The statewide catalog and its interlibrary loan (ILL) feature requestIT allow patrons and librarians to discover and request items from libraries in Connecticut with asingle search.  FindIT uses FulfLLLment opensource software. Currently 315 libraries are contributing a total of 24, 657,595 bibliographic records. In this funding year, there were 270, 772 visits to findIT and 3,991,968 pages or page views. Networks and many stand alone libraries continue to upload their holdings to the statewide catalog on a regular basis.  Once a library successfully uploads their holdings for the first time, the system can then automatically load records as often as the library is able to send them.  Many libraries have been sending holding son a monthly basis to be current in findIT, which is the base catalog for the requestIT statewide interlibrary loan service.

The statewide library catalog and its interlibrary loan feature (requestIT CT)allowed patrons and librarians to discover and request items from libraries across Connecticut with a single search. Interlibrary delivery was accomplished through deliverIT CT, another LSTA-funded project.

We had 136 libraries participating in requestIT as of September 2021, which represents a gain of five libraries.  Librarians placed requests on behalf o fpatrons, updated requests, and tracked the status of requests as they make their way through the ILL process. This year’s enhancements, based on a FulfILLment upgrade from 2.7 to 3.6, included search indexing improvements,enriched request targeting, and a newly modernized and fully responsive catalog interface.  Usage in 2021 nearly doubled over 2020 (5,967 in2020 compared with 10,195). We also began to roll out connectors to Bibliomation libraries in 2021, preparing for additional growth and usage. 

The 39 databases that are provided by the Connecticut State library continue to provide exceptional value to academic, school and public libraries here in Connecticut. Our cost benefit estimate for 2021 exceeds $38 million in cost avoidance for libraries. We continue to support libraries and schools by allowing for remote access for students and patrons without a library card using geoauthentication or a universal password. We also worked with EBSCO this year to update and share new promotional materials. We also upgraded our Job& Career Accelerator subscription to Workforce Solutions with ARPA funds and it will be available to all public libraries through September 2022. Our researchIT usage in fiscal year 2021 exceeded 3.8 million views.

This funding year was challenging year for our eGO program as the RB digital platform was sun-setted.  We began 2021 with 72 libraries live in the eGO Program utilizing the SimplyE app and ended with 91libraries live, and 159 out of 191 public libraries in the state configured in the eGO platform. In September, we were advised that the SimplyE app that we had been utilizing would no longer be available. Fortunately, longtime partners LYRASIS and DPLA had joined forces to create a new ebook platform and the Palace Project app that the Connecticut State Library will utilize for the eGO program going forward. The eGO consultant also worked with Baker & Taylor on a diversity audit of our B & T content. The team found that 34% of holdings analyzed contained at least one DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) metric and 15% of the collection is Spanish Language.

CT State Library continued to maintain a statewide collection of downloadable books and audiobook sin RBDigital (sun-setted on December 30, 2020). The collection includes Nutmeg, Newberry, and Caldecott award winning titles, Great Courses audios, and eAudiobook and eBook titles purchased or licensed in response to patron recommendations. Because the digital collections are available through a self-service model, State Library staff had no role in the circulation process. They were responsible only for collection development and licensing. Usage statistics show that the statewide collection of downloadable books and audio books this year included 8,602 titles which were checked out 33,405 times.