Advisory Committee Dates Set

MHLS Advisory Committee dates have been set for 2006.

Central Library / Collection Development:
Meeting Dates: Friday, March 17, Wednesday, June 21, Thursday, September 14,
Tuesday, November 21
2006 Committee Roster:
Columbia County: Sally Alderdice ('09);
Dutchess County: Greg Callahan ('07) & Gloria Goverman ('09);
Greene County: Luisa Sabin-Kildiss ('07);
Putnam County: Patti Haar ('07) & Pat Kaufman ('09);
Ulster County: Jim Cosgrove ('07) & John Georghiou ('09)

Continuing Education / Professional Development:
Meeting Dates: Thursday, May 11, Tuesday, October 24
2006 Committee Roster:
Columbia County: Wendy Fuller ('09) / Sally Alderdice ('09);
Dutchess County: Joanne Meyer ('07) & Phyllis Keaton ('09);
Greene County: Linda Dubert ('07);
Putnam County: Carol Donick ('09);
Ulster County: Bruce George ('07) & Kelly Tomaseski ('09)

Marketing & Programs:
Meeting Dates: Thursday, March 16, Monday, June 19, Tuesday, September 19,
Thursday, December 14
2006 Committee Roster:
Columbia County: Carol Corrigan ('07);
Dutchess County: Anne Jordan ('07) & Midge Quick ('09);
Greene County: Barbara Flach ('09);
Putnam County: Maria Steinberg ('07);
Ulster County: Kara Lustiber ('07) & Jody Ford (‘09)

Resource Sharing:
Meeting Dates: Thursday, February 16; Thursday, April 13; Thursday, July 13;
Monday, October 16
2006 Committee Roster:
Columbia County: Carol Briggs ('05) & Julie Johnson ('05);
Dutchess County: Daniela Pulice ('07) & Lisa Karim ('05);
Greene County: Candace Begley ('07);
Putnam County: Gillian Thorpe ('05);
Ulster County: Julie Kelsall ('05) & Amy Raff ('07)

Thanks to all committee members for their dedication to helping make MHLS as useful as it can be. Committee rosters and past minutes for each committee are posted at: http://midhudson.org/MHLS/committee/advisory.htm

MHLS Announcements
The MHLS Board of Trustees met on Saturday, January 28, in the MHLS Auditorium and:
· were administered the 2006 Oath of Office;
· approved the amended 2006 budget;
· rescheduled the System's Annual Meeting for Friday, October 6, at the Culinary Institute of America;
· viewed and discussed a Power Point presentation on the background of Library Systems given by Josh Cohen;
· viewed and discussed an overview of the System's budget given by Linda Vittone, Business Office Manager.
The next meeting of the Board is Saturday, March 18th at 10:00am in the Mid-Hudson Library System Auditorium.

The first MHLS System Tour of 2006 will be conducted on Wednesday, March 1st from 9:30am-12:30pm in the MHLS Auditorium. The System Tour introduces member library staff and trustees to the MHLS staff and familiarizes them with available services. The tour will cover:
· An introduction to the MHLS organization, web site and electronic resources (the public library catalog and HomeACCESS)
· Technology: Automated Services - including AV Services, Automated Systems, Cataloging and Database Maintenance and Computer Operations
· Public Services: Youth Services, ILL, Print Services, Member Information, Outreach & Continuing Education
· Administration: Business Office, Shipping & Delivery
At the end of the guided tour participants will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with the System staff people most closely in-tune with the jobs they do at the library. Register today at: http://www.midhudson.org/evanced/lib/eventcalendar.asp

MHLS Libraries
There are two new member library directors to welcome:
· Milo Nelson is the new director at the Germantown Library
· Jennifer Simmons is the new director at the Pawling Free Library

Resource Sharing & Millennium
The new Resource Sharing Standards draft has been approved without any modifications. The Director's Association agreed that the document would only be changed twice a year at regular intervals from now on. The current document will be posted to the Resource Sharing web page and will be considered a baseline document. Future changes will bear the date of the DA meeting at which they were approved. Hopefully this will make it easier for staff to stay abreast of changes in our sharing policies and practices. The document can be found on the Resource Sharing portion of the MHLS web page http://midhudson.org/resource/main.htm.

Marketing, Advocacy & Funding
Coordinated Transportation for Library Lobby Day on March 14th: The Ramapo Catskill Library System has organized a bus to stop at convenient locations along the NYS Thruway to help get area library advocates to Albany for Library Lobby Day on Tuesday, March 14th. Pick-up points include:
· Newburg
· New Paltz
· Kingston
· Catskill (for the first time ever!)
Cost is $18 per person. Download the registration form at http://midhudson.org/funding/advocacy/main.htm. A flyer has also been sent to each library. Call Rebekkah at x39 with any questions.

Reference & Collection Development
As part of the last week on Issues of Policy, Preservation & Public Use of Historical Materials, it was announced that MHLS libraries are eligible for a free on-site visit from the professionals at Lower Hudson Conference's Hudson Valley Region Documentary Heritage Program (DHP), which serves eight counties including all five MHLS counties. The DHP is a statewide records program designed to locate and organize NYS historical records. During the visit (about 90 minutes) they will review your local history collection and suggest a plan and next steps. Many member libraries signed up for this at the beginning of 2005, through an MHLS Action Memo, but not all received their on-site visit. If your library did not yet get a visit from DHP, please contact our Regional Archivist, Erica Blumenfeld or the Program Coordinator, Dianne Macpherson, directly at 914.592.6726, or by e-mail to lowerhudson@msn.com. If your library received a visit prior to your employment, you can request a copy of that report from DHP. Additional information about DHP at http://lowerhudsonconference.org/Programs/DHP/dhp.html

Youth Services
You can find the schedule for the 2006 MHLS Performers' Showcase, being held on Friday, February 17 at 9:00am, on the Youth Services Department page or get there directly at http://midhudson.org/department/youth/Performers_Schedule_2006.htm.

Trustee Resources
What's New on the Trustee Resources web page?
· TrusteE-Training from the North Suburban Library System
· Effective Board Meetings from the Massachusetts Public Library Trustee Handbook
· Library Funding in NYS from the Division of Library Development
· Recruitment and Selection of Trustees from the Kansas Library Association
Check out these new resources and many more at http://midhudson.org/trustee/main.htm.

Job Openings
Need to place a job ad in the MHLS Bulletin? Just email your job ad to bulletin@midhudson.org. Bulletin editor, Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, can also help you post your job ad to NYLINE and to area library school listservs.

MHLS recommends that the minimum starting salary of a full or part-time librarian with an MLS degree be at least equal to that of a teacher with a master's degree in the same community.

The MHLS Bulletin welcomes submissions from member libraries at bulletin@midhudson.org. The MHLS Bulletin is available on line at http://midhudson.org/bulletins/main.htm.