| Vol.07-38 | 9.18.07 |
As requested by MHLS Directors, we are beginning a MHLS Directors Management
Series of workshops.The first topic, based on popular request, will be Library Financial Management:
Monday, October 29th from 9:30am – 3:00pm (includes lunch), in the MHLS AuditoriumThis workshop will be presented by Mary Brown, former Executive Director of the Clinton Essex Franklin Library System, designer of the Financial Management module for the federally funded ABLE (Administering Better Libraries - Educate) project. This will answer your financial management questions and help you develop systems that work for your library, actually using your own library data. You will gain the knowledge and skills to manage finances well and with confidence.
Directors from all MHLS libraries would benefit from attending. Trustees and staff that work with library finances are welcome to attend with their director.
The workshop will cover:
· Planning and estimating for the annual financial cycle.
· Creating, reporting and audits of the operating budget.
· Fund accounting and the management of unrestricted, restricted & endowment funds.
· Using the political context to achieve the funding your library deserves.
· How to spot dysfunctions and disasters and be prepared to deal with them.
Registration through the MHLS Online Calendar at http://midhudson.org is required. There is no fee for this workshop.#1. Financial record-keeping must follow acceptable accounting guidelines
[From “10 Things Every Library Director/Manager Needs to Know,” Administering Better Libraries –Educate (ABLE), Nioga Library System, 2006]
MHLS Announcements
FRIENDS MATTER 2007 is here! Friends Groups in the MHLS area are some of the best around and we’d like to thank them for all that they do for our member libraries with an evening of food and friend-2-friend collaboration. Active Friends are invited to register for FRIENDS MATTER 2007:
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
5:00 – 8:00pm
MHLS Auditorium (105 Market Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601)Agenda
5:00 – 5:15: Registration
5:15: Roundtable Discussions
6:45: Dinner (Dinner will be catered by Rosticceria Rossi & Sons – back by popular demand!)
7:30: SpeakerRegistration Options (first come, first served basis):
1. Register online at http://midhudson.org then click on Calendar
2. Register by phone at 845.471.6060 x46
3. Send in the registration form sent to each library and Friends Group last week to: MHLS, attn: Kerstin Cruger, 103 Market Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 by October 15th.Dinner is complimentary to thank area Friends for all their hard work on behalf of MHLS Member Libraries. Questions? Contact Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, MHLS Coordinator of Member Information at 845.471.6060 x39 or rsmith@midhudson.org.
Professional Development
Only a few spots are left for the 'Leading, Maintaining & Reinvigorating a Book Discussion Group' workshop, on Tuesday, October 9th from 10:00am – 3:00pm in the MHLS Auditorium. Presented by Natalie Weikart, a Maryland consultant with twenty years experience in facilitating book discussions and presenting statewide leadership training for library staff. Member library staff saw Natalie at PLA and recommended we bring this enthusiastic expert here for you to benefit from! This interactive workshop has helped launch successful and popular book discussion groups in libraries for more than a dozen years. It is designed for staff who have had some experience or no experience planning or leading a book discussion group for adult readers. Participants will learn techniques for starting and promoting a lively book club, selecting "discussable" titles for various audiences, planning and leading the discussion, handling problems & making everybody happy. Note: Registration is limited to 25 participants. Cost of the workshop is $30 for MHLS member libraries. Lunch is included. Register online through the MHLS calendar.
Resource Sharing & Millennium
In the works…two exciting OPAC enhancements are in the works:
· All new Kids Catalog
· Reading History for Patrons
Stay tuned for more information!
Reference & Collection Development
In this delivery you will find an envelope from SENYLRC with information about Hudson River Valley Heritage (HRVH) http://www.hrvh.org. Many of you saw this project featured at our 2006 MHLS Annual Meeting. HRVH is a free digital, accessible, searchable online resource of the Hudson Valley Region - rich in facts, photos, letters, diaries, manuscripts, memorabilia, maps, ephemeras, audio and video clips, postcards and more from over two dozen historical societies, libraries, museums and other cultural heritage organizations. Current MHLS contributors are the Haviland-Heidgerd Historical Collection at Elting Memorial Library, Heermance Memorial Library, Marlboro Free Library, Millbrook Free Library and Woodstock Public Library. Included in the envelope are the details about their Fall 2007 workshop series of Digitization Basics for Hudson River Heritage. This series is required for contributors to HRVH. For additional information contact Tessa Killian (killian@senylrc.org or 845.883.9065 x14.
Youth Services
Michael Sullivan, national advocate for "Connecting Boys with Books", presented 3 workshops in Poughkeepsie on August 23. His message ~ schools and libraries need to rethink how they promote reading with boys ~ was well received by school administrators, school and public librarians and parents. The programs were sponsored by MHLS, Dutchess and Ulster BOCES School Library Systems and the Mid-Hudson Principals' Center. Among his main points were these:
1. Boys' brains develop slower than girls' and operate differently, facts that should be reflected in our expectations for their reading achievements.
2. Boys (and the men they become) are motivated by a "rules and tools" mentality: "Show me the world around me and help me figure out how it works." Message for libraries: Your collections should reflect this world outlook; obviously, non-fiction is an important genre to have and promote.
3. Boys' minds work better when their hands are engaged; they need stimuli to promote thought. Message for libraries: Imbed activity in programs so that boys can be more active and better involved. Example: Book discussion groups with boys include hanging newsprint on walls where boys create mural based on book, with discussion of story happening while drawing, rather than passively sitting in circle.
4. Book talks (short) are great way to attract boys to books. Message for libraries: Booktalk in your library and your schools. See more on booktalking at:
http://midhudson.org/department/youth/Booktalking.htm
5. Reading aloud to kids should never stop, just because kids learn to read themselves. Message for librarians: Plan Literary lunch with school librarian. See http://www.talestoldtall.com/BoyMeetsBook.html for more.
Check out Michael's website at http://www.talestoldtall.com/index.html for more resources and inspiration. Michael’s Book, “Connecting Boys with Books: What Libraries Can Do,” is available through the MHLS Professional Collection [http://midhudson.org/MHLS/professional_collection.htm]
Trustee Resources
Save the Date! The 2007 Executive Committee / Director’s Forum will be held on Saturday, November 17th from 10:00am – 1:00pm in the MHLS Auditorium. This year’s topic: Legal Issues in Personnel.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.