| Vol.06-20 | 5.16.06 |
The next MHLS System Tour & Orientation will be conducted on Wednesday, June 14th from 9:30am-12:30pm in the MHLS Auditorium. The System Tour & Orientation 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 online at: http://www.midhudson.org/evanced/lib/eventcalendar.aspMHLS Announcements
Action Memo #06-05: Bulk Order of Delivery Slips is due June 9th. Return your completed order form to Kerstin Cruger, MHLS Public Service Team Assistant. Lost your memo? Print out a new one from the Pending Action Memos web page at http://midhudson.org/action_memos/main.htm.Invitations to the 2006 FRIENDS MATTER: Leadership Development & Recognition Event will be sent to those libraries with active Friends Group later this week. There is one registration card per Friends Group. Each group is guaranteed two seats at the event as long as registration cards are returned to Rebekkah @MHLS by Friday, June 16th.
MHLS Libraries
The Adriance Memorial Library of the Poughkeepsie Public Library District has been selected to host the Great Stories CLUB book discussion program for troubled teens, organized by the American Library Association Public Programs Office (PPO) and Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), with a grant from Oprah's Angel Network, to provide young adults with the opportunity to discuss books relevant to the challenges in their lives. For more information about this program visit http://www.ala.org/ala/ppo/currentprograms/greatstories/club.htm.The West Hurley Public Library broke ground on their 1,700 square foot building project to renovate and expand their current facility in March 2006. The library has been posting progress pictures on their web site at http://westhurleylibrary.org/photo.htm
Professional Development
The Preservation of Scrapbooks workshop has been postponed until Wednesday, May 24th.The Small Libraries Roundtable will meet on Friday, June 16th from 10:00am-noon at the NorthEast-Millerton Library (http://nemillertonlibrary.org/). This users group is designed for the administrators of small libraries (3FTE or less). The purpose of the group is to discuss the issues surrounding running a small library. This instance of the users group will address best practices for administering staff evaluations and advocating for director evaluations in a small library:
· Discuss solutions to the challenges of
> Evaluating your friends
> Evaluation of volunteers
> Helping your board do an annual evaluation of your position
· Share your questions, solutions and tips
· Learn from your peers
Facilitated by Rebekkah Smith Aldrich. Register online: http://www.midhudson.org/evanced/lib/eventcalendar.aspMarketing, Advocacy & Funding
Interested in providing passes to the Mid-Hudson Children's Museum that can be checked out by your library patrons? Contact MHLS Youth Services Coordinator Margaret Keefe at x35 or mkeefe@midhudson.org for an application. The rates are as follows:
· $100 gives a library one card which may be used by a family on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Sunday (for one year)
· $200 gives a library one card which may be used any day the Museum is open (for one year)
Learn more about the museum at http://www.mhcm.org/new/pages/home.htmDuring National Library Week, the American Library Association launched its first-ever State of America's Libraries report. The report details both the positive impact libraries and librarians have on the millions of people who use them and the challenges libraries face in the area of funding. The report includes much information that could be linked with local issues to provide greater support and national context. All types of libraries are included, and topics include:
· Americans' use and perceptions of public libraries
· Library funding
· Technology in libraries
· Censorship
· USA PATRIOT Act and reader privacy
The full report can be found online at http://www.ala.org/2006state. The Rochester Hills Public Library in Michigan modified the ALA press release to replace the national quote with a local one. Other libraries have used the survey data to highlight local increases in library visits and circulation. The ALA press release is here:
http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2006/april2006/StateofAmericasLibrarie.htm. Here's one example of a letter to the editor using the report: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060428/OPINION04/604280345/1072Reference & Collection Development
To help you make DVD purchasing decisions there is a daily list of DVD's with holds available on the MHLS web site. Like the "Titles with holds" list, it updates daily and can be found on the Millennium & Resource Sharing page. http://support.midhudson.org/cgi-bin/dvds.shtmlProgramming
Offer Babysitting Training Classes at your library: Use the MHLS EZ Library Program Database at http://midhudson.org, Programming - or get there directly at http://midhudson.org/resources/ezprogram.htm - for contact information of people/organizations in our service area who will conduct babysitting training classes at your libraries. These include Red Cross contacts in a few counties as well as individuals whose names were sent in by libraries who have hired them before. Once you're in the EZ Library Program Database, click on Search for a Program and then type babysitting in the Search by keyword box.Youth Services
Columbia, Greene & Ulster Youth Services Staff Meeting, Wednesday, May 31st from 10:00am - noon at the Palenville Branch of the Catskill Public Library. Based on feedback from a joint youth services MHLS focus group last February, youth services staff in these 3 counties would like to meet occasionally to share ideas and issues pertaining to library service to young people. Through such sharing, everyone benefits from the collective knowledge and experience of area colleagues. The workshop will cover:
· Planning for future meetings of this group
· Summer reading updates
· Issues attendees bring to the table
Register online at http://midhudson.org, Calendar or go there directly at http://www.midhudson.org/evanced/lib/eventcalendar.aspAdministration & Management
EngagedPatrons.org: Qualified libraries can obtain interactive web services free of charge to plug into their sites (Qualified = libraries with a total budget of less than $1 million). They currently offer: library event registration tools, blogs, feedback mechanisms, RSS feeds, and custom web-enabled databases. EngagedPatrons.org provides a URL to link from the library's web site to the new service; all services are hosted at the EP site.
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.