CTO! Frequently Asked Questions

• When can I sign up?

  The CTO! sign up form opens on the first business day in July for educators who like to get their lesson plans in place during summer break. You are welcome to sign up at any time during the school year; we will work you into the next available delivery group! Sign ups close at the beginning of April when we print the school year's final curation/packing sheets.

• How do I sign up?

  Click the link at the top of this page and complete the CTO! Google Form. Be sure to click "Submit" when you finish.

• What can I choose to include in my CTO! kits?

  Art Prints, Big Books, Board Books, Book Kits (SM/LG), Chapter Books, Digital Resources from the ERS Portal***, DVDs, Easy Readers, Fiction books, Graphic Novels, Non-fiction Books, Picture Books, Playaway Audiobooks, Professional Development Books, Puppets, Spanish/Bilingual materials, STEM Kits, and Storytelling Kits. The CTO! form allows you the select as many options as you like.

  ***Digital Resources from the ERS Portal will arrive via email. Included will be links to standards-aligned digital resources from Learn360, Discovery Education, TeachingBooks, World Book & Britannica Encyclopedias, ProQuest (Culture Grams, SIRS Discoverer, SIRS Issues Researcher, eLibrary & Research Companion), Gale (Opposing Viewpoints, Cameron's Collection, Camp Cameron) and others. The ERS Library’s digital resources support learning in grades K-12.

  Note: If we feel certain an item is a good fit for the lesson ideas/topics you mention, you may occasionally receive material types that you did not request when signing up for CTO!.

• Do I need to sign up for CTO! to access the ERS Library's circulating collection?

  No, CTO! is specifically for educators who want to arrange scheduled monthly deliveries. All staff at ERS Library contracting sites can log in to the ERS Portal and use the Follett Destiny Online Library Catalog to request items. These will be delivered to your site unless you notify us that you want to pick them up at our office.

  **Click here for Step-by-step Instructions on Reserving Materials to be Delivered to Your Site**

• Do I need to sign up to participate each school year?

  Yes, please. Due to the number of staffing changes and grade level changes made at our contracting sites each year, participation in CTO! does not carry over from school year to school year. Participants will need to sign up annually. To make it easier to register each year, we suggest you save a copy of the confirmation email you receive for future reference.

• Can I request specific titles/items?

  If you are interested in a specific title, you will need to reserve the item via our Follett Destiny Online Library Catalog. CTO! customization is by topic/subject only. Kits are assembled 1-2 days before being delivered; the materials included are selected from what is available in the ERS Library at that time.

• When will my kit be delivered?

  Delivery dates for the entire school year are listed in the sign up confirmation email you receive after completing the CTO! form. The bottom of each monthly packing sheet also contains the delivery date for the following month.

  The rule of thumb: from your start date you should receive a new kit (and return the old one) every 4 weeks -- not counting Thanksgiving, winter or spring breaks.

• Will the ERS Library email me a list of what is being delivered ahead of time?

  No, that's part of the surprise :D

  CTO! kits are assembled 1-2 days before delivery and are based on what is available in the ERS Library at that time. Each of the 75+ kits we assembled & deliver each week is unique. Due to the nature of this type of kit curation, it is not possible to email preview lists ahead of time.

• When is my kit due?

  The Friday before a kit is due, you will receive an automated “ERS Library -- Items Due Next Week” email. 

  **You need to reply to this email.**

  If you are done with the kit, reply with the word “PICKUP”.

  If you are still using the kit, reply with the word “RENEW”.

  A member of the ERS Library Staff will respond to your request with either pickup confirmation, the new due date for your kit, or to let you know if any items need to be returned as they were reserved by other educators. Be sure to have returning items in place by 9:00am on your designated delivery/pickup day.

• I put my kit in the pickup spot a week ago and it's still there. What should I do?

  Please reply "PICKUP" to the "ERS Library -- Items Due Next Week" email you received the Friday before your items were due or email "PICKUP" to library@ersconnect.org. Be sure your items are in the designated spot by 9:00am on your site's assigned weekly delivery/pickup day.

• There is an item listed on my checkout receipt that is not in my kit. What should I do?

  Verifying your newly delivered kit's contents with the enclosed receipt (attached to the packing sheet) is a great idea! Our staff checks everything before sending it out, but human error happens. If something is missing from your delivery, please email library@ersconnect.org. We will arrange to deliver the missing item the following week or remove it from your account.

• Can I lend items from the kit to my students? What if they damage/lose something?

  Yes, absolutely. Our materials are meant to be used by both educators and students. Many of our participants have success with their students using a simple checkout form including the title of the book and who has it. We don't typically recommend allowing STEM kits or manipulative sets with many pieces to leave the classroom/school site.

  If an item isn't returned to you by it's due date, please ask us to renew it. We are happy to extend the checkout of items if they haven't been requested by other patrons or if a little more time is required to locate a lost item. Missing items turn up in: student desks, the classroom library, and the school library. Occasionally ERS Library items get returned to the public library. 98% of the time missing items are found and returned.
  
  For permanently lost or damaged items, we ask that you/the student arrange to replace the item or reimburse the ERS Library. Replace: locate a "Used - In Good Condition", like-copy of the same title from Amazon.com, a local source, or your own book collection and donate it to the ERS Library in place of the lost item. This is usually the least expensive option. Reimburse: all items in our catalog have a replacement cost noted in case they are lost or destroyed. This can be paid by phone using a credit/debit card or with cash/check left in an envelope at the pickup site. Contact our staff for more information.

• My lesson plans changed, can I update my requests?

  To edit your CTO! requests, click on the sign up link above. Since you have already registered, this will now display a "You've already responded” page which contains an “Edit your original response” link. Click that link and you’ll be back in the form with your original responses visible. 
  
  IMPORTANT: Changes must to be made prior to the date listed in the monthly descriptions. Any changes made after those dates will not be printed on the curation/packing sheets for our consideration.

• My topic requests are out of sync with my assigned delivery dates. How can I fix this?

  While you can’t change your CTO! assigned delivery dates, you can adjust the topics you requested each month and you may want to switch your requested items to be delivered the previous month (e.g. if your August kit will be delivered on 8/29, request materials you’ll use in September). 

  Follow the directions in the "My lesson plans changed..." question above to edit your kit preferences.

• I'd like more/fewer resources or to put my kits on hold for a month. How do I do this?

  Follow the directions in the "My lesson plans changed..." question above to edit your kit preferences. Once in the form with your original responses visible, you can switch each month's "Kit Type" selection between the 4-6 items, 8-10 items, Class Library, Digital Resources or NO KIT options. Make sure you save your changes when finished.

  IMPORTANT: Changes must to be made prior to the date listed in the monthly descriptions. Any changes made after those dates will not be printed on the curation/packing sheets for our consideration.

• I requested Halloween materials for my October kit. Why did my kit include mostly random items?

  We always do our best to include items that support your topics in the kits you choose to customize. Fulfillment of requests is based upon availability. When seasonal materials are in high demand, you may receive 1-2 items or digital resources on those topics. When necessary, your physical kit will be completed with other items from the circulating collection.