Hudson Valley Connections 2007

The MHLS Outreach Department has created a resource guide for ex-offenders returning to Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Putnam or Ulster counties in New York State. It is being distributed to soon-to-be-released inmates by the 7 prisons and 5 jails in the MHLS area as part of their Transitional Services programs. Information in the guide includes Hotlines; service agencies for Food, Housing & Shelters, Health; and information about the Criminal Record Repository, Finding a Job, Department of Labor offices, Work and Training, Calling 211 for Information, as well as information about what Public Libraries have to offer. The guide is bilingual: English and Spanish.

Many agencies have stopped providing service agency information in print and have moved to online publication. While much of the information in this guide is on the Internet, inmates have no access to the Internet while incarcerated. Having these essential resources in print helps them make positive plans for their re-entry. MHLS is one of several systems in NYS that have created this type of booklet to fill the gap.

Hudson Valley Connections 2007 is available free of charge to inmates and ex-inmates in New York State by writing to the MHLS Outreach Services Department. Print copies are available to member libraries through the MHLS Material Request Form: http://midhudson.org/forms/material_request.htm for distribution to ex-inmates, and it is also online at http://www.midhudson.org/hvconnections/.

MHLS Announcements
**Today is Library Lobby Day**
All MHLS member library supporters are asked to contact their legislators today and express their support for library and system funding:
· Ask legislators to support Governor Spitzer’s proposed budget to retain 2006 funding levels, including:
- The use of the 2000 Census in the library funding formula
- $3 million for Library Systems
- $14 million for public library construction
· Urge legislators to “close the gap” in library and system by funding the NYLA Proposal:
- 20% increase for public library systems
- 66% increase for local library aid
· All we’re asking for at this point is to keep up with inflation.

Talking Points:
· We’re just trying to keep up:
- Our purchasing power weakens every year.
- What cost $88 million in 1993 would cost $121.9 million in 2006.
· The Mid-Hudson Library System saves local tax dollars: If the System didn’t exist…every community with a public library would have to pay an estimated 33% more for the level of library service they currently receive.
For example:
- MHLS automated circulation system provides $1.9 million in value annually to local communities.
- MHLS delivery department saves local library patrons $1.8 million annually. [MHLS Delivery = one-seventh the cost of mailing items between libraries.]
- If libraries had to buy all of the materials that they borrowed from the MHLS Youth Services Department in 2006 to provide children’s programming it would have cost them over $110,000.
- MHLS staff provided over 1,000 hours of professional development consultation at no charge for member libraries in 2006 – a value of $100,000.

Check out the Lobby Day Survival Kit at http://midhudson.org.

MHLS Libraries
The Haines Falls Free Library Board of Trustees has announced that it has reached an agreement to purchase the former Marian Center on Main Street in Tannersville, NY. The new facility is being planned as more than a traditional library with meeting rooms, increased computer services, business support services, and space for galleries and exhibits. “It will be great to be close to the Jr.-Sr. High School and close to downtown Tannersville,” said Elane Farley, director of the library, “I anticipate an increase in our youth programs and circulation.” The move may not take place until 2008, depending on the availability of funding and completion of renovations that will be required.

Professional Development
The New York State Library has scheduled Outcome-Based Evaluation (OBE) training at the Southeastern New York Library System Council in Highland, NY on May 14th – 15th. This is a 2- day workshop with evaluation expert Eleanor Carter of Carter Consulting Services will conduct both workshops. Online registration is available at: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/obe/wrkshp07.htm These OBE workshops are designed for staff from all types of library systems, member libraries, and central libraries who are involved in training activities. There is no charge for the training.
Additional information regarding OBE activities, including OBE training manuals developed by the State Library can be found at: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/obe/index.html OBE, “sometimes called outcomes measurement, is a systemic way to determine if a program has achieved its goals. The organized process of developing an OBE program and a logic model (an evaluation plan) helps institutions articulate and establish clear program benefits (outcomes), identify ways to measure those program benefits (indicators), clarify the specific individuals or groups for which the program’s benefits are intended (target audience), and design program services to reach that audience and achieve the desired results.” For more information, please contact Mary Linda Todd at 518.474.7890 or mtodd@mail.nysed.gov.

Something Funny Happened at the Library! and Rob Reid is coming to tell us all about it: Friday, March 23, from 9:00am to 3:00pm at the Upper Hudson Library System, easily accessible off I-90 in Albany. Rob Reid is a children's literature instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, besides writing regular features for LibrarySparks and Book Links Magazines and his books on programming, music, and more at libraries. Rob will present a smorgasbord of storytelling, musical and movement activities, poetry and wordplay, creative dramatics and even a library rap or two. Everyone should come away from with several practical ideas to share with kids! A flier may be found at: http://www.mvls.info/news/RobReidflyer.pdf Cost is $30.00 per person, and includes lunch.

Authors Among Us: Literary Programming for Libraries, Thursday, April 5th from 9:00am – 4:00pm at the Schenectady County Public Library, 99 Clinton Street, Schenectady, NY in the McChesney Room. A day of literary programming ideas to spark your community’s interest in the library. Discover the value of this type of programming to your community, partnering tips, audience building, where to find program presenters, and funding ideas. See workshop notice enclosed with today’s Bulletin for more information. Cost: $40, lunch is included. Questions? Contact Lois Gordon, 518.355.2010 x233 or lgordon@mvls.info. Directions and the registration form are available at: http://www.mvls.info.

Marketing, Advocacy & Funding
Libraries as the “third place”: “Architects working on these new and improved libraries are thinking differently about their use. No longer a space of hallowed silence, today’s library is as much a meeting spot as an intellectual resource. Spurred by a growing hunger for “third spaces” — welcoming public places like cafes and bookstores, where users of all ages can settle in for hours or chat in a corner — the library of the future accommodates teens and children by building separate rooms for them and offers meeting spaces for local residents.”
[New Libraries That Don’t Just Go by the Book, by Caitlin Kelly, The New York Times; 2.11.07]

Job Openings
Part-time library clerk position available weekends Saturday, 10:00am-4:00pm; Sunday, 1:00-5:00pm, some weekday hours possible. Public contact position includes circulation, tech services, maintenance of the collection, etc. Good computer and internet skills essential. Previous library experience a plus. Please send resume ASAP: Kathleen McLaughlin, Director, Putnam Valley Library, 30 Oscawana Lake Road, Putnam Valley, NY 10579; fax: 845.528.3297.

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.

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.