All the puppets and dolls you see here may be borrowed from the Service Centers.  Click on the puppet you are interested in borrowing, note the name and barcode number of the item you wish to borrow.  Then contact one of the Service Center staff members below with your request to borrow.  Puppets and dolls may be booked ahead of time for specific programs in your library.

Project photographer:  Diane Stielau, MLSC.

To book and borrow puppets and dolls, contact:

• Middletown Library Service Center:Judy Crooks, phone (860)704-2205, or (800)437-2313, fax (860)704-2228.

• Willimantic Library Service Center:Susan Cormier, phone (860)456-1717 ext. 301, or (800)253-7944, fax (860)423-5874. You may use our online catalog to place holds on WLSC puppets.

Arthur’s Gang Dolls

Bears

Birds

Book Character Dolls

Cats

Circus and Zoo Animals

Dinosaurs

Dogs

Fantasy

Farm Animals

Hand Puppets

Human Characters

Insects & Spiders

Miscellaneous

Other

Primates

Reptiles and Amphibians

Sea Creatures

The Service Centers expect the new system to be in place in about two weeks.  Until then, libraries can use reQuest for searching for library material at the Centers.  Or libraries may call the Centers directly for assistance.  The Centers remain open for business during this transition period.

Our official project photographer, Diane Stielau, will add more photos and information in the coming weeks.  Borrowing information can be found at the Service Center Gallery of Puppets.

We haven’t had this much fun at the Service Centers since the iCONN pencils arrived!

The survey will be up until May 23.  Thanks for your help!

Many excellent but expensive books arrive each month at the Service Centers from A.L.A, Neal-Schuman, Libraries Unlimited, Library Video Network, and others.  By keeping track of these new arrivals you can keep up with the latest library trends and save money by borrowing rather than buying.

• New Large Print titles (you can ask for up to 25 items at a time, any genre you like)
• New Books on CD and/or Playaways
• Children’s picture books on seasonal themes (winter, spring, easter, etc.)
• Children’s books to support school projects
• Children’s Programming Materials (Story-hour kits, Book Props, Board Book Sets, Puppets, Book Discussion Sets, etc.)

If you can’t keep up with patron demand in any of these areas, then help is as close as a phone call or an email to one of the Service Centers. Find out more on how to borrow. You may call or email either MLSC or WLSC. If you prefer to choose your own material, then you may place holds on our online catalog and the available items will be on their way to you the next day.

• Extra Children’s Holiday Books…you probably always run out! (Search a holiday by subject and the newest books appear at the top of the list. You can limit by Age Level in Advanced Search)
• New Large Print Books (Use the Advanced Catalog and limit “Type” to Large Print. Newest lists first)
• Books on Compact Disk (Use the Advanced Catalog and limit “Type” to Books on CD)
• Professional Library Material (Use the “Collection Lists” to find what is relevant and new for you)

All you need to do to place holds so that the Centers can send the material to you by Ccar is to know your library’s “User ID Number.” Email tnewman@cslib.org if you don’t know it already. Once you find something in the online catalog that you want to borrow, click on “Details” and “Place Hold.” “On shelf” items will be on Ccar to you the next morning.

See the Introduction to the Service Centers for more information on how borrowing from the Centers works. If you are unfamiliar with the Service Center collections, see What the Service Centers Can Do For Your Library.