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G2S Project Code: 2014-CT-73448
State: Connecticut
Fiscal Year: 2014
Grantee
Connecticut State Library

Project Director
Director Name: Dawn La Valle
Director Phone: 860-757-6507
Director Email: dawn.lavalle@ct.gov
General Information
Title: Resource Sharing via Public Access Computing Environments
State Project Code:
Start Date: 10/01/2013
End Date: 09/30/2015
Abstract: The CT State Library provides multiple statewide services to support resource sharing among libraries. These services are delivered online and provide all Connecticut residents and students with free online access to essential library and information resources. Many of the electronic resources and databases are accessible via a portal called researchIT CT. This project also includes the statewide library catalog and ILL system. Division of Library Development staff offer frequent training opportunities on these resources for librarians.

State Goal: Resources and delivery systems
Budget Information
LSTA
MATCH-State
MATCH-Other
Total
$338,789.00
$474,895.00
$0.00
$813,684.00
Intent(s)
Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.
General (select only for electronic databases or other data sources)
Library Skills
Activities
Activity Details
Title: Statewide catalog
Narrative: The statewide library catalog, called reQuest, allowed patrons and librarians to discover and request items from libraries statewide with a single search. The catalog included records from 207 individual libraries plus 5 consortia representing another 174 libraries, for a total of 381 contributing public, academic, school, and special libraries. Because catalog records were contributed by the consortia, they are included in the institution types rather than the individual libraries they represent. The statewide library catalog was searched 621,926 times and there were 610,569 full record views. Interlibrary delivery was accomplished through deliverIT CT, another LSTA-funded project.

This catalog was shut down on June 30, 2015, and will be replaced with a new statewide catalog that is anticipated to become functional in the first quarter of 2016. 


Intent: Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.

Activity: Content
Mode: Description
Format: Combined physical & digital


Quantity
Number of items made discoverable to the public: 23,600,000
Number of collections made discoverable to the public: 0
Number of metadata plans/frameworks produced/updated: 0


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: No
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: No
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: Yes
Specific Locations: No
Library Types
Public Libraries: 75
Academic Libraries: 31
SLAA: 0
Consortia: 5
Special Libraries: 25
School Libraries: 76
Other: 0
Activity Details
Title: Catalog and ILL training for library staff
Narrative: Division of Library Development staff conducted training sessions in Searching, Administration, and Cataloging in the statewide catalog. In addition, staff conducted training sessions in using the interlibrary loan features of the catalog.

Once the State Librarian announced in Spring 2015 that the statewide catalog and ILL would be shut down and migrated to a new system, DLD staff conducted transition sessions to help libraries find a shared method of arranging for ILLs in the interim.

DLD staff conducted 120-minute training sessions in Searching, Administration, and Cataloging for staff at a high school library and at a public library. Staff conducted six ILL training sessions (180 minutes each) for a total of 41 attendees and seven ILL transition sessions (120 minutes each) for a total of 211 attendees.




Intent: Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.

Activity: Instruction
Mode: Program
Format: In-person


Quantity
Session length (minutes): 144
Number of sessions in program: 3
Average number in attendance per session: 17
Number of times program administered: 5


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: No
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: Yes
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: Yes
Specific Locations: No
Library Types
Public Libraries: 121
Academic Libraries: 12
SLAA: 1
Consortia: 1
Special Libraries: 1
School Libraries: 7
Other: 0
Activity Details
Title: Statewide databases
Narrative: The State Library provides access to 35 databases for all Connecticut residents, students, and faculty. The databases are available from all libraries in the state as well as from home. They include resources geared to K-12 students, college students, and the general public.

To increase awareness and usability of the statewide electronic resources, DLD staff worked with vendor EBSCO to develop token-embedded URLs to make access from home or elsewhere outside of the school a single sign-on operation. DLD staff also improved access by students using smartphones at school and added permalinks to all resource menus.


Intent: Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.

Activity: Content
Mode: Acquisition
Format: Digital


Quantity
Number of hardware acquired: 0
Number of software acquired: 0
Number of licensed databases acquired: 35
Number of print materials (books & government documents) acquired: 0
Number of electronic materials acquired: 0
Number of audio/visual units (audio discs, talking books, other recordings) acquired: 0


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: No
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: No
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: Yes
Specific Locations: No
Library Types
Public Libraries: 238
Academic Libraries: 59
SLAA: 3
Consortia: 3
Special Libraries: 87
School Libraries: 548
Other: 22
Activity Details
Title: Statewide databases training for library staff
Narrative: DLD staff offered numerous training opportunities in using the statewide databases. A full time professional trainer with EBSCO Publishing conducted 15 EBSCO training webinars to demonstrate the advantages of researchIT CT over free web search engines and the ways in which current EBSCO resources support Common Core State Standards. Webinar topics included "Integrating iCONN EBSCO resources with Common Core," "iCONN/EBSCO databases for School Libraries," and "EBSCO Explora for iCONN." The webinars were attended by a total of 59 librarians, representing 53 organizations.

In addition, staff developed an online tutorial and integrated it into the iCONN site.


Intent: Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.

Activity: Instruction
Mode: Program
Format: Virtual


Quantity
Session length (minutes): 60
Number of sessions in program: 3
Average number in attendance per session: 4
Number of times program administered: 5


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: No
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: Yes
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: Yes
Specific Locations: No
Library Types
Public Libraries: 9
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 0
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 44
Other: 0
Activity Details
Title: New eBook platform
Narrative: In January 2015, the State Bond Commission approved $2.2 million for the State Library to develop and implement a statewide eBook platform, making Connecticut one of the first states to develop a statewide library eBook service to bring equity of access to all residents of Connecticut. The Statewide eBook Service will be administered by DLD with oversight by the State Library Board's eBook Committee and input from the library community.

DLD staff took an active role in the State Library's continuing steps towards developing the platform. This participation included administrative and technical communications with the staff of Library Simplified at the New York Public Library.

Because this platform is still in the planning stages, no items have been circulated, and no libraries are yet participating.


Intent: Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.

Activity: Content
Mode: Lending
Format: Digital


Quantity
Total number of items circulated: 0
Average number of items circulated / month: 0
Total number of ILL transactions: 0
Average number of ILL transactions / month: 0


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: No
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: No
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: Yes
Specific Locations: No
Library Types
Public Libraries: 0
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 0
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 0
Other: 0
Activity Details
Title: Statewide interlibrary loan
Narrative: The statewide library catalog, called reQuest, supported interlibrary loan functionality for 219 participating libraries. These 219 libraries successfully lent 112,759 items through ILL. Because ILLs are sent by individual libraries instead of by consortia, the library types show individual participating libraries rather than their consortia.

Interlibrary delivery was accomplished through deliverIT CT, another LSTA-funded project.

This ILL system was shut down on June 30, 2015, and will be replaced with a new statewide ILL system in early 2016.



Intent: Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.

Activity: Content
Mode: Lending
Format: Physical


Quantity
Total number of items circulated: 0
Average number of items circulated / month: 0
Total number of ILL transactions: 112,759
Average number of ILL transactions / month: 9,397


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: No
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: No
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: Yes
Specific Locations: No
Library Types
Public Libraries: 155
Academic Libraries: 21
SLAA: 3
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 6
School Libraries: 34
Other: 0
Project Outcomes
Project Outcomes
List any important findings or outcomes from your project:
As a result of these resource sharing activities, Connecticut residents with library cards had borrowing privileges at all public libraries in the state and all residents and students had free access to high-quality electronic resources for school or personal research.
Please briefly describe importance of findings:

What methods did you use to determine your findings? Check all that apply:
Review of Administrative Data
Based on outputs, outcomes and/or other results, explain any significant lessons learned from these findings for either the SLAA or others in the LIS field:

Do you anticipate continuing this project after the current reporting period ends:
Yes
Do you anticipate any change in level of effort:
Yes: As part of a cost savings effort, the State Library is replacing the current statewide library catalog and ILL system, which was shut down on June 30, 2015. The State Library in partnership with Bibliomation, a library network in the state, will bring online a new statewide library catalog and ILL system in early 2016. In addition, there will be less spent on statewide databases due to cuts in state funding. The State Library will spend more on the eBook platform, but these are one-time costs that will not be included in MOE.
Do you anticipate any change in the project's scope:
Yes: There will be significant changes to project activities in the next year, including interim ILL functions over the summer/fall of 2015 while the new statewide catalog is being built, a new statewide catalog and ILL system to be launched in the early months of 2016, training on the new systems, reduction in the number of statewide databases because of funding cuts, and continued development of the eBook platform.
Do you anticipate any other changes in the project:
No
Exemplary: No
Exemplary Narrative
Project Tags: reQuest, ILL, iCONN