Library Association conference on May 1, 2023.
· As you all know, we did receive a grant. I am still being asked to keep the news quiet for
now and would like to honor that request. I will present further information and details at
our June meeting.
· The Fiber optic project at Gales Ferry is complete. The connection was lit and all seems
to be working well so far.
· We have a vacancy for one of our Library Assistant positions. Sarah Desormier
submitted her resignation last week, but is going to continue to volunteer her time on the
board of the Friends of the Ledyard Libraries.
· Matt Novosad, Assistant Librarian I, has been working hard to revise portions of our
website. All of our e-book and digital resource links on the right side of our homepage
now have updated logos, FAQ pages, and clickable download buttons for the apps.
· Erin Quada, Library Technician II - Youth Services, has hit the ground running and is
working hard to eliminate the cataloging backlog. She has also taken on additional
projects such as running reports to clean up the catalog and redefine location codes which
drive our circulation statistics.
· Heather Doughty, Administrative Assistant, has trained all Library Assistant’s on
processing materials so we can adjust workflow. It was a smooth process thanks to
Heather’s attention to detail and the transition went very well.
· It was brought to my attention that we did not have any adult and limited children’s
physical books written in Spanish in our collection. That has been resolved and a new
World Language collection is coming soon to the Ledyard Public Library!
· I’ve planned an all staff meeting on Friday, June 2, so the Bill Library will close at 1:00
p.m. that day. Sgt. Ryan Foster from Ledyard Police Department will be presenting on
the ALICE program which focuses on active “Violent Critical Incidents” and will
encompass all types of workplace incidents not strictly and active shooter incident. We
will also use the remaining time that afternoon for library professional development.
Although this is not required, it is highly recommended for library staff to attend. All
attendees will be paid for their time.
· There are now six public computers at each library building rather than nine at Bill
Library and eight at Gales Ferry Library. The decision to cut down on the number of
public PCs was mainly due to the age of technology. We had several Windows 7 PCs
from 2013 that were obsolete and could not be updated. They posed a security risk for the
public, library, and town. Although our patrons still regularly use and rely on the library
for public computer access, trends are evolving. Some patrons prefer using our free
Wi-Fi with their own devices in the library. We will continue to reassess the number of
public PCs in each library, but so far, this adjustment is working out very well.
· The bulletin board project is complete! We now have a reasonably sized bulletin board in
the hallway near the restrooms that is monitored regularly. The portrait of Henry Bill is
now on the large wall where the old bulletin board used to live along with the historical
map of nearby towns. Lastly, the Waterbury clock that was restored by the Trivedi
Family in memory of Javahar Trivedi has been mounted on the wall where the portrait of
Henry used to be. The thought behind this move was to make the bulletin board and other
historical items more visible for the public.
Building News:
· The Gales Ferry Children’s Room now has a bulletin board that will be used for rotating
displays.
