BlogJunction Connecticut » CT Library Community

10 Myths about Connecticut Public Libraries

Tom Newman — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:16:07 +0000

For a different look at what statistics do and don’t tell us about Connecticut public libraries, check out this “10 Myths…” article on page 18 of the April 2013 issue of the CONNector, the newsletter of the Connecticut State Library.

Promoting Financial Literacy

Tom Newman — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 18:58:04 +0000

Has your library registered? It is not too late. Money Smart Week @ Your Library is an initiative to promote financial literacy to your patrons by offering free seminars and activities throughout the week. Register by January 2 to be a part of Connecticut’s initiative this year. Money Smart Week programs are held April 20-27, 2013. The Division of Library Development has put together a page of resources for you to use when looking for programs and speakers. Questions? Feel free to contact Mary Engels, Gail Hurley, or Dawn La Valle, your Division of Library Development Money Smart Week team.

E-Book Task Force White Paper

Tom Newman — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 17:06:01 +0000

The Connecticut State Library’s Advisory Council for Library Planning and Development (ACLPD) created an ebook task force charged with examining library practices and license agreements, exploring issues of ebook compliance with Connecticard regulations, investigating the possibility of a state-wide ebook cooperative, and generating some best practice recommendations for Connecticut libraries looking to purchase ebook content. The E-Book Task Force White Paper is now available on WebJunction Connecticut.

Public Library Annual Report

Tom Newman — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:53:01 +0000

Information on completing the 2012 Annual Report and Application for State Aid has just gone out by e-mail to all public library directors. If you are a library director who did not receive this information, please let me know.

The Annual Report is critical for state and national data gathering on public libraries. For more information, a list of changes, an instruction sheet, and a 15-minute online tutorial, go to the Public Library Annual Statistical Report.

Per regulations, the DEADLINE for submission is 4 P.M. on November 15, 2012. The preliminary version of the “Statistical Profile of CT Public Libraries” should be available shortly thereafter. For more information on the Annual Report and Statistical Profile, go to Library Statistics on WebJunction Connecticut.

Please contact Tom Newman with questions.

The State Library’s Linda Williams Wins Faith Hektoen Award

Tom Newman — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:54:59 +0000

The Faith Hektoen Award is given annually by the Children’s Section of the Connecticut Library Association to recognize the efforts of an individual or group that has made an impact on library services to children in Connecticut at the local, regional, or state level. The 2012 winner is Linda Williams who works at the Willimantic Library Service Center. See the nomination summary for more. Linda will receive her award at the upcoming CLA Conference. Congratulations, Linda!

Annual Reports Showcase

Tom Newman — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:54:19 +0000

As promised, WebJunction Connecticut now has an “Annual Reports Showcase” of Connecticut Public Libraries. These are some of the annual reports public libraries produce for their communities.

Thanks go out to the libraries that sent me their Annual Reports so that other libraries could see the great work being done in libraries and get ideas for their own reports. If you would like your library’s report added, please send me the document or a link. Thanks! Tom Newman

Connecticard Loans Nearly 5 Million Per Year

Tom Newman — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:31:36 +0000

Despite budget cuts, reduced hours, and tighter materials budgets, borrowing by non-residents at Connecticut public libraries remains at a high level. Connecticut public libraries lent 4,916,021 items to non-residents during the 2011-2012 year (which ended February 28). Connecticard loans have remained about the same for the last three years. Information on Connecticard loans, borrowing, and payments for libraries should be available on WebJunction Connecticut the week of March 26. Connecticard and Connecticar are crucial to the State Library’s efforts to provide equity of access to library services.

Friends of Connecticut Libraries Schedules Spring Boot Camp for April 21st

Tom Newman — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:51:37 +0000

Boot Camp 2012 will be held his at the University of Hartford, Gray Conference Center, on Saturday, April 21^st. Our theme focuses on how Friends groups communicate with both their membership and their community. The program consists of a main speaker, an introduction to the new FOCL on-line Directory, and three discussion groups. To register for Boot Camp and for more information, go to www.FOCLib.org

Important Changes to WebJunction Connecticut

Tom Newman — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:58:04 +0000

The State Library continues its partnership with OCLC’s WebJunction project as it makes some important enhancements in the coming months. In mid-March WebJunction Connecticut will disappear as a standalone domain (ct.webjunction.org) and will become one of the partner sections on a new www.webjunction.org. This means all our current content will be moved to a new section of the main WebJunction website. Navigation, organization, and functionality should improve with this new Connecticut section of WebJunction. All the web content of the State Library’s Division of Library Development will continue to appear on WebJunction rather than in the State Library’s main web site. And those who have book-marked specific web pages on our current ct.webjunction.org site will be re-directed to the appropriate page on the new web site.

As part of the upgrade, online self-paced courses will be made available in a separate system so that WebJunction members can plan and manage their course-taking more easily. As a consequence of this change, however, you will lose a record of all incomplete courses that you are still enrolled in on February 29. You should complete those courses before the 29^th, if you can.

Also, all WebJunction Connecticut members who have logged into WebJunction since July 2010 will automatically have their membership account transferred to the new WebJunction website. If you have not signed in since then, however, you will want to do so before February 29 or lose your account.

The State Library looks forward to its continued partnership with WebJunction in providing professional development and continuing education opportunities for Connecticut’s library staff.

Survey for a Survey

Tom Newman — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:10:02 +0000

Attention Public Library Staff Who Completed the 2011 Annual Report for the State Library:

Thanks go out to those who helped fill out the Report last fall. Before the State Library examines what should be on next year’s Report, we would like to get some feedback from those of you who will have to suffer through it. We are not expecting the Report to change much, but we would appreciate getting your answers/opinions on some of these questions: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CTAnnualReportSurvey

A short survey, there are only 10 questions. Thanks for your help.