Trustee Success Story Awards

The MHLS Trustee Success Story Recognition Awards highlight efforts by library trustees that resulted in positive outcomes for their library. The award consists of $200 to the trustee's library and a certificate of recognition for the trustee. (One in each county served by the Mid-Hudson Library System, five (5) in all.)

Criteria: Entries will be judged on:
· What the result was for the library
· How easily this can be replicated

Application procedure: Applications should be in the form of a letter, two pages maximum, to the Trustee Services Committee c/o Peggy Winn at MHLS (through the MHLS delivery or to 103 Market Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601) stating:
· Name of the person being recognized
· Name and address of library, name of county, and director's name
· Description of successful effort
· Back-up documentation, if available, should also be submitted (i.e. news releases, published articles, pictures).

Deadline: June 1, 2006 (winners will be notified in early September). Awards will be presented at the 2006 MHLS Annual Meeting, being held Friday,
October 6th at the Culinary Institute of America.

MHLS Announcements
Advocacy efforts have paid off: the Governor did not veto the Legislature's $20 million increase in Library Aid in the 2006-07 state budget. The approximately $20 million is broken down accordingly:
· $2.7 million using the 2000 Census
· $3 million for all types of systems (one-year only)
· $14 million for public library construction/renovation aid (one-year only)

MHLS Libraries
The ALA Public Programs Office and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) are pleased to announce the following libraries have been selected to receive the third We the People Bookshelf, which focuses on Becoming American.
· D.R. Evarts Library (Athens)
· Howland Public Library (Beacon)
· Kent Public Library
· Mahopac Public Library
· Pleasant Valley Free Library
· The Red Hook Public Library
· Saugerties Public Library
· Stanford Free Library
· Grinnell Library Association (Wappingers Falls)

Congratulations to the New Lebanon Library - they have been awarded a $2,000 unrestricted grant from the Hudson River Bank & Trust Company.

Professional Development
NYS Library Assistant's Association 28th Annual Conference, "Transforming Our Libraries - Managing Change - Making it Happen," June 7-9, 2006 at St. John's University in Queens, NY. "Whether your title is "library clerk", "support staff", "library technician", or another local title, this is your organization!" More information is available at http://www.nyslaa.org/conference.html.

Resource Sharing & Millennium
Patron-placed holds - on the rise: There has been a steady increase in the number of holds placed by patrons through the online public library catalog over the past three years, 2006 is already showing an increase over this time last year!:
2003: 52%
  2004: 62%
    2005: 70%

Recently it has come to our attention that it is difficult to find the Braille material in our catalog. In an effort to resolve that we have created a new material type for the Bibliographic record. You will now find ". Braille" as a material type when creating brief bib records. Karen will be updating the records that she is aware of. If you have Braille items please check to see if they are in fact linked to records that have Braille in the material type. If your item is not linked to a bib record that has a material type ". Braille", please contact Karen O'Brien (kobrien@midhudson.org) or send a photocopy of the item's front fly leaf page. Please indicate to Karen if your copy is a Braille or partially Braille title.

Programming
Online Programming for All Libraries (OPAL): "OPAL is a collaborative effort by libraries of all types to provide cooperative web-based programming and training for library users and library staff members. These live, online events are held in an online auditorium where participants can interact via voice-over-IP, text chatting, and synchronized browsing. Examples of OPAL public online programs include book discussion programs, interviews, special events, library training, memoir writing workshops, and virtual tours of special digital library collections." Membership is $200 a year. Learn more at http://www.opal-online.org/.

Youth Services
2006 Kids Expo Report: "We had a very successful Kids Expo…to me, it seemed like we had more raffle entries for the free book drawings than ever before. Curiosity won and I actually counted! We had 912 kids and teens enter the contest! Keep in mind that not everyone entered to win so we actually spoke to a lot more people about library programs! Were your library patrons among those who stopped at our booth? Probably!:
Adriance, Amenia, Arlington, Beacon, Carmel, Chatham, Clinton, Cold Spring, Dover, East Fishkill, Esopus, Fishkill, Germantown, Highland, Hudson, Hyde Park, Kingston, LaGrange, Mahopac, Marlboro, Millbrook, Milton, Modena, New Paltz, Olive, Pawling, Phoenicia, Plattekill, Pleasant Valley, Port Ewen, Red Hook, Rhinebeck, Saugerties, Staatsburg, Shokan, Stanfordville, Ulster, Wappingers.
If you were not able to help this year, keep it in mind for next year. It's lots of fun, plus you can network with the other children's services personnel."
- Chris Pattantyus, Grinnell Library Association, Wappingers Falls

Trustee Resources
"Critical Path for the Board," From BoardCafe:
"The term "critical path" originated in the field of project management to mean the sequence of milestones that a project must follow to finish in the shortest amount of time. The term has come broadly to mean the path or sequence of decisions and actions that will lead to success. One way to get to this critical path for the board is to clarify what the critical path is for the organization this year. At least annually, ask this question of the executive director and the board officers: What does the organization NEED to accomplish this year? What are the most important two or three things that have to get done? … Read the rest of this article at http://www.compasspoint.org/boardcafe/details.php?id=94

Job Openings
Library clerk position, Germantown Library. Thursday 5-8, and Saturday 10-3. Salary $7.50 per hr. Computer skills necessary, Contact Virginia
Atwell. 518.537.4156.

The Dobbs Ferry Public Library has part-time positions open for Librarian Trainee and/or Librarian. Job Duties: Must be public-service oriented. Work includes assignments in reference, children's services, technical services and circulation, 4 - 8 hours per week. Flexible schedule will include Monday or Wednesday evenings and weekends. Requirements: Must be in library school or have an MLS. Should have experience with online library databases and advanced Internet searching. Knowledge of Dynix helpful. Salary: Trainees: $13.50/hr., $18.50/hr. on Sundays. Librarians $18.00/hr., $22.00/hr. on Sundays. Application: Send a letter and resume to Jeff Ault or Sara Rodgers at dobref@westchesterlibraries.org.

The City of Newburgh Civil Service Commission has announced the open competitive exam #2006-4 for Senior Library Clerk. Date of Exam: May 20, 2006. Last Filing Date: May 9, 2006. Salary $23,623. This opening is at the Newburgh Free Library. Please apply to THIS Civil Service Commission to take the test. Applications with the $15 fee (cash or money order; no personal checks) must be filed with the Commission, 83 Broadway, Newburgh, NY not later than May 9, 2006. http://www.cityofnewburgh-ny.gov/civil/index.htm.

The Sage Colleges seek candidates for the full-time faculty position of Information Literacy Librarian. Position available June 2006. See the full job description at http://www.sage.edu.

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.