Monday, April 28, 2025
Session 3: Breakouts
11:00-11:50 AM
11:00-11:50 AM
Mystic Ballroom BE
We Can All Do Better:
Insights from LGBTQIA+ Library Professionals
Insights from LGBTQIA+ Library Professionals
Double Session: 11:00 am-12:50 pm
Presenters: Jamie Nicholson (she/her), Assistant Director of Programing & Outreach at Ramsdell Library; J Billingsley (they/them), Library Director at Portland Library; Josh LeBlanc (he/him), Children’s Librarian at Wallingford Public Library; Mary Richardson (she/her), Teen Librarian at Simsbury Public Library; Taylor Skorski (they/them), Reference Librarian at Avon Free Public Library; Stephanie Smith (she/her), Teen Librarian at Avon Free Public Library (moderator)
Join LGBTQIA+ library professionals as they share experiences and strategies for creating safe, inclusive library spaces. This session is ideal for library staff at all levels, especially those in roles influencing policies and culture. Whether you're new to LGBTQIA+ initiatives or looking to deepen your understanding, you can gain practical insights for fostering a welcoming environment for all.
Sponsor: JEDI Section
Objectives & Takeaways:
Basic understanding of LGBTQIA+ vocabulary, identities and experiences
Resources for further learning and keeping up to date
Learn about the unique challenges faced by LGBTQIA+ library professionals and patrons.
Explore actionable strategies for creating inclusive library spaces and policies.
Gain insights into the importance of allyship and fostering a culture of acceptance.
Provide essential tools for creating a library environment that reflects and supports the diverse needs of your community.
Conference Room 1
Highlighting the Friends of the Library with a Mock Scholastic Book Fair
Presenters: Jasmine Cedeno, Southington Public Library
Public librarian Jasmine Cedeno presents on her experience working with the Friends of the Library to run a Book Fair which included local author and illustrator panels. Highlights will include how to pitch the idea to administrators and Friends, how to divide work between librarians and Friend members, and how the program runs the day of the event.
Sponsor: CLA Member
Objectives & Takeaways:
Attendees can learn ways to team up with possibly reluctant Friends of the Library groups in order to organize events that can benefit the library while increasing sales and visibility for Friends organizations. In addition, attendees will get the inside view from Rose Belanger, one of the Friends of the Southington Public Library, who just won the Arline Morrissey Individual Achievement Award for her work with the Friends. Rose was integral in the planning of the book fair as well as assuaging some of the concerns the Friends had about running a library wide book fair.
Conference Room 2
Beyond One Shots: Increasing Visibility & Building Sustained Partnerships with a Library Instruction Menu
Presenters: Yoli Bergstrom-Lynch and Debbie Herman, Connecticut State Community College, Manchester
Connecticut State Community College Manchester’s librarians reimagined the library’s instruction program post-Covid during the summer of 2023. The project’s goals were to reintroduce it to the campus community, boost faculty engagement, diversify and standardize offerings, and move beyond the "one-shot" model. This session will cover menu development, impacts, assessment, and program refinements.
Sponsor: CLA Member
Objectives & Takeaways:
Attendees of this session will gain practical strategies for creating, promoting, and fine tuning a menu of instructional offerings that can be customized to meet the specific needs of individual courses. By sharing our process – including successes, unexpected challenges, and assessment results.
This session will equip participants with actionable ideas for enhancing the visibility of library instructional services, deepening faculty-librarian collaborations, and redefining its library instruction program to better meet the evolving needs of students and faculty in a post-COVID campus environment. This presentation will appeal to those looking to refresh their library’s instructional approach and cultivate an inclusive, responsive, and sustainable program.
Conference Room 3
Creating A Digital Collection for All with eGO CT and the Palace Project
Presenters: Jillian Scarson, Brad Bulllis
Join representatives from the Connecticut State Library and Lyrasis for an update on the statewide shared ebook collection and developments from The Palace Project. We’ll discuss how CT libraries are using the eGO program to supplement their collections, providing access to high demand content. Learn more about how your library can participate and what to expect as the program continues to grow.
Sponsor: CLA Member
Objectives & Takeaways:
Attendees of this session will learn about the value of the eGO CT program and the Palace Project app and how it can enhance your library's digital collections with no impact on your individual library budget. Lyrasis will provide updates and enhancements to the Palace app and the Palace Manager. The collection goals for the Connecticut State Library collection which continues to grow will be presented, as well. Attendees will also learn how to add to their local ebook collections to the Palace Project app to allow for seamless access for their patrons.
Conference Room 5
Finding the Balance: Security & Privacy
Presenters: Lindsay Delligan, Lebanon Public Library; Samantha Lee, Enfield Library; Dale Cates, Wilton Library; Kate Sheehan, Stratford Library
Librarians have been under ideological attack, struggling with safety concerns, and facing outside pressure from insurance policies to add requirements for surveillance and cybersecurity. How do librarians maintain their commitment to privacy while implementing security measures? Join us for a discussion about the intersection of technology, surveillance, and intellectual freedom.
Sponsor: Intellectual Freedom Committee and Technology Section
Objectives & Takeaways:
Attendees will learn about different approaches to balancing library ethics with security, how to think through adding cameras, implementing MFA, and satisfying insurance requirements without sacrificing (too much) patron or staff privacy.
Conference Room 7
The Swap Shop: Fun, Free, Inclusive Exchange Programs
Presenters: Ashley Ewert, Anne Henriques & Sara Abbatemarco of Berlin-Peck Memorial Library
Swap programs provide judgment-free access to a variety of necessities for all ages and yield high community engagement. Learn how by participating in an Accessories Swap! To donate, bring a gently-used scarf, hat, tie or piece of jewelry. However, donations are not required to participate. Leave with all the tools and ideas you’ll need...and a cool, new-to-you accessory also!
Sponsor: CLA Member
Objectives & Takeaways:
When attendees leave our session, they will have the resources and ideas to immediately implement a swap program or series of programs that is community-driven, inclusive, and environmentally responsible.
Attendees will learn how to run a swap by experiencing it themselves while hearing and seeing details about planning, execution, publicity, and more. This program can run in libraries of any size, for any age group and is adaptable in terms of items swapped, which can include toys, clothes for children to adults, holiday and home decor, arts and crafts, and more!
In addition, swaps are programs that bring a community together as a form of mutual aid - getting supplies/items for free in a setting where there’s no stigma. It’s also provides an environmentally responsible opportunity to give items a second life with someone new rather than throwing them away or donating them somewhere where they may be thrown away. Thank you for your consideration!
Mystic Ballroom AD
Engaging Kids with Props in Story Time!
Presenters: Heather Baker, Canton Public Library
Use scarves, sticks, shakers, bells, parachutes and more to connect to your story time crowd, and to enhance the feeling of PLAY in your story times! You'll leave with a pile of road-tested ideas, songs, rhymes and more to create a vibrant interactive literacy experience AND a longer story time to boot - included are ideas for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, AND large mixed groups.
Sponsor: CLA Member
Objectives & Takeaways:
I am now an annual presenter for the "Set the Stage" Early Childhood Initiative for Connecticut library staff in youth services, giving a presentation on "Magical Musical Story Times." The session's goal is always "sharing ways to improve skills at sharing music in programming for babies through age 5."
As a result, I receive considerable feedback from participants about what they find valuable and what they find difficult to learn on the fly as new and experienced programmers for children under age 5. What do they want more of? The opportunity to learn more activities, and to feel more comfortable using, musical props.
We know from extensive research that "music plays a powerful role in the lives of young children. Through music, babies and toddlers can come to better understand themselves and their feelings, learn to decipher patterns and solve problems, and discover the world around them in rich, complex ways. Most important, sharing music experiences with the people they love makes very young children feel cherished and important.” (Rebecca Parlakian, Zero to Three: https://www.zerotothree.org/resource/distillation/beyond-twinkle-twinkle-using-music-with-infants-and-toddlers/).
Music is an exceptional tool for early development of socio-emotional Skills, Physical (Motor) Skills, Thinking (Cognitive) Skills, & Language and Literacy Skills. For programmers, finding great tools to bring those experiences succinctly and effectively to their audiences is key. That the audiences find those ideas to be fun and engaging - is truly icing on the cake. Musical props can do exactly that, plus they can be used to highlight key literacy skills and to increase meaningful audience participation. Children's programmers who can use props confidently is a goal we can support with this program.
I touch on prop sets during the annual "Set the Stage" Magical Musical Story Time Zoom presentation, but there is clearly a need to share more specifics, and a CLA session would allow for a great deal of hands-on participation, plus the take-aways of songs lists, purchasing information and guidelines, and the building of practical knowledge and skills that can be put to use in library and outreach programming. It is also essential that this presentation be live, and not via Zoom, since physically learning to use the props , in real time, is invaluable for staff who haven't engaged with them before.
I am a 20 year+ children's library programmer, with extensive training both in early childhood education and music education with young children, and I would be pleased to provide this presentation, as a CLA member and advocate, at no charge to the organization.
Mystic Ballroom CF
Creating a Memory Care Collection:
Building a Library Resource for Dementia Support
Building a Library Resource for Dementia Support
Presenters: Kathryn Zimmerman, Librarian & Erin Dummeyer, Library Director of Mark Twain Library
Learn how our library created a Memory Care Collection to support people living with dementia. We’ll share our experience of applying for the ALA Libraries Transforming Communities grant, holding community conversations, and developing interactive Memory Care Kits. Gain insights into building a dementia-friendly collection that supports those living with memory loss and their caregivers.
Sponsor: CLA Member
Objectives & Takeaways:
Attendees will gain an understanding of how to create a Memory Care Collection tailored to support individuals with dementia and their caregivers.
This session will also provide insights into curating dementia-friendly resources that include accessible books and magazines for people with dementia as well as informational books for caregivers and family members. We will outline our experience of applying and receiving the ALA Libraries Transforming Communities Grant for Accessible Small and Rural Communities.
We’ll also cover methods for building strong community partnerships with senior centers, memory care facilities, and dementia organizations to broaden library offerings and build a supportive network.
Attendees will learn best practices for effectively promoting memory care resources and gathering valuable feedback to enhance and evolve the collection to meet community needs.
