Orientation for New Library Staff

Orientation for New Library Staff: Designed for new library staff, but open to all who would like to attend, this workshop provides introductory, baseline information about working effectively in a public library and in the Mid-Hudson Library System. The workshop will cover:
· The role of the public library in our communities
· How your library fits into the library structure of New York State
· Your role as a library representative
· Helping patrons find what they want
· Overview of the online catalog, HomeACCESS databases and interlibrary loan
· Resource sharing concepts and issues
This workshop will take place on Thursday, April 27th from 10:00am - 12:00pm in the MHLS Auditorium. As requested by the MHLS Director's Association this workshop will be offered multiple times per year. Register online through the MHLS calendar by going to http://midhudson.org and clicking on Calendar OR get there directly at http://www.midhudson.org/evanced/lib/eventcalendar.asp This workshop will be presented by Merribeth Advocate, MHLS Outreach & Education Coordinator, Josh Cohen, MHLS Executive Director and Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, MHLS Coordinator of Member Information.

MHLS Announcements
There are still plenty of opportunities for your library to give input to the next MHLS 5-year Plan of Service. Upcoming focus group schedule:
· Monday, March 6th: Greene County Trustees
   (6:30 -8:00pm @ Catskill)
· Tuesday, March 7th: Ulster County Trustees
   (6:30 - 8:00pm @ Kingston)
· Wednesday, March 8th: Millennium Users (Circulation, Technical Services, & ILL)
   (10:00am - 12:00pm @ Catskill Public Library)
· Thursday, March 9th: Dutchess County Directors
   (10:00am - 12:00pm @ Starr Library in Rhinebeck)
· Friday, March 10th: Outreach/Literacy Staff
   (10:00am - 12:00pm @ MHLS)
· Thursday, March 16th: Putnam County Trustees
   (6:30 - 8:00pm @ Mahopac Library)
· Monday, March 20th: Columbia County Trustees
   (6:30 - 8:00pm @ Kinderhook Library)
· Tuesday, March 21st: Assistant Directors
   (10:00am - 12:00pm @ MHLS)
· Thursday, March 23rd: Dutchess County Trustees
   (6:30 - 8:00pm @ Starr Library in Rhinebeck)
· Tuesday, March 28th: Friends Groups
   (6:30 - 8:00pm @ Starr Library in Rhinebeck)
Register online through the MHLS Calendar at http://www.midhudson.org/evanced/lib/eventcalendar.asp

MHLS Libraries
The Dover Plains Library, Howland Public Library of Beacon, Mahopac Public Library, North Chatham Free Library, and the Poughkeepsie Public Library District are involved in a training program to develop their expertise through the EqualAccess Libraries initiative. The program is designed to transform libraries into information and education centers, based on the needs of their communities. A key component of the program is to strengthen librarians' capacities for community outreach, coalition building, public awareness and advocacy. These skills will better connect libraries to their communities, bring new users to libraries and integrate programming into ongoing library operations. The program is funded by Libraries for the Future, a national nonprofit that champions the role of libraries in American life, who received a challenge grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Professional Development
"Selecting Spanish Language Materials for Adults" is the title of a four-week online course offered by the Association for Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA), a division of the American Library Association. The course will be offered April 17 to May 15, 2006. http://www.ala.org/ala/ascla/asclaevents/professionaldevelopmentonlinea/prodevonline.htm.

Waiting List Available: The workshops Training for Effective Database Use: How to Teach Database Searching and The Changing Face of the Scholarly Web: Finding Quality Free Full Text Articles and Books scheduled for Friday, March 17, 2006 at SENYLRC are full. There is a waiting list for each program. If you are interested in attending the program and would like your name added to the waiting list in case of cancellations, please call Southeastern at 845.883.9065. If enough people sign up for the waiting lists, we will consider working with the trainer to schedule the workshops again.

Marketing, Advocacy & Funding
Tuesday, March 14th: Library Lobby Day - Everything you'd need to participate in this important NYS library event is available on the MHLS web site: http://midhudson.org, then click on Marketing, Advocacy & Funding, then Advocacy to access "Advocacy Central."

Calling all Friends Groups! Library Lobby Day is a perfect opportunity to stand up for your library. Friends are the "ultimate advocates," you are volunteers who believe in the library - the exact type of constituent a legislator will listen to. Don't be shy! Sign-up today at http://midhudson.org!

Can't attend Lobby Day? Make your voice heard by calling or visiting your legislator's local office (contact information is available at Advocacy Central). Also be sure to use the New York Library Associations online communication tool, this is a very simple way for you to have your voice heard, go to http://www.nyla.org and click on the "Become a Library Advocate" button on the left-hand side of the page. Just type in your contact information and the program will match you up with your state legislators and fax a pre-drafted letter for you, free of charge!

Youth Services
An easy way to connect teachers and organizations working with teens in your community with relevant, up-to-date health information for teens is by offering the Health Information Project Resource Guide. This may now be ordered in single copies through the online MHLS Material Request Form (http://midhudson.org/forms/material_request.htm). The guide has been found especially useful to teachers, public health workers, counselors and others who don't have easy access to a computer and who prefer a print version of the Project's listings.

Reference & Collection Development
Cool Readers' Advisory (RA) Tool: Whichbook.net "This inspiring tool, developed by a U.K. partnership called Open Libraries, Ltd., makes RA more intuition-based. Readers can select books by mood, plot shape, character type, and setting. They can click and drag a pointer to determine a degree between, for example, "A little challenging" and "unpredictable," or say they're in a "depressed" mood and looking for something bleak, beautiful, short, or unusual to read - according to this site, there are 20 million individual permutations of these categories possible." [Library Journal, February 15, 2006]

Trustee Resources
Across the Board, the MHLS newsletter for member library Trustees is now available. This edition introduces the MHLS model for a director evaluation process: Evaluating the State of the Library, Part 1: Director Evaluation. The newsletter is in the mail to trustees this week and available online through the MHLS Trustee Resources page: go to http://midhudson.org and click on Trustee Resources.

Administration & Management
National Library Workers Day is Tuesday, April 4, 2006. How will your library celebrate? See http://www.ala-apa.org/about/nlwd.html to download the flyer or buy buttons.

Job Openings
The Grinnell Library Association of Wappingers Falls is seeking a part-time weekend reference librarian to work approximately 5.5 hours per week. Applicants must possess a MLS or be enrolled in an ALA accredited MLS program and be available to work Saturdays 9:30 - 5:00pm and Sundays 1:00 - 4:00pm. Please send resume, cover letter and three references to Grinnell Library Association, 2642 East Main Street, Wappingers Falls, NY 12590, Attn: librarian search, fax, 845.297.1506 or e-mail grinsearch@gmail.com

Development Coordinator, part-time (10 hrs/wk), Millbrook Free Library. Work with Director and Board on all fundraising events. Excellent math, writing, and computer skills required. Call 845.677.3611, ext. 2 for complete job description

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.