forming new partnerships and digital literacy brigades. Librarians and library staff are boldly working to propel forward access for all in our increasingly digital world.

Towards these efforts, DLD is working with Dr. Brian Real from Southern Connecticut State University’s Department of Information and Library Science to develop a survey and series of focus groups with Connecticut public libraries that will help us determine just what libraries need to know as they begin or continue to plan for digital inclusion services.

Please expect to receive a survey or invitation to a community conversation before the end of October. The results will help us to develop a truly useful workshop on digital inclusion services planning as well as leverage them to bring attention to the critical role that libraries in the state are playing in this moment of economic crisis and the need for funding to maintain and expand this work. So, please take the time to respond in a timely way to these queries!

 For more information, contact Chris Gauvreau, E-Rate Coordinator & LSTA Grants Coordinator, at christine.gauvreau@ct.gov.

Ready to register? Interested in more workshops? Visit our calendar.

For questions and more information please contact Professional Development Coordinator Gail Hurley at gail.hurley@ct.gov or (860) 704-2223.

Last month, we added 324 new titles to eGO CT's SimplyE app including:

With more CT libraries going live in SimplyE and rolling it out to their patrons, the CT State Library has purchased a total of 3,943 new items this year! Altogether, there are a total of 26,083 items now available to you and your patrons in SimplyE from the CT State Library and our partners.

Interested in joining? Contact Brad Bullis at bradley.bullis@ct.gov.

Good news! Beginning October 1, you will be able to request multiple copies at one time in requestIT. This will come in handy when requesting multiple copies for book discussion groups. When you place a hold on an item, you will see an option for number of copies in a drop-down allowing you to request anywhere from 1 to 25 copies. See the yellow highlight below.

We will use Explora and researchIT CT to review online resources available for classroom use. Magazines, newspapers, primary source documents and more will be discovered on multiple topics. We will use reading level limiters to narrow the results list along with demonstrating how the MYEBSCOhost folder can be used as a resource evaluation tool by the students.  Bring your questions and we will discover new ways to use these great resources.

The concepts and information shared will help any librarian better understand the researchIT databases and be able to share the information with students and patrons. This information will be particularly helpful in this time of remote and hybrid learning.All libraries, public and school, are welcome to attend any session.

Join us to review the options available within the administrative software for your EBSCO resources. We will look at settings for:

If you are the EBSCO administrator at your school or library and you want to give your EBSCO searching systems a tune-up this is the class for you!

Maria Bernier, State Data Coordinator, will show how to complete the Annual Report and address some common misconceptions. This is the final time the webinar will be offered before the Annual Report due date of 4 P.M. on Monday, November 16, 2020.

On the Annual Report webpage, you can find:

This year’s report has many new questions related to services during the COVID-19 pandemic, which were explained in webinars in May and June. You can view the recording from June 23 or review the presentation slides.

Questions? Contact Maria Bernier at maria.bernier@ct.gov.

If your library is thinking of applying for a construction grant from the CT State Library in 2021, plan to attend one of these sessions. 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.

This 88-page handbook has been updated with new contact information for DLD staff. The handbook is intended to assist Connecticut's public library directors, particularly those who are new to their positions. Download a copy.

All Connecticut public libraries are asked to participate in the gathering of Summer Reading statistics.

Only libraries that complete the Summer Statistics form will gain access to material provided by Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) which includes a yearly theme, graphics, incentive prizes, a manual full of book lists, program ideas, displays, and more!

Completed forms can be emailed to Kymberlee Powe at kymberlee.powe@ct.gov.

Browse this growing collection, including the titles below, accessible using the SimplyE app. Check with your local library to see if they participate in eGO.

These are just some highlights! See more new professional development titles.

Interested in borrowing any of these titles? Contact Judy Crooks at judy.crooks@ct.gov.

'Tis the season for voter registration! As there are a lot of questions this year about when and how to vote, we are happy to share some worthwhile resources for you and yours - a handy flow chart to help patrons (and us) figure out the voting process. Please note, these apply to CT only.

All credit and many thanks to Leah Farrell, Adult Programming & Community Services Librarian at Wallingford Public Library and her colleagues for the design skills and willingness to share! She happily encourages you to modify them to suit your needs.

There's more! If you need an editable version or one in Spanish, please feel free to contact Leah at lfarrell@wallingfordlibrary.org.