CLC
Connecticut Library Consortium
The Newsletter of the Connecticut Library Consortium
December 2008 VOLUME 6 y ISSUE 6
Highlights y Roundtable News page 4
y WALDO page 5
y CLC Discounts, News and Much More page 6
y Social OPAC Program page 6
y Children’s Performers Showcase Highlights page 7
y Trendspotting IV page 8
In Every Issue y Library Happenings & Member News pages 2 and 3
y December Calendar page 3
CONN text
Recipes for Lemonade
A
t the last CLA Board meeting, our President Kathy Leeds asked us to share the ways in which the present downturn in the economy has affected our libraries. Many, as you would expect, described the library version of Scylla and Charybdis— trying to navigate between an increase in business and a decrease in budget. We followed Leed's lead with this question for CLC members: What do you plan to do in 2009 to make some library lemonade out of these lemons? Thanks to Carol Brown (New Haven), Keith Stetson (Fairfield U) and Lynn Rosato (Bethel) for their responses. New Haven Free Public Libraries One of New Haven's responses to increasingly difficult economic realities has been to close neighborhood branches on Fridays. Branch staff report to the main library on Fridays to help with backroom work and to serve at the public desks. While the neighborhoods are losing some library service on Fridays, an unlooked-for benefit of this staff shuffle has been an opportunity to retrain, reacquaint and redevelop personnel system-wide. The library is benefiting from this unusual opportunity to blend a five-branch system into a more cohesive working unit, which will serve it in good stead when a better economy allows them to reopen branches on Fridays. Fairfield University Library
860.344.8777 (Middletown) 860.344.9199 (Middletown Fax) 860.465.5001 (Willimantic) 860.465.5004 (Willimantic Fax) 860.529.2938 (Donohue Group)
Academic librarians are aware that the various divisions of their schools are all competing for the same resources. At Fairfield University they do everything they can to keep the library at the center of campus. Library staff are offering a workshop in a couple of weeks for faculty and staff on how to set up a blog, and added a second session due to the response!
Toll-Free Numbers
Bethel Library
800.304.5403 (Middletown) 800.260.5427 (Willimantic)
In Bethel they have already started making lemonade in this fiscal year. To notify the public of this year's $60,000 reduction, Bethel’s staff wrote articles on each service that was reduced or eliminated for a special newsletter that focused solely on budget cuts.
Contact Us
www.ctlibrarians.org
Bethel’s cuts included reductions in hours, the circulating books budget, funding employee education, telephone expense, newsletter production, and the program budget. They are eliminating production and mailing of overdue notices, as well as 10 of 15 online databases, OCLC out-of-state ILL, some standing order titles, some magazine subscriptions, the audiobook circuit, downloadable video, and memberships in CLA, ALA, and Chamber of Commerce. They are replacing only the desktop or minitower for 12 computers, keeping existing monitors, keyboards and mice. Staff learned a few things. First, no one really complained about not getting overdue notices in the mail (Bethel offers email notices and Library Elf). By not mailing notices, they saved about $2000 in postage, envelopes, paper, etc., and their collection rate is up slightly from last year. Also, no one complained about opening a half hour later. They've heard a few grumblings from those who really relied on them to get out-of-state ILL through OCLC. Now, they pass the cost along to the patrons, which is really a deterrent to their using it. For FY 2009-2010, Bethel will make more cuts, including canceling their postage machine lease (which we did at CLC) and eliminating another online database, Web Reporter, as well as maintenance contracts on typewriters. Next Month: More great library lemonade from your fellow CLC members!