Tuesday, May 2, 2023
Session 2: Breakouts 10:55-11:50 AM
Mystic Ballroom
Digital Navigation: Peer to Peer Consulting with Libraries That are Making it Work
Presenters: Colleen Bailie, West Haven Public Library; Elaine Braithwaite, Bridgeport Public Library; Melissa Canham-Clyne, Hamden Public Library; Jane Fisher, Wallingford Public Library; Madhu Bajaj Gupta, Public Library of New London; Sarah Kline Morgan, East Hartford Public Library; Homa Naficy, Hartford Public Library
Curious about what it takes to start up a digital navigator program? Seven library directors or project managers, each at a different stage of administering a unique digital navigation project, will be available for consultation. Participants can move from table to table to engage with those administering projects in different kinds of libraries—small, large, urban, suburban—with different target communities. Participants can expect to learn how to do the groundwork necessary in a town, hire navigators, train them, manage them, market the program, collect data, and assess impact. Participants can shape the discussion and presenters will share their practice.
CLA Member-Sponsored
Conference Room 2
Nama'Stay in my Chair
Presenter: Molly Virello, Southington Public Library & Museum
On days when your inbox is full to the brim and you can't focus, your back hurts from staying in your chair, patrons won’t stop bugging you about when the latest best-seller will be in, and you’re stress-reaching for the bowl of chocolate, there’s hope. Why not take a break and learn some practical techniques to help stretch you out and refocus your brain right from your chair? After briefly talking about the benefits of chair yoga, you will go through a hands-on sequence to refresh your brain and your body. After participating in the sequence, participants will walk away with easy poses they can practice at home and at work. Handouts included.
CLA Member-Sponsored
Conference Room 3
Implementing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the Catalog: A case of Library Connection (LCI) Libraries
Presenter: Judy Njorge
As an important part of a society that should be welcoming to all, libraries have been seeking ways to ensure their catalogs reflect principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In this presentation, I will share what we are doing at Library Connection to improve our cataloging metadata and achieve two DEI goals: (1) Replace outdated, inappropriate, offensive, or insensitive subject headings while ensuring that resources in our catalog remain searchable and discoverable (2) Add current, appropriate, and inclusive subject headings, allowing resources on these subjects to be more discoverable.
Sponsored by: CLA JEDI Section
Conference Room 5
Revolutionizing Outreach
Presenters: Vanesha McGee, Libraries Without Borders US; Nina Safane, Libraries Without Borders US; Kymberlee Powe, Connecticut State Library; Ashley Sklar, Connecticut State Library
The 17,000+ public library branches in the U.S. should be fully accessible hubs of learning and civic connection in every community - across racial, socio-economic, and partisan divides. Still, in many places, communities of color, rural, less educated, and low-income residents report lower levels of engagement with libraries than white, college-educated, and higher-income Americans. In this session, we will unpack the “whys” we have found in our prior work and key steps that libraries can take to change that reality. We will preview the framework we are using to approach this in partnership with the Connecticut State Library with partners across the state.
Sponsored by: CLA Conference Committee
Conference Room 6
Office Administrative Networking
Presenters: Kari Castelli, Scranton Library; Deirdre Thomas, Milford Public Library
We're a unique group and wear lots of hats! Join us and meet other administrative staff. Let's share ideas, network, discuss challenges/solutions and compare hats! Bring your business cards!
CLA Member-Sponsored
Conference Room 7
Working with Consultants: What You Didn’t Learn in Library School
Presenters: Maxine Bleiweis; John Chrastka, Every Library; Ellen Paul, CLC; Maureen Sullivan, New Haven Free Public Library
Library school doesn’t teach us everything! While we pride ourselves on being smart and resourceful, sometimes the best thing we can do is bring in outside help. But how do you know when it’s time for a consultant? How do you choose one? How do you work with one? Join a panel of experts to learn more about working with consultants and how CLC’s new Consultants Directory can help make this process easier for Connecticut libraries.
CLA Member-Sponsored
