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G2S Project Code: 2020-CT-86387
State: Connecticut
Fiscal Year: 2020

Grantee
Connecticut State Library

Project Director
Director Name: Dawn LaValle
Director Phone: 860-757-6665
Director Email: dawn.lavalle@ct.gov

General Information
Title: Professional Development
State Project Code:
Start Date: 10/01/2019
End Date: 09/30/2021
Abstract: The CT State Library provided continuing education for all librarians and library staff in Connecticut, providing resources aimed at helping them work more effectively and serve their communities better. In January 2021 we conducted a survey to assess the types of training desired by libraries. We offered 116 workshops on a wide variety of topics, with 3359 confirmed registrations and 2311 actual attendees. All were virtual due to continuing pandemic restrictions. We continued to offer self-paced tutorials for all library staff through Niche Academy seeing over 7000 views of 211 different tutorials this year, by approximately 500 individual users. Most popular were workshops entitled “Living Through a Pandemic: How to Stop Burnout and Improve Customer Care,” “Preparing for the Next Wave of Angry and Argumentative Library Customers,” “From Diversity to Inclusion: How to Audit Your Collection and Why,” and “The Healing Library.” New topics included “Family Homelessness and CT Libraries” and “Community Asset Mapping for the Curious.”

State Goal: Libraries as Community Anchors

Budget Information

LSTA

MATCH-State

MATCH-Other

Total

$69,562.33

$0.00

$69,562.33

Intent(s)
Improve the library workforce.
Continuing Education and Staff Development
Library Skills

Activities
Activity Details
Title: Continuing Education Workshops
Narrative:

Classes included regular offerings on leaflet design, better data collection, public peaking, weeding collections, creating video book trailers, coding and digital equity, virtual volunteers, budget strategies, strategies for serving linguistically diverse families, reading children’s’ books critically, assessing community needs, financial literacy programming, disrupting disability bias, and other topics. A special 17-part series called Set the Stage involved 5 experts in infant, toddler, and early childhood preparation for reading and reading skills. The Continuing Education Calendar offered several important workshops with community partners, such as Hartford Healthcare and the CT Partnership for Long Term Care. Information sessions for applying for various grants, successfully teaching online database use, and using software for summer reading programs are part of the Continuing Education Calendar.

Intent: Improve the library workforce.

Activity: Instruction
Mode: Program
Format: Virtual

Quantity
Session length (minutes): 1
Number of sessions in program: 0
Average number in attendance per session: 0
Number of times program administered: 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: 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: 0
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 0
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 0
Other: 0

Question 1: I learned something by participating in this library activity.
Strongly Agree: 431
Agree: 211
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 13
Disagree: 8
Strongly Disagree: 1
Non-Response: 15
Question 2: I feel more confident about what I just learned.
Strongly Agree: 289
Agree: 315
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 49
Disagree: 9
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 17
Question 3: I intend to apply what I just learned.
Strongly Agree: 366
Agree: 250
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 36
Disagree: 10
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 17
Question 4: Applying what I learned will help improve library services to the public.
Strongly Agree: 360
Agree: 225
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 34
Disagree: 3
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 57

Activity Details
Title: Professional Development Collections
Narrative:

The circulating professional development collection supported the continuing education program with well-researched professional publications. The CT State Library continues to offer a much larger collection of professional development materials than any single library could afford to acquire. The collection grew this year with a standing order of ALA publications, as well as orders of individual titles from other publishers and vendors that total over100. Due to supply chain issues, however, the Professional Development purchases that made it to the Middletown Library Service Center totaled only 56. These materials were shelved at the Middletown Library Service Center and were discoverable through the online catalog. This year librarians borrowed 133 items from this collection even though the MLSC was closed to in-person professional development events all year. There was a drop in circulation from last year, when many public librarians were forced to substitute work on site with professional development activities at home, to a number consistent with the return to the library building and related tasks.

Intent: Improve the library workforce.

Activity: Content
Mode: Lending
Format: Physical

Quantity
Total number of items circulated: 133
Average number of items circulated / month: 11
Total number of ILL transactions: 0
Average number of ILL transactions / month: 0

Partner Information

Public Libraries: 191
Academic Libraries: 46
SLAA: 3
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 0
Other: 0

Question 1: I am satisfied that the resource is meeting library needs.
Strongly Agree: 0
Agree: 0
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Question 2: Applying the resource will help improve library services to the public.
Strongly Agree: 0
Agree: 0
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0

Project Outcomes
Project Outcomes
List any important outcomes or findings not previously reported:

Please briefly describe the importance of these outcomes and findings for future program planning:

Explain one or two of the most significant lessons learned for others wanting to adopt any facets of this project:

Do you anticipate continuing this project after the current reporting period ends:
No
Do you anticipate any change in level of effort in managing this project:
No
Explain:

Do you anticipate changing the types of activities and objectives addressed by the project:
No
Explain:

Was an evaluation conducted for this project:
No
Was a final written evaluation report produced:
No
Can the final written evaluation report be shared publicly on the IMLS website:
No
Was the evaluation conducted by project staff (either SLAA or local library) or by a third-party evaluator:
Third-Party
What data collection tools were used for any report outcomes and outputs:
Did you collect any media for the data:
What types of methods were used to analyze collected data:
Other:
How were participants (or items) selected:
What type of research design did you use to compare the value for any reported output or outcome:

Exemplary: No
Exemplary Narrative

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