For Educators

We love to support our local schools and preschools. See below for an overview of our resources and programs that can supplement the educational experience for students and teachers. Please reach out if you have any questions/additional needs.

View and complete the form here.  Use this form to let us know about upcoming class projects. Please give us at least one week's notice. The earlier you alert us, the more we can do to help.

Educator cards allow you to check out books for 6 weeks. Come to the Library with a New Canaan school ID or sign up onlinehere. 

Out-of-town students receive a 1-year library card which gives them access to the collection and eBooks. Come to the Library or sign up online here. Already have a library card from another CT library? Register your out-of-town library card at New Canaan Library. 

Contact us to arrange librarian visits to your school and/or class visits to the Library. We love working with students of any age, from preschool through high school, and we can tailor visits to meet your curricular needs. 

Our librarians can pull books on any topic your class is studying. Contact us at [email protected] or (203) 594-5002. Running short on time? Books can be checked out to you for fast and easy pickup. Have a little more time? We can pull books for you to browse at your own pace. 

Our Family Services librarians can provide an in-depth overview of our services at the Library. Demo MakerLab tools like our Cricut machine, listen to themed book talks to supplement your lesson plans, or sign up for an educator library card. Email Rebecca Fox or Dajana Martinez to schedule your visit.

  • Our SEL storytimes incorporate skills such as compassion, kindness, empathy, cooperation, diversity, and respect in exciting and engaging ways. We can present these storytimes at your school or you can request to borrow a box for classroom use.  
  • Our Kindness Storytime provides concrete examples of what kindness can look like, what it means to be kind, and respect for friends.  
  • Our Feelings Storytime provides an opportunity for children to identify their emotions, find constructive and respectful ways to interact with one another, and practice mindfulness to regulate emotions. 
  • The SEL Storytime Boxes include songs, QR codes to tunes, rhymes, felts, and books.   
  • Reach out to Dajana Martinez to schedule our visit to your preschool or to borrow a box.  

Recommended Reads

Digital Resources

Academic Search Premier

This multi-disciplinary database provides full text for more than 4,600 journals, including full text for nearly 3,900 peer-reviewed titles. PDF backfiles to 1975 or further are available for well over 100 journals, and searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,000 titles.

Biography Reference Bank

Biography Reference Bank covers over 600,000 people with links to over 300,000 related full-text articles, as well as abstracts and images from thousands of periodicals and over 35,000 images.

Biography Reference Center

Containing many of the top-ranked biographical reference collections and magazines, this database offers a comprehensive collection of full-text biographies and unique narrative biographies.

CT State Library Resources for Elementary School

Resources for elementary schools provided by the Connecticut State Library.

CT State Library Resources for Middle School

Resources for middle schools provided by the Connecticut State Library.

ERIC

ERIC, the Education Resource Information Center, contains more than 1.3 million records and links to more than 323,000 full-text documents dating back to 1966.