Weekly Wrap-up | May 20, 2022

In honor of International Dog Rescue Day

“The poor dog, in life the firmest friend, The first to welcome, foremost to defend…”

– Lord Byron

People

Initiatives and Announcements

New CT Pages!

Watch the new CT Pages and meet Kristine Oulman, Youth Services Librarian at the Easton Public Library who shares with us the experience of launching a Geocaching program during these pandemic years. Geocaching gets people outside discovering their town and learning about local plant and animal life. Collaborating with the Pollinator Pathway, a conservation project of the Easton Garden Club, the team selected eight destinations all of which encourage outdoor activity in beautiful nature settings. Each stop on the path has a small marker with information and QR code for participation tracking and feedback. Fieldtrip anyone?!

CT Pages is a channel for sharing community engagement success stories by libraries with and for their communities. We partner with CT libraries to create and release short video conversations with the library staff who make things happen.

Do you have a creative program, service, activity, partnership, or project that you want to share with your library neighbors? We are always seeking submissions for consideration – Submit your idea!

Join us!

CT Libraries & Partners for Digital Equity Coalition

Next meeting:

Tuesday, May 24 | 2-3:30 pm

Email christine.gauvreau@ct.gov

The new CT State Library effort to develop a coalition of libraries and partners to promote digital equity is well underway. In April, the new group, CT Libraries & Partners for Digital Equity (CTLPDE), adopted a six-month plan to increase the awareness of libraries, community organizations, and the public regarding the need for coordinated state plans to deliver computers, low-cost broadband, and, most critically, one-on-one and ongoing mentoring for unconnected or under-connected CT residents. 

CTLPDE is now turning its attention to planning for a public presence at Juneteenth festivals and a full range of activities with partners for the October 2022 Digital Inclusion Week.

Join CTLPDE

• Sign up if you are interested in joining CTLPDE and/or one of its committees (Education, Outreach, Strategic Communications, Community Information Collection, Media Presence).
• For questions about CTLPDE, contact Christine Gauvreau, christine.gauvreau@ct.gov or (860) 704-2224. 

Place

Workshops

988, Youth and Adult Mobile Crisis Service

Monday, May 23 | 1-2 pm

Register

When you have an emotional or mental health crisis, which number do you call? Starting July 2022 all you’ll need to do is call 988 anywhere in the United States. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is moving to a direct three-digit call/text and chat service that will help millions of Americans of all ages access support and services when experiencing any emotional and mental health crisis, not only thoughts of suicide. This 988 service will help end stigma toward those seeking or accessing mental healthcare, and will ensure that someone experiencing an emotional or mental health crisis has someone to talk to, someone to respond, and somewhere to go. It will also reduce the use of law enforcement and other safety resources for these types of crises, and reduce healthcare spending with more cost-effective early intervention. The CT Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) and the Department of Children and Families (DCF) will provide an overview of youth and adult mobile emergency crisis services available to CT residents.

GELS: Building Diverse Classroom Collections and Facilitating New Conversations

Tuesday, May 24 | 3-4 pm

Register

Join Kymberlee Powe, DLD's Children and YA Consultant as she guides educators and librarians on building diverse classrooms. You will learn how to identify the difference between a diverse collection and an inclusive one, how to perform a diversity audit, and where to find resources and book recommendations for increasing diversity and inclusion. Kym will offer ways to incorporate new books and topics into your classroom collection, and some tips for guiding conversations with students and parents about the new books.

Marketing and Strategic Communications

Thursday, May 26 | 10-11 am

Register

Are we passed COVID? Do we go back to normal marketing? Is there a hybrid approach? How do we get people back in the door? These are the types of questions that will be answered in this upcoming workshop provided by Libby Post, President/CEO of Communications Services, and a frequent CSL workshop facilitator.

View our calendar

Platform

CT Digital Library

2023 Nutmeg Award Winners Available in the Palace app!

This week the Nutmeg Award Winners were announced, and all titles are available in the Palace Project app. We also added 25 titles about Connecticut from the Palace Marketplace! The collection provided by the Connecticut State Library now exceeds 14,400 items!

We continue to add new content to the Palace Project app to support the 32 public libraries that have now moved into production and are actively sharing this free content with their patrons. View the complete list of Palace participating libraries.

Browse a sampling of titles available in Palace

If you are interested in going live in the Palace Project app now, you can join upon request by contacting Brad Bullis at bradley.bullis@ct.gov.

Please note, we are still waiting on OverDrive to allow us to add their content to the app. We will provide immediate access to the amazing FREE content from the CT State Library and your OverDrive content can be added seamlessly at a later date.

Children’s and Young Adult Services

Borrow a Book Bundle!

No time to browse our collection? We can do it for you, and we've got bundles of options with new, foreign, and underrated titles!

• Choose a Book Bundle with 15 middle grade titles or one with 25 YA titles.
• Check out one of these specially curated book bundles to your public or school library for 90 days.
• Have particular genres or titles in mind? Just drop us a note in the comment section of the booking system, and we will do our best to find what you need.

Can I let my patrons borrow them?

Yes! And you have options, here's how:

• You can add them to your ILS system with temporary bar codes to be checked out with a library card.
• Or, track it with the included index card:

1. Pull out the index card tucked into each book.
2. Use the index card to record the students name, contact information, library card - whatever helps you find them.
3. You keep the card, and the student borrows the book.
4. When the book comes back, tuck the index card back in the book.
5. Just remember to have them return the book in time for the whole bundle to be returned to us!

---

Division of Library Development | Middletown Library Service Center
786 South Main Street | Middletown, CT 06457
libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld | (203) 704-2200

CT State Library is an Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Employer.

© 2016 CT State Library. All rights reserved.

Ashley Sklar (she/ her) | Adult Services and Community Engagement Consultant, Division of Library Development

ashley.sklar@ct.gov | Office: (860) 704-2222

libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld | 786 South Main St. Middletown, CT 06457 | Fax: (860) 704-2228