September: Library Card Sign-up Month

The American Library Association (ALA) announced that Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback of the 2006 Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, will be the spokesperson for this year’s Library Card Sign-up Month, which begins September 1. Roethlisberger is featured on an ALA Graphics READ poster, which is being sent to national media by ALA. Promotional tools in Spanish and English are available online to promote The Smartest Card. Get It. Use It. @ your library theme for Library Card Sign-up Month. Tools include:

· “52 Ways to Use Your Library Card”
· Samples:
- proclamation
- press release
- op-ed
- letter-to-the-editor
- PSA scripts
· “Smartest Card” artwork
- including a “giant card” graphic
There are also links to “Smartest Card” promotional items available from ALA Graphics. Sample tools and examples of how libraries have promoted Library Card Sign-up Month using the Smartest Card are available at http://www.ala.org/librarycardsignup.

MHLS Libraries
The Marlboro Free Library has received a total of $150,000 in personal gifts from former Marlboro resident Beatrice Walkter Conover, which were given to the Library in 2004 and 2006. Mrs. Conover, who now resides in Florida, donated funds to the Library through her charitable foundation. In 2005, the public passed a proposition permitting the Library Board to raise funds over six years to help defray the costs of future library expansion. The Conover gifts enabled the Library to purchase property adjacent to the current library building.


Professional Development
Exploring the Current Web Toolbox: Practical Super Searcher Research Tips & Techniques, Sponsored by the Southeastern New York Library Resources Council. Monday, August 13th from 9:00am – 4:00pm. For more information and a registration form visit http://senylrc.org/coned.htm.

Free Online Course: Sustaining Public Access Computing @your library – This free, self-paced online course is designed for any library staff seeking strategies for sustainability or for those who wish to facilitate the action planning process with their staff, library boards, or others in their rural community. Learn more through WebJunction’s Rural Library Sustainability Project page: http://www.webjunction.org/do/DisplayContent?id=16846

Reminder: The quarterly MHLS System Tour is next Wednesday, August 15th. Sign-up online at http://www.midhudson.org/evanced/lib/eventcalendar.asp

Marketing, Advocacy & Funding
Thanks to the Friends Support Group (FSG) attendees the Book Sale Tips & Resources page has been updated with helpful information in the areas of
· Donation management
· Sorting
· Advertising
· Dealing with discards
Check it out at http://midhudson.org then Marketing, Advocacy & Funding then Fundraising then Book Sales or http://midhudson.org/funding/fundraising/book_sales.htm

*We need your help - at the FSG meeting the group realized a list of "trusted book dealers" to share system-wide would be useful. If you have a dealer you've worked with for the purposes of pricing or for taking your post-sale inventory who wouldn’t mind being listed, email their information to Rebekkah: rsmith@midhudson.org.


Reference & Collection Development
Stat Watch: Net Book Sales, 2005-2006
Adult and children’s trade books +2.9%
Adult paperbacks +8.5%
Adult hardcover +4.1%
Mass market paperbacks +4.6%
Religious books -10.2%
Ebooks +24.1%
Audiobooks -11.7%
Source: Association of American Publishers;as seen in Library Journal, 6.15.07

Did you know? The Braille version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (National Braille Pr.) went on sale at the same time as the printed version – the first time in publishing history for a popular children’s book. However, according to Library Hotline, most blind or visually impaired children prefer the audio version of the Potter books.

Teaching Technology: In June more than 20 member library staff attended a training to learn about Generations Online and to share tips for technology training for seniors and others. Tips and resources discussed at the meeting ranged from alternative mice to word-of-mouth marketing tips. Here are some of the highlights:
· Talk about what a user will be able to do, not what they will learn.
· WIFM = “What’s in it for me” – that’s what potential students want to know.
· Keep it simple, avoid using jargon and “tech talk”
· Learn about alternatives to a conventional computer mouse:
- Keyboard commands
- Right-click + “Enter” key as a substitute for a double click
- Trackball mouse, touch pads, joystick mouse
All tips have been incorporated into the new “Teaching Technology & Online Resources” area of http://midhudson.org then Programming then Teaching Technology or get there directly at http://midhudson.org/program/computer/main.php

The National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress have launched "Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers" [http://www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica]. This online resource contains more than 226,000 pages of public domain newspapers from California, Florida, Kentucky, New York, Utah, Virginia, and the District of Columbia published between 1900 and 1910. The text of the newspapers is fully searchable, and search terms can be limited to a particular state, a specific newspaper, by year or years of publication and even by months.

Youth Services
YALSA podcasts Annual Conference: The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) successfully completed a pilot project to cover the 2007 ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., through podcasts. These podcasts are available on the YALSA Blog at http://blogs.ala.org/yalsa.php. "YALSA has been working to help make sure that those who can't attend conference have opportunities to participate in activities the division sponsors," said Linda Braun, YALSA blog manager and podcast editor. "Podcasts seemed like the next logical step for giving those who can't travel to events like Annual Conference to be a part of the experience."

Administration & Management
DisabilityInfo.gov: The federal government has upgraded a one-stop web site for disability-related information and resources. The Employers Resources page of the site includes employment law and regulations, workplace accommodation and more and has been linked at http://midhudson.org under Administration & Management then Human Resources/Personnel or get there directly at http://midhudson.org/admin/personnel/main.php.

Job Openings
Millbrook School seeks part-time evening librarian for the 2007-2008 school year beginning September 2007. Duties include overseeing library operation from 6:45 - 10:00pm one or two evenings a week, assisting high school students, and maintaining a productive study atmosphere. MLS or equivalent degree preferred; experience with high school students and technology a plus. E-mail or send resume and letter of interest to Katherine Havard, Dean of Faculty, at khavard@millbrook.org or 131 Millbrook School Road, Millbrook, NY 12545

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.