Changes Coming to iCONN

Beginning July 1, 2013 the Connecticut State Library provided resource iCONN.org will have a different look.  Instead of offering resources from Cengage Gale, EBSCO has been chosen to be the new provider of an array of databases supplying information from reliable, full-text sources from magazine/journal articles, reference books, primary source documents and more. Coverage in most subject areas including children’s resources, history, science, teachers’ resources, biography, ecology etc. will continue,  just with different names.    Access to iCONN's ProQuest newspapers (The New York Times and Wall Street Journal), genealogy research via  HeritageQuest,  iCONN’s collection of downloadable audiobooks, Connecticut Digital Collections, Connecticut History, the Historic Hartford Courant and the statewide catalog will remain the same.  One of the benefits of the change will be the full-text availability of current Consumer Reports issues, so you can scope out your new purchase from home.  

New resources to look for include Masterfile for magazine articles, Academic Search Premier for journal articles, Reference Centers in Biography, History, Legal and Science information, many resources for students of all ages and ebooks for adults and children.  Teens and children’s offerings include Searchasaurus, Primary Search, Middle Search Plus and Student Research Center.  So enjoy iCONN’s new look and continued great information!

Contributed by Reference Librarian Victoria Carlquist

Seasonal Changes @ the Library

Mark your calendar now for the following schedule and service adjustments coming to the Ridgefield Library this summer.

·         Summer hours begin this week, which means that we will be closed on Sundays from June 23^rd through Labor Day. Our remaining schedule stays the same:  Monday – Thursday 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM and Friday and Saturday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

·         Summer Reading Programs for children, teens and adults start on Monday, June 24^th and run through August 10th.  Links for online reading logs will be posted on Friday the 20^th so you can get your whole family set up and ready to participate.

·         Our Integrated Library System will be offline on Sunday, June 30^th for scheduled maintenance.  This means you will not be able to use the catalog, check your account or reserve or renew items online. Remote access to databases that require a library card number for log-in may also be affected.  Work should be complete by Monday morning, July 1^st.

·         The Library will be closed for Independence Day on Thursday, July 4^th but will be open on Friday the 5^th and Saturday the 6^th for your convenience.

See you @ the Library this summer!

Honor your Favorite Graduate at the Library

Congratulations to the Ridgefield High School Class of 2013!   

In the spirit of the graduation season, the Ridgefield Library is offering friends and family of the Ridgefield High School 2013 graduating class the opportunity to commemorate their favorite student with a Tribute Gift to the Ridgefield Library.  People can stop in to the Library and pick up a form, fill it out with the graduate’s contact information and return it to the Circulation Desk, or make a donation online at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org.  We will provide you with a Ridgefield Library coffee mug and an acknowledgement card to present to the graduate and will post the honorees’ names prominently on the Ridgefield Library website and in the Library.   Many of these young people have spent many memorable and formative hours at the Ridgefield Library.  What a wonderful way to honor their success as they move towards the future!    

And, while we are thinking of graduation, we know there are many college graduates in Ridgefield this year as well.  They too can be commemorated with a Tribute Gift to the Ridgefield Library.   As always, these tribute gifts are truly appreciated by the Ridgefield Library as they help to support our ongoing programs, collections and services.

Contributed by Development Associate Laureen Bubniak

Nutmeg News

Drumroll, please!  The 2013 Nutmeg Book Award winners have been announced.  31,157 students in Connecticut read and voted on their favorite books from twenty nominated titles. The Intermediate Level Award (grades four to six) winner is “Because of Mr. Terupt” by Rob Buyea.  In this book, seven students weigh in on Mr. Terupt’s first year as a fifth grade teacher. The students tell their own stories, from the new kid to the bully, about their year together.  The Teen Level Award (grades 6 to 9) winner is Jonathan Mayberry’s “Rot & Ruin”, a thrillingly scary zombie tale about two brothers, both working as zombie killers. Announcing the winners also signals that it is time to announce the new nominees. There are now three levels to the Nutmeg Book Awards: Intermediate, Teen, and the new High School level. The Nutmeg Book Awards titles are high quality books, recommended by a panel of teachers, librarians, and student readers from across Connecticut. Students are encouraged to read as many of the titles as they like, then vote for their favorites each April. Ten books are nominated for each level, and the Ridgefield Library has copies of all thirty nominees for your elementary, middle and high school age children to come check out.

Contributed by Geri Diorio, Teen Services Librarian and Head of Children's Services