Battle of the Books 2006

On Saturday, September 16th, twelve MHLS libraries will bring their teams of 6th-9th graders to the Roy C. Ketcham High School in Wappingers Falls from 1:00 - 4:00pm to take part in the 2nd Annual Battle of the Books.

Participating libraries recruited interested young people in the spring and they started delving into the 10 great titles chosen by the participating librarians and coaches. Over the summer, the young people met with their coaches to discuss the books, increase their knowledge of the details of each story and engage in fun activities related to each book. Many of the teams have traveled to neighboring libraries to take part in local Battles to further hone their skills. The 10 titles chosen this year are: Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett, The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau, Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi, Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick, The Magic Circle by Donna Jo Napoli, Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce, Monster by Walter Dean Myers, Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie Tolan, The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke and When My Name Was Keoko by Linda Sue Parks.

Teams will be representing libraries from the following communities: Beacon, Cold Spring, Coxsackie, Hyde Park, Kinderhook/Valatie, Plattekill, Red Hook, Staatsburg, Stone Ridge, Esopus and Wappingers Falls. The teams from Hyde Park and Staatsburg will be defending themselves, as they tied for first place in the 2005 Battle.

Please join us to cheer for these great young people as they show amazing mastery of the minutest detail of these 10 books! Refreshments and Battle t-shirts will be available for sale to help offset the cost of the 2007 Battle. If your library is considering taking part in the Battle in the future, coming to watch will give you a good sense of how it works and the great fun the kids have.


MHLS Announcements
Planning to Apply for the Construction Grant? If your library intends to apply for the current Construction Grant you must fill out Action Memo #06-13 (Construction Application Grant Intent.)
A print version of the memo was sent to each library, it is also posted online on the MHLS Action Memos page: http://midhudson.org/action_memos/main.htm
The memo is due Friday, September 22. This form must be submitted to MHLS by the deadline in order to be allowed to apply. The actual grant application forms and answer to Frequently Asked Questions are available on DLD's web site at http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/construc/grants.htm.

Annual Meeting Reservations & Payment due September 15th: Please remember to turn in your response cards and checks by this Friday, September 15th For the MHLS Annual Meeting at the CIA on October 6, 2006. Reservations are finalized after payment is received. Each library is guaranteed three seats for the luncheon. We already have a number of people on a waiting list. We are trying to accommodate everyone, so please indicate on your response card if you are intending to come only for the meeting so we can move people up from the waiting list. Thank you for your cooperation.

MHLS Libraries
To increase public awareness and start a community discussion on the elusiveness of the American Dream, the Howland Public Library (Beacon) and the Community Action Partnership of Dutchess County proudly present a screening of Roger Weisberg's alarming and heart-wrenching new documentary, Waging a Living, at the library on Tuesday, September 19th at 7:00pm. Life in the State of Poverty, a short film by the Community Action Partnership, will also be screened followed by a facilitated community discussion on the barriers that low-wage earners must overcome to escape poverty. This event is a collaboration with P.O.V., the acclaimed independent non-fiction film series on PBS [http://www.pbs.org/pov].

The Friends of the Poughkeepsie Public Library District will hold their largest ever book sale September 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 at the South Hills Mall in the former Media Play store. Included in today's delivery is a flyer for the event.

The Friends of the Red Hook Library have been awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities - the We the People "Becoming American" Bookshelf. To launch the bookshelf the Friends will present Mr. Ben Franklin of Philadelphia (portrayed by renowned Ben Franklin impersonator, Ralph Archbold) at Hardscrabble Day in Red Hook on Saturday, September 16th. Mr. Franklin will read from his autobiography and "sign" copies afterwards.

Correction: The $12,000 Legislative Initiative grant awarded to the Kingston Library by NYS Senator William Larkin is for the purchase of new computers for public use. The Grant will be used to replace aging Online Public Access Computers. No computer furniture will be purchased with these funds.

Professional Development
Campaign Institute: Final Workshop in the Series! Getting Out The Vote: Putting All Your Efforts Together. Thursday, October 19th from 9:30am - 1:00pm in the MHLS Auditorium. Is your vote just around the corner? Then you don't want to miss, "Getting Out the Vote," the final workshop of the Getting to Yes Project's Campaign Institute, being offered by Libby Post of Communications Services in Albany, NY. The session is designed for library staff, board and Friends groups of libraries with upcoming votes, and will teach attendees the essentials of mobilizing supporters on Election Day. The session will address:
· Why the GOTV effort is like a separate campaign.
· How to turn your voter database into the foundation of your GOTV effort.
· How to contact voters during GOTV.
· How to track voters the day of the vote.
· How to put your volunteers to good use.
It has been said, "democracy is a contact sport." Join us to ask questions, interact with colleagues, and learn how to mobilize your supporters to ensure victory. Register for this session 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
Getting to Yes is funded by Federal Library Services and Technology Act funds, awarded to the New York State Library by the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services.

YALSA Offers Online Courses: The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), the fastest growing division of the American Library Association (ALA), is offering three online courses to run from October 2 to October 30, 2006. The courses are: New Technologies & New Literacies for Teens; Pain in the Brain: Adolescent Development and Library Behavior; and OutReaching Teens." More at http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2006/august2006/YALSAonlinecourses.htm

Resource Sharing & Millennium
Millennium Toolbox is open! A new suite of Millennium tools has been prepared for library administrators. The tools are arranged as basic administrative questions or needs. Clicking on that link provided will take you to step-by-step visual instructions that answer or satisfy that need. This toolbox is a collaborative effort, based on the requests of member directors. The toolbox can be found at
http://midhudson.org/resource/Millennium/tools/toolbox.htm on the Millennium section of the Resource Sharing Page. If you have other tools that you would like to see added, please send your request to lshedrick@midhudson.org.

Trustee Resources
The Summer 2006 issue of MHLS' newsletter for member library trustees, Across the Board, is now available on the Trustee Resources section of the web site (http://midhudson.org thenTrustee Resources; or get there directly at http://midhudson.org/trustee/main.htm#ATB) The topic is Future Focus: Seven Trends.

Member Libraries are welcome to submit items of interest and job openings to the MHLS Bulletin: bulletin@midhudson.org. The MHLS Bulletin is available on line at http://midhudson.org/bulletins/main.htm.