Reaching Out to Spanish-speakers

Register now to attend the workshop:
Reaching Out: Serving the Spanish-speaking Community. Presented by Merribeth Advocate, Outreach & Education Coordinator and Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Coordinator of Member Information.

Our region is one of the fastest growing areas of the state, and growth brings change. This workshop is ideal for library staff dealing with the public and also for library decision-makers who coordinate plans and services. It is designed to increase awareness of cultural differences, behaviors and values of American culture and Hispanic/Latino culture and their impact on delivering library services.

The workshops will help library staff:
· Understand the perceptions and attitudes the community has about the library;
· Enable more effective communication with Spanish-speaking customers; and
· Find ways to make the library more welcoming.

Note: The first 30 MHLS member libraries to register will receive a handheld electronic Spanish/English dictionary. These will be distributed based on attendance.

Register online through the MHLS calendar by going to http://midhudson.org and clicking on Calendar for one of the following sessions. All workshops are on Thursdays from 10:00am-4:00pm (Lunch is included):
· March 1 - MHLS Auditorium (105 Market St., Poughkeepsie) snow date is 3/8
· March 15 - Kingston Library (55 Franklin St., Kingston) snow date is 3/22
· March 29 - Kent Public Library (17 Sybil's Crossing, Kent Lakes)
· April 12 - Catskill Public Library (1 Franklin St, Catskill)
· April 26 - Hudson Area Library (400 State Street, Hudson)
To get directly to the online calendar for registration go to: http://www.midhudson.org/evanced/lib/eventcalendar.asp

MHLS Announcements
NYLA Library Lobby Day is Tuesday, March 13th. Join us for the annual trip to Albany to speak up for library and system funding.

Last year was an important one for library advocates, resulting in:
· The use of the 2000 Census in the library funding formula;
· $3 million for systems; and
· $14 million for public library construction.
Governor Eliot Spitzer has retained these three gains in his 2007-2008 Executive Budget. Let’s make sure they stay there and lay the groundwork for the coming years to “close the gap.” Our new Governor needs to see that there is strong (and vocal) support for libraries and library systems.

MHLS makes the day as simple as possible:
· Coordinated Transportation: Reserve your seat using the registration form sent to each library with the Bulletin this week or download the form online at MHLS' Advocacy Central web site*. Bus pick-up points include: West Nyack (Palisades Center), the Newburgh Mall and three stops along the NYS Thruway: New Paltz, Kingston, and Catskill (Cost: $18)
· Driving? Directions to the Concourse and parking maps are available at Advocacy Central*.
· All meetings are set up by MHLS, the schedule will be posted at Advocacy Central*.
· Talking points are provided. In addition, we do our best to ensure a MHLS staff person will be at each meeting to make sure all points are covered.
· MHLS staff is on-hand to guide you through the entire day and help you find your way around the capitol.
We are representing over 370,000 library cardholders on this day – so rally the troops - trustees, Friends, volunteers, home-school families, community leaders, and other library supporters...all are welcome in this effort.

*MHLS Advocacy Central: http://midhudson.org then Marketing, Advocacy, Funding then Advocacy or get there directly at: http://midhudson.org/funding/advocacy/main.htm

MHLS Libraries
The Greene County Council on the Arts and the Columbia County Council on the Arts are pleased to announce the recipients of regrant awards through the Twin Counties Cultural Fund Decentralization Program for Columbia and Greene Counties. These funds are intended to support artistic programs and services that “directly and generously benefit the public.”
Cairo Public Library was awarded $1,347 for self-portrait painting, children’s book illustration, drawing and creative writing programs.
Catskill and Palenville Libraries were awarded $2,000 for folk music, contemporary dance, digital photography, and storytelling programs.
D.R. Evarts Library (Athens) was awarded $1,300 for mask making, music and puppet performances.
Greenville Public Library was awarded $1,300 for ceramics, watercolor and drawing programs.
Heermance Memorial Library (Coxsackie) was awarded $1,300 for collage, abstract art, quilting, monologue workshop and more.
Windham Public Library was awarded $1,000 for craft and metalwork programs.
Claverack Library and Debra Hughes were awarded $700 for a multidisciplinary exploration of classical ballet.
Friends of Chatham Public Library was awarded $1,500 for artist/author programs.
Hudson Area Association Library was awarded $1,000 for a graphic novel workshop with Barbara Slate of Archie Comics, Marvel Comics and other publications.
Hudson Area Association Library and Stephvon Moore were awarded $1,600 for hip-hop dance classes and performance.
North Chatham Library was awarded $1,300 for literature and arts workshops.
Philmont Library was awarded $1,200 for six evening music performances.
Philmont Library and Neil Smith were awarded $1,200 for adult writing workshops and public reading.

Marketing, Advocacy & Funding
2007 Velma Moore Award, sponsored by NYSALB: Submit your nomination for the Velma Moore Award, the award will be presented at the Trustees Institute May 4th and 5th 2007 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, New York-LaGuardia. The award carries a $750 stipend to be donated to the library or library service of the award winner's choice. Think about library community volunteers, library staffers, in fact anyone whom you believe has made an important difference to our library community, or who has traveled that extra mile to make things significantly better and/or more effective for our libraries. Submit a one-page nomination letter with relevant information that describes the individual's commitment to library service. Include his or her name, phone number, and email address and send to the Velma Moore Award Committee: kls823@rochester.rr.com. Call Karen Achilles at 315.789.2399 for further information. The deadline for submission of this prestigious annual award is February 22, 2007.

Youth Services
The New York Library Association Youth Services Section presents its 32nd Annual Spring Conference: “Bring on the Books, Bring on the Joy!” Friday and Saturday, April 20 & 21 2007. Featuring kick off address by syndicated columnist Jerry Zezima and special guest speakers Daniel and Jill Pinkwater and Libba Bray. The conference will be held at The Crowne Plaza Hotel, 66 Hale Ave., White Plains, NY. For more information and registration: http://www.nyla.org/content/user_12/yssspring07.pdf

Administration & Management
The Small Libraries Roundtable met at the Claverack Library in January to continue their discussion about personnel policies and employee handbooks. Tips from the meeting included:
· Non-civil service directors should have a contract with the board;
· NYS is an “employment-at-will” state;
· Define how many hours make up a normal work day in your policy;
· All employees should sign off that they have read the employee handbook (sample handbooks available at the URL below);
· All employees should receive a “letter of hire” that at least includes their start date, salary and probation period (sample available at the URL below); Generate a similar letter for a current employee that moves into a new position.
More notes and resources from the meeting are available through the Administration & Management section of the MHLS web site: http://midhudson.org then Administration & Management then MHLS Support then Small Libraries Roundtable; or get there directly at http://midhudson.org/admin/SLRT/main.php. The next meeting of the Small Libraries Roundtable will be Wednesday, April 25th at the Morton Memorial Library in Rhinecliff. Register now at http://midhudson.org then Calendar or get there directly at http://www.midhudson.org/evanced/lib/eventcalendar.asp

LibVibe: A podcast of library news headlines. Listen online or download to your computer, MP3 player or iPod: http://libvibe.blogspot.com/.

PAGE 3: "Around the System for January 2007"

PAGE 4: February 2007 Calendar:http://www.midhudson.org/evanced/lib/eventcalendar.asp

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.