MISSION The Connecticut Library Consortium is a statewide membership collaborative serving all types of Connecticut libraries by initiating and facilitating cost-effective services, creating and supporting educational and professional development, and helping libraries to strengthen their ability to serve their users.
HISTORY
VISION The Connecticut Library Consortium will: Provide a forum for the sharing of information, ideas, and expertise. Facilitate and create partnerships among different types of libraries and statewide and community agencies who share the same goals. Identify trends and promote the effective use of technology in libraries. Support the continuing education of library staff through programming and training opportunities. Leverage the buying power of its member libraries to provide materials and services to libraries of all sizes in all regions of the state.
VALUES The Connecticut Library Consortium values include: Respect for all libraries and librarians. Responsiveness to member needs. Equity of service across types and sizes of libraries. Equal access to information for Connecticut citizens. Commitment to the education of Connecticut's citizens through libraries.
CLC was founded on July 1, 2003, the result of the merger of four regional **Cooperating Library Service Units (CLSUs)–Capitol Region Library Council, Eastern Connecticut Libraries, Southern Connecticut Library Council, and Western Connecticut Library Council. The creation of CLSUs was authorized in 1975 by the Connecticut General Assembly, which then funded CLSUs in 1981. Originally there were six CLSUs, one for each region of the state as defined by the CLSU Review Board. In 1993, however, the Southeastern Connecticut Library Association and the Eastern Connecticut Library Association
merged into Eastern Connecticut Libraries, and the Region One Cooperative and the Southwestern Connecticut Library Council merged into Western Connecticut Library Council. **Cooperating Library Service Unit is defined in Sec. 11-9e of Connecticut State statutes as “an organization of different types of libraries situated in a stipulated area of the state whose purpose is to improve library service through coordinated planning, resource sharing, and the development of programs too costly or impractical for a single library to maintain.”
A word from our Executive Director,
Christine Bradley CLC has had the same five goals since its inception five years ago— Cooperative Purchasing, Continuing Education, Community Partnerships, Resource Sharing, and Communications. These same goals will steer our efforts five years from now, but they will be accomplished by new projects determined by the needs of CLC’s 900 member libraries and designed by CLC’s Board of Directors. Although CLC’s never-changing goals are accomplished by ever-changing projects, the first and most important goal is always COOPERATIVE PURCHASING. CLC staff never forget that it is all about the discounts! The big contracts that CLC negotiates for books, media, and supplies yield member libraries the annual savings that justify and pay for their annual membership dues. And each year brings ideas for new ways to save money by using the power of CLC’s collective library purse. InfoAnytime, CLC/OCLC Direct and now maybe Open Source are big statewide projects, but the increasing number of smaller projects like discounts on movie licensing, BookFlix, databases, equipment, and eBooks are important to those libraries that brought those needs to our attention.
JULY 2003
Everything else we do falls in line, either to promote, or as a result of, Cooperative Purchasing. CONTINUING EDUCATION includes the many roundtables for library staff at whose meetings CLC staff get their ideas for new and improved discount opportunities. We also save money by bringing expert training opportunities to CT, so that member libraries can stay on the cutting edge even while they are cutting travel expenses. COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, like CLC’s relationships with CREC, WALDO, and other consortia and non-profits, often result in additional discounts for CLC’s member libraries. Partnering with regional community foundations and state agencies has yielded additional grant awards. RESOURCE SHARING projects like the media cooperatives and the Library Resources Online Catalog are used by member libraries to stretch their materials and programs budgets even further, so they can do more with less. Finally, COMMUNICATIONS is always a challenge for any library organization, including CLC. (We librarians are careful stewards of others’ public and private funds; we like to spend money on stuff, not fluff!) We are learning, however, that information about what libraries (and library consortia) have to offer is necessary if we are to get the biggest bang for our budget bucks. Therefore, CLC’s excellent librarians’ library website provides up-to-date information about CLC programs and services as well as issues affecting libraries and librarianship, and CONNtext and the CLClist keep our 1200 subscribing librarians apprised of new discount offers.
CLC opens with transition staff and a state grant of just $150,000 for FY2003-2004.
FALL 2003
Chris Bradley is hired as Executive Director, Pattie Noren and Jan Gluz hired to retain their original CLSU positions and Deb Zulick joins staff as Project Coordinator. These are the only full-time positions.
WINTER 2003/04
CLC is fully staffed and offers discounts, media circuits, ILL, roundtables, public programming, a website and a monthly newsletter. The 2004 Legislative Campaign for Connecticut's Libraries kicks off with "Wednesdays at the Capitol" and bright red "@" pins.
COOPERATIVE PURCHASING Every town in Connecticut benefits from CLC. Membership gives libraries many different opportunities to strengthen their services, but cooperative purchasing is perhaps the number one reason libraries join. CLC has saved libraries millions by leveraging the buying power of nearly 900 members, negotiating deep discounts and administering statewide contracts on hundreds of materials, services and supplies needed by libraries such as books, software, databases, equipment, media and much more. Last year, member libraries saved nearly six million dollars on books alone through CLC’s statewide book contract with Baker & Taylor.
WALDO - Partnering with WALDO (Westchester Academic Library Directors Organization) allows CLC members to take advantage of negotiated pricing on approximately 60 highly sought-after databases.
CLC/OCLC Direct: Core Services - CLC has partnered with OCLC to save member libraries money on critical OCLC services. Cataloging, ILL, and Access Services are billed directly to libraries by OCLC, with no added surcharges, membership costs, or other fees. Libraries have the option of annual or monthly after-the-fact billing, or an interest-earning deposit account.
CLC establishes partnership with WALDO to provide discounted databases, exhibits for the first time at the CLA conference, and receives the good news that the CT General Assembly assigned $300,000 for CLC for FY2004-2005, doubling the Governor's recommended budget.
SPRING 2004
SUMMER 2004 CLC's 1st Annual Meeting and Reception at the CT Historical Society, finishing the year with all previously noted services plus 19 active roundtables, an online Public Programming Catalog, and CLClist - all while keeping membership dues level.
RESOURCE SHARING CLC administers a variety of resource sharing programs to enable libraries to provide services that would be too costly for them to offer on their own. CLC's statewide contacts and administrative framework provide the perfect vehicle to enable libraries to cooperate with each other, realize cost savings, and expand the suite of services they offer their users.
Media Coops - CLC's media coops enable over 70 libraries across the state to substantially expand their non-print collections at minimal expense. Libraries pay an annual fee to enhance their coop's offerings, and meet periodically to swap DVDs, books on CD or cassette, foreign language DVDs, and Playaway audiobooks, ensuring a constantly changing collection for their patrons.
InfoAnytime - The InfoAnytime Virtual Reference CLC/CCALD Reciprocal Borrowing Program Service is a perfect example of CLC's successful resource sharing. By going to a participating library's website or to www.infoanytime.org, Connecticut's citizens and students can connect with a professional, highly-trained reference librarian who will help them navigate through the increasingly complex world of web-based research. These librarians conduct live, real-time reference interviews via online chat, and provide answers and resources in the form of website and online database citations. The user may interact with both the websites provided and the librarian until his/her question has been answered satisfactorily. To provide this service alone, a large library could expect to pay around $20,000 per year - too much for nearly any library's budget. CLC is able to administer and offer this project statewide, substantially lowering the price to only hundreds of dollars per library, saving municipal and academic budget dollars. In FY 2007, more than 130 public libraries and 30 academic libraries in Connecticut joined together to offer this new online research service to the public.
Administered by CLC, this program allows the faculty, staff and students of more than twenty participating CCALD (Council of Connecticut Academic Library Directors) libraries to borrow library resources from one another.
Library Resource Online Catalog - This online clearinghouse brings together contact information and summaries for hundreds of cultural and educational programs and performers, authors, library consultants, vendors, funding opportunities and other services libraries need, all in one place for easy research and communication.
More - OCLC Interlibrary Loan services contracted through the Donohue Group for a low per-transaction fee, collaborative booklists for holiday gift-giving and summer reading, and an annually updated directory of museums and other institutions offering library passes are just a few examples of the ways CLC helps libraries extend their budgets and services by working together.
SPRING 2005 CLC Board votes to spend $2,000 to launch a pilot virtual reference project at five community college libraries. New roundtables include reference, tech services, reader's advisory and "SOAR," or Services to Older Adults.
WINTER 2004/05
CLC relocates its main office from Hamden to "The White House," adjacent to the Russell Library in Middletown, and rolls out the welcome mat for members at the organization's 2nd annual meeting.
CONTINUING EDUCATION Through a variety of continuing education opportunities roundtables, workshops, vendor showcases, webinars, symposiums and more - CLC encourages the continued professional development of library workers. Each year, CLC's roundtable chairs, volunteer committee members, and staff plan and coordinate over one hundred programs featuring some of the most respected speakers and scholars in the field, enabling our state's libraries to stay on the cutting edge of trends, technology and services.
CLC/OCLC Direct Training - CLC contracts with OCLC to provide convenient, customized training options for member libraries. Designed by and for CLC members, the program draws from the extensive portfolio of education opportunities offered by OCLC.
Roundtables - CLC's roundtables provide an opportunity for staff from different libraries but with similar responsibilities and interests to come together to share knowledge and ideas about a variety of professional topics and emerging issues.
Special Events - CLC's rapidly-expanding suite of learning opportunities is designed to address members' educational needs, from the practical (seminars on law, money, human resources and retirement planning; vendor showcases; discount days) to the inspirational (annual Trendspotting symposia; bus trips to BookExpo America and PLA).
CLC completes development on its new "Library Resources Online Catalog"; partners with the Fairfield County Children's Roundtable to support its 2005 summer reading program, "We Dig Summer Reading"; and works with BookExpo America to bring CT librarians discounted admission and travel to BEA - now an annual pilgrimage for many members.
SUMMER 2005
FALL 2005 CLC's first Trendspotting symposium launches libraries into the future. The virtual reference pilot, now dubbed "InfoAnytime," expands to include schools, public libraries and more academics.
COMMUNICATION Through its website, member listserv, online discussion groups and monthly newsletter, CLC offers members a strong communication network and a robust forum for the exchange of information, ideas and expertise.
CONNtext - CLC's monthly newsletter for member library staff features the latest news pertaining to the organization, its members, and issues affecting libraries in Connecticut and nationwide.
ctlibrarians.org - The "go-to" place for timely information of interest to Connecticut library workers, ctlibrarians.org serves as a clearinghouse for all information and resources for CLC members discount details, special offers, events calendar and online program registration, and much more.
Connecticut Library Jobs - One of CLC's first and most popular services, now offered in partnership with the CT Library Association, Connecticut's ultimate job resource for library professionals provides online access to job openings at public, academic, school and special libraries statewide. Job searchers can sign up for an RSS feed, delivering new job listings directly to their feedreader or e-mailbox.
Online Discussion Groups - Using freely available technology from Google, CLC sponsors and oversees online discussion groups for each of its roundtables, facilitating communication and idea exchange even when in-person meetings are impractical.
CLClist - Over 1,200 members subscribe to CLC's electronic mailing list to hear up-to-the-minute news about CLC discount offers, upcoming events and new initiatives.
Advocacy - CLC's staff and Board of Directors work to increase public awareness of libraries and library services through speaking engagements, blogs, editorials, and TV and radio appearances.
SPRING 2006
WINTER 2005/06
CLC co-sponsors "Love Your Library" days at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, helping raise $8,000 for Connecticut's libraries. Proceeds were used to purchase an additional iCONN database.
CLC hosts vendor showcases for business databases and library display systems, coordinates multiple buses to the PLA conference in Boston, and partners with the Department of Environmental Protection on their "No Child Left Inside" initiative, garnering free state park passes for all public libraries. The Donohue Group takes over CLC's ILL service.
GRANTS AND STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS CLC establishes relationships and partnerships with government and social service organizations and other non-profits to expand the organization’s reputation, establish contacts and advocate on behalf of libraries. CLC seeks and administers grants on behalf of member libraries and facilitates grant-funded projects across numerous institutions. CLC takes advantage of other fundraising and marketing opportunities to benefit libraries, such as the Barnes & Noble “Love Your Library” fundraiser. And CLC forms strategic alliances with non-profits, government agencies and other organizations. Notable successful partnerships include “No Child Left Inside” with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, and financial education programs with the Office of the State Treasurer.
OUR PARTNERS: COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SOUTHEASTERN CT • COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR GREATER NEW HAVEN • MIDDLESEX COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION • IMLS • REI • FAMILY DAY COMMITTEE • BARNES AND NOBLE BOOKSELLERS • NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS “BIG READ” • STAMFORD HOSPITAL • CT BOOK PARTY • CT FOREST & PARKS ASSOCIATION • CT DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION • “NO CHILD LEFT INSIDE” • DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES • CT STATE TREASURER’S OFFICE • CREC • INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ARTS & IDEAS • ANTI DEFAMATION LEAGUE CT • NORTH CENTRAL AREA AGENCY ON AGING • NEWS CHANNEL 8 / MYTV9 • NEW BRITAIN ROCK CATS • APPLEBEE’S RESTAURANTS • MCDONALD’S • WADSWORTH ATHENEUM
SUMMER 2006 InfoAnytime, no longer a pilot, "soft launches" with 24 academic and 128 public library participants. Capital Community College hosts CLC's 3rd annual meeting, where Pat Holloway, then director of New Britain Public Library, was presented with CLC's first annual Cooperative Spirit Award.
It's an InfoAnytime media blitz, with taglines "It's 2 a.m. Do you know where your librarian is?" and "It's Sunday night and your librarian wonders if you're ever going to call." School libraries rush to take advantage of CLC's partnership with Movie Licensing USA for discounted public performance site licenses. And "Trendspotting II: Searching the Future" inspires over 100 attendees.
FALL 2006
STAFF Christine Bradley Executive Director cbradley@ctlibrarians.org
Kathy Charbonneau Newsletter Editor kcharbonneau@ctlibrarians.org
Donna K. Flatley Part-Time Office Manager dkflatley@ctlibrarians.org
Kirsten Kilbourn Part-Time Project Coordinator kkilbourn@ctlibrarians.org
Pattie Noren Membership and Discount Manager pnoren@ctlibrarians.org
Christine Sarrazin Website Manager csarrazin@ctlibrarians.org
Deborah Zulick Operations and Grants Manager dzulick@ctlibrarians.org
SPRING 2007
Manchester Community College takes the crown in the first annual "May Madness" InfoAnytime Challenge, with Bloomfield's Prosser Library winning for "Best Transcript." Members strengthen their governance skills with CLC- sponsored workshops "Law for Libraries" and "Smart Money, Smart Planning."
SUMMER 2007
24 libraries and two networks sign on to CLC/OCLC Direct, CLC's partnership with OCLC to procure OCLC core products and services and customized training for members. CLC's fourth annual meeting takes place at the Middletown Inn as Middletown's annual Cruise Night revs up the crowd outside. InfoAnytime en Espanol is launched. The CT General Assembly allocates $150,000 for InfoAnytime.
CLC BOARD OF DIRECTORS CLC is governed and guided by an elected, volunteer Board of Directors, representative of the membership geographically and by type and size of institution. Board Members are library professionals from diverse backgrounds – including public, academic and special library directors, as well as school library media specialists – who are committed to cooperation with colleagues. With over 500 years of combined professional experience, CLC’s strong board leadership brings sound decision making. Left: Board members pose outside CLC’s offices at the 2005 Annual Meeting
Francine Aloisa
Susan Burke
Keith Stetson
Carl Antonucci
Mary Etter
South Windsor Public Library
Amy Terlaga
Capital Community College Library
Dr. Randi L. Ashton-Pritting
Sandra Ruoff
Alison Wang
University of Hartford Libraries
Guilford Free Library
Naugatuck Community College Library
Bernadette Baldino
Arthur Meyers Russell Library
Carol Weinshel
Easton Public Library
Anita Barney
Michael Moran
Janet Woycik
Asnuntuck Community College Library
Cyrenius H. Booth Library
Roslyn Rubinstein Waterford Public Library
Christine Bradley, Executive Director
Somers Public Library
The Brookfield Library
Candice Brown
New Britain Public Library
WINTER
Griswold High School
CLC's 4th annual "Children's Books for Holiday Giving" list features four separate brochures, over 160 titles, and more than 50 contributors. Phase 2 of enhancements to the Library Resource Online Catalog includes search capability. CLC 2007/08 establishes online discussion groups for roundtables to enhance communication and idea exchange.
Nyselius Library, Fairfield University Bibliomation, Inc.
Helen Keller Middle School
Connecticut Library Consortium
234 Court Street • Middletown, CT 06457-3304 • 860.344.8777
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Strengthening libraries to better serve their users For more information visit www.ctlibrarians.org