This Month at CLC:
DECEMBER 2022
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TAKE YOUR CHILD TO THE LIBRARY DAY 2023
It's bigger. It's better. You're going to want to be a part of it.
Ellen Paul
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For all of my public library friends: Have you thought about what your library is doing for Take Your Child to the Library Day?
I’ll admit, when I was a public library director, I was initially not keen on the idea of Take Your Child to the Library Day. I thought the name was a mouthful. Plus, Saturdays were always really hard to schedule and I just didn’t see the point to going through all of this work in February.
Here’s the thing, though. I was wrong. And I thank the children’s librarians in East Hampton, Michele Kaminski and April Hannon, for pointing out my error. Take Your Child to the Library Day grew in East Hampton to be the second biggest event of the year behind summer reading kickoff. And the funny thing was, it wasn’t actually that hard to pull off.
Take Your Child to the Library Day can be anything. It can be coloring sheets or a scavenger hunt or an ice cream social or a story time. It doesn’t have to be a big extravaganza (although if that’s what you want, we’ve got an amazing list of discounted performers for you). It can be anything. That’s why almost 1,500 libraries participated in this event last year.
Take Your Child to the Library Day has grown from a small statewide initiative born out of Waterford, Connecticut to an international event thanks to the work of Nadine Lipman, Caitlin Augusta and Amanda Stern. And it’s growing even more this year.
We’re excited to launch the first ever public-facing Take Your Child to the Library Day website. Check it out here. We’re going to use this site to publicize the heck out of this event this year. Why? Because people need to know the importance of the library in the life of a child.
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So, this year, join us! Make a plan, get your library on the map, then use the new website to tell your community all about this special day. Let’s get people back in the library and let’s make this February’s Take Your Child to the Library Day the most successful ever. Because as always, we’re stronger together.
Ellen
Ellen Paul, Executive Director
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TAKE YOUR CHILD TO THE LIBRARY DAY:
7 STEPS TO SUCCESS!
Amanda Stern
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Here are seven steps to make this your library’s best (or first!) Take Your Child to the Library Day celebration ever. Watch our new videos for inspiration!
1. COMMIT. As Ellen mentioned in her column above, it’s easy to underestimate the importance of a celebration like this, and it’s easy to let reasons why you can’t participate get in the way. This year, commit to participate in a way that makes sense for your library.
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2. PLAN. Take Your Child to the Library Day celebrations can be big and bold, but only if that's what you want! Celebrating can be as simple as welcoming in visitors to select a book and read with a caregiver. You may have regular programs scheduled on Take Your Child to the Library Day – use these as your TYCLD programming!
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3. REGISTER. By registering, you’ll get your library on the map – and because this year we now have a public-facing website, folks in your community will be looking for you! Also, CLC does statewide publicity and media outreach for TYCLD, and you’ll be included when you let us know your plans.
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4. PROMOTE. Make sure your community knows that you’ll be celebrating Take Your Child to the Library Day! Reach out to partner organizations so they can help spread the word. Utilize all your publicity channels – email, social media, website, flyers. Connect with local journalists to share what you’re doing. And don’t be afraid to invite in your elected officials!
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5. EXECUTE. Now that the planning and promotion is done, it’s time for the really fun part: hosting your event. Have a great time showcasing what your library has to offer. Remember to take lots of pictures and share them with the hashtag #takeyourchildtothelibraryday.
6. REPORT. After Take Your Child to the Library Day is over, we’ll follow up with you with a quick wrap-up survey. We want to know what you did, how it went, what stories you have to share! We use the information for our wrap up report and statistics, and to continue to improve TYCLD.
7. REPEAT! With this Take Your Child to the Library Day under your belt, you can start thinking about what you’ll do next year!
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A big shout-out to Stratford Library's multi-talented and boundlessly energetic Caitlin Augusta for the videos! If you have questions about TYCLD, I’m only an email away.
Amanda
Amanda Stern, Events & Special Projects Manager
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WORKING ON YOUR BUDGET?
S-T-R-E-T-C-H those precious dollars with CLC discounts!
Jacqueline Cashin
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Hello! This month many of us are working on our new fiscal year budgets. This is a good time to think about your projects for the year ahead and the supplies you may need to complete them. To help you plan for all these projects, CLC has contracts with great discounts that can help.
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Do you need new chairs in the children’s room? We have a furniture contract for that.
- Do you need a drop box or a book scanner? On January 1 we will have a library equipment contract that will give you great discounts on everything you need.
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We can offer you library and maker supplies that are already on the supplies contract, and we are re-opening the contract to offer you art, school, and business supplies as well.
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Don’t forget all the digital resources that you need. We have 36 suppliers offering many types of resources for you, with more on the way later this year.
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We have books and non-print resources as well that will complete your planning, with helpful, knowledgeable staff members that are only a phone call away.
CLC is also planning many exciting projects in the new year! We are re-opening the supplies, digital, book and furniture contracts to get the latest and greatest products on contract for you, with deep discounts to help with difficult budgets.
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As always, call CLC whenever you have a question about how to use your membership to the fullest extent possible. Have a wonderful holiday season!
Jackie
Jacqueline Cashin, Bids & Contracts Manager
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NAVIGATING CLC'S BOOK DISCOUNTS
Julie Yulo-Medeiros
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CLC has contracts with 16 book suppliers, from worldwide distributors to specialty publishers. Here are a few links and tips to help you quickly get started with CLC's book suppliers and take advantage of the savings and services they offer.
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GENERAL OVERVIEWS
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CLC Book Contracts - This is a great place to start your research. It has links and brief descriptions for all of our book vendors.
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Book savings pages by library type - Publics, Schools, Academics, Specials. These pages have a little more information about each vendor, with links to their pages on our site. You will only see vendors that serve your library type.
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JUST FOR MEMBERS
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Book Discounts Member Guide - more on this below
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Book Discounts Webinar - General overview for all library types
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Book Discounts Webinar for PreK-12 Schools - Recording of October's book discount review session for school members
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AT A GLANCE summaries - One for each supplier. These are a quick way to look at a specific supplier’s discounts, how to order, shipping, cataloging/processing, and contact information.
Book Discount Member Guide - Available on our book contracts for members page, this 20 page guide will help you quickly compare suppliers and their offerings. My two favorite things in the guide are:
- The charts, especially the one comparing discounts, shipping, and processing.
- The individual pages for each distributor and publisher, with key information such as discounts, how to order, shipping, cataloging/processing, and contacts.
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HOW TO FIND EVERYTHING
Please don’t go yet, because there are two additional ways to quickly see CLC’s current contracts with ALL of our suppliers:
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Remember, because your library is a CLC member, everyone in your organization can take advantage of CLC’s contracts with our 90+ suppliers. Tell your teachers, faculty, and colleagues in other departments. And please contact me if I can help in any way.
Julie
Julie Yulo-Medeiros, Member Relations Manager
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HIVECLASS
A unique new product to help kids stay active and learn sports
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Hiveclass is a startup company offering a unique product: a digital library of short, professionally-produced videos designed to help kids hone their sports skills and stay active. When we evaluated Hiveclass for our digital resource bid, we were so impressed that we brought them on contract for CT libraries. And the library world is taking notice! CLC director Ellen Paul was interviewed for this Library Journal article about Hiveclass. Best of all, CLC members can get Hiveclass for an exclusive discounted price. See if Hiveclass is a good fit for your library:
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CHANGES TO SCHOLASTIC DIGITAL & TURNITIN
Important update for current CLC customers
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Does your library or school purchase Scholastic Digital products (Bookflix and the other "flix" products, Scholastic GO, and more) or Turnitin through CLC? If so, we want to make sure you are aware of an important change to the ordering process that went into effect earlier this year. Instead of getting your quotes and invoices from CLC, you will now work directly with each vendor's sales representative:
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SCHOLASTIC
Contact for quotes & invoices:
Tina Roller
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TURNITIN
Contact for quotes & invoices:
Heather Simone
510-764-7825
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Please note that while your pricing may be different from last year, you will still receive CLC’s contracted price, which is the lowest price available to Connecticut libraries.
CLC has been partnering with Scholastic and Turnitin for many years, and we’re glad that through our new contracts we can continue to help our CLC member libraries afford their outstanding products. For help navigating the Turnitin and Scholastic changes, or questions about CLC’s other discounts and contracts, please reach out to Julie Yulo-Medieros at CLC: jyulo@ctlibrarians.org or 860.740.3042.
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THIS MONTH'S VENDOR WEBINAR
You'll learn a lot in 30 minutes!
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Readers' Advisory Tips to Create Amazing Online Patron Experiences
A BIBLIOCOMMONS WEBINAR FOR CLC PUBLIC LIBRARIES
Thursday, Dec. 8 at 1:00pm
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Imagine that you have a beautiful, engaging, easy-to-use online catalog. Now imagine your carefully curated recommended book lists on every topic under the sun, all perfectly integrated with that catalog. Your patrons are delighted. You and your colleagues feel empowered. Your materials are flying off the digital and physical shelves. It's library nirvana.
Join CLC staff and our BiblioCommons representative at this webinar to learn how.
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Ready to boost your leadership skills and credentials?
BECOME A CLC ROUNDTABLE CHAIR!
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Are you passionate about library work? Do you enjoy talking with your colleagues about what’s going on in your library and sharing ideas for programs and services? Are you looking for a way to boost your organizational and leadership skills? If so, you may be the one we’ve been looking for!
Have you ever considered becoming a roundtable chair?
Serving as a CLC roundtable chair is a low-risk, high-support way to dip your toes into library leadership. And there’s never been a better time to join our ranks! We are looking for chairs (or co-chairs) for the following groups:
- Library Fundraising and Development
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Resource Sharing (formerly Interlibrary Loan)
- Reference & Instruction
If you are interested in exploring whether this opportunity would be a good fit for you, please contact Amanda Stern at CLC - astern@ctlibrarians.org or 860.740.3044.
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ROUNDTABLE ROUNDUP
These are online meetings unless otherwise noted.
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Social Justice Roundtable
Tuesday 12/6 at 2:00pm
WRITING A SOCIAL JUSTICE MISSION STATEMENT FOR YOUR LIBRARY
Join us at our next meeting as we welcome Elizabeth Lane, Bloomfield Public Library Director. She will discuss all aspects of writing a mission statement for your library that states the library's commitment to social justice that is multi-dimensional, internal as well as external, and tied to a strategic plan.
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Department Heads & Supervisors Roundtable
Friday 12/9 at 10:00am
LIBRARY LEADER SHOW & TELL
Join us for a panel presentation from CT library leaders to learn about their different roles and the challenges and successes associated with their positions in their org charts. The "show and tell" will help highlight how we do similar things differently throughout CT libraries and how we manage up, down, and sideways in our various roles.
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Academic Library Roundtable: Archives & Special Collections
Tuesday 12/13 at 11:00am
CT DIGITAL ARCHIVE
Greg Colati, Director of the CT Digital Archive, will join us to discuss the CTDA: how it works, how to join, and the CTDA’s newest program, “My Town, My Story."
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Adult Programming Roundtable
Tuesday 12/13 at 1:00pm
"BUT, HOW DO YOU GET YOUR IDEAS?"
Where do you get your new programming ideas? Do you have any guidelines in place to organize your ideas? For example, your library's strategic plan. Sometimes it can be a challenge to have hot new topics to offer. Let's inspire each other as we plan for 2023 and beyond.
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Gaming Roundtable
Wednesday 12/14 at 2:00pm
BUILDING YOUR BOARD GAME COLLECTION
Are you ready to put board games in your collection, but you're not sure which ones to purchase? Are you looking for fresh titles your public will love? Join us as we share ideas on how to build your library's board game collection.
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We are delighted to welcome CLC's newest members:
Thank you for joining CLC and over 950 libraries across Connecticut in saving, learning, and collaborating. We're stronger together!
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CLC loves to celebrate our members! We have a page on our website that we're updating monthly with news from Connecticut libraries - new hires, promotions, awards, grants, and other celebrations. This month you'll find news about ...
Avon Free Public Library
Brookfield Library
Burnham Library
E.C. Scranton Library
Easton Public Library
Essex Library
Farmington Libraries
Greenwich Library
Hartford Public Library
Henry Carter Hull Library
Ledyard Public Library
Manchester Public Library
Plainville Public Library
Southbury Public Library
Want to be included next month? Submit your news to Amanda Stern at astern@ctlibrarians.org by December 20. Academic, school, and special libraries - we want to hear from you too!
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