Millennium Users Group

Don't miss the next Millennium Users Group! With a new release on the horizon this is your chance to get the scoop on what’s coming.

Millennium Users Group (MUG)
Tuesday, November 6th
10:00am-12:00pm
MHLS Auditorium.

Attending the Millennium Users Group meeting is beneficial to any staff member who works with any Millennium module. In addition to the discussion of the upcoming release, you will have the opportunity to meet others who do what you do and share ideas. Issues to be discussed include:
· Upcoming release 2007
· Outstanding calls
· Enhancement requests for future release
· Follow up discussion on recently implemented features and products
· Products for possible purchase

This is an important users group to attend as there is a new release of Millennium scheduled for December ‘07/January ’08 that will have lots of changes. Join the MUG to get a preview. Presented by Laurie Shedrick, MHLS Automated Systems Manager.

Register 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

MHLS Announcements
Millennium & the OPAC will be unavailable Thursday, November 1st: All of Mid-Hudson's Internet connections will be temporarily unhooked beginning 8:00am on Thursday November 1st. There will be no access to Millennium, the online catalog or midhudson.org. MHLS staff will also be unable to send and receive email. Service should be restored by the afternoon, but there are no guarantees. We will do everything in our power to ensure that the downtime is minimal and as off prime hours as possible. As soon as we have access we will post to the lists, letting you know that we are back up. Please be sure that you have a copy of the Offline Circulation software. You can download a copy and instructions for downloading from
http://midhudson.org/resource/Millennium/Offline/Offline.htm.
The lines are being disconnected to allow a crane access to remove air conditioning equipment that is installed on the rooftop of the hallway connecting MHLS to the Adriance library. That hallway will be torn down to make way for the expansion of the new library.

MHLS Libraries
News of Note from the Howland Public Library in Beacon:
· The library mural will receive one of the 2007 Dutchess County Executive’s Arts Awards for “art in public places.”
· The Friends are collecting paperbacks to send to troops stationed overseas on behalf of “Operation Paperback” until November 11th. For more information: http://www.operationpaperback.org/.

Youth Services
Free books for your library: MHLS receives many children's and teen books from publishers. At the end of the year, we make these books available free of charge to member libraries. Each library may choose 10 titles for their own collection or to give to children and teens as prizes. When you come to MHLS to choose your books, please check in with either Kerstin or Margaret. This giveaway starts immediately and will continue until January 25, 2008.

Early Literacy Training for Parents @ the Library: On October 11, Carol Rodriguez, Youth Services Librarian at Poughkeepsie Public Library District, shared her experience in presenting parenting workshops. At the heart of these workshops are the 6 early literacy skills identified in the ALA Every Child Ready to Read Initiative:
1. Print motivation,
2. Vocabulary,
3. Print Awareness,
4. Letter Knowledge,
5. Narrative skills and
6. Phonological awareness.
Most libraries are already incorporating these skills in their story times so the next step is to make parents aware of them and the importance of incorporating them in activities with their children. The main points Carol made were:
· There is already a wealth of information on the ALA site for you to incorporate into your own workshop, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel: www.ala.org/ala/alsc/ERCC/ERCCHomePage.htm
· Model how to read to children at story hour, for example - encourage older children to answer questions about the story (dialogic reading) to develop narrative skills.
· Use handouts from the ALA site to positively reinforce what parents hear at the workshops; tell them they are already doing some of the activities with their kids; now they understand the importance.
· To reach some parents, take workshops to social service agencies and other places where parents already are spending part of their busy day.
Some helpful hints included:
· Mixing/matching available videos to use ones that fit your own style of presentation. Videos: Bonding with Baby (birth-2), Ready to Learn, Born to Success or Hear and Say (2-3) and Say It Fast, Say It Slow (4-5)
· MHLS has 2 kits titled Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library in the Professional Collection. Borrow for programs or to preview to buy.
· Set up parenting sessions where kids can play in corner or schedule a parallel children’s program to avoid childcare issues & facilitate more parents attending.

Marketing, Advocacy & Funding
Marketing Made Simple Workshop Summary: Former Associate Executive Director for Communication for the American Library Association, Peggy Barber, began by grouping the people of our service area into a pyramid:
Champions: Have a sense of ownership, advocate for the library to others
Clients: Regular library users, often have a relationship with library staff
Customers: Use the library
Prospects: Could be users with the right encouragement
Suspects: Library is not part of their lives

Peggy’s advice is to invest time and energy to move Customers up the pyramid to the Champion level. Champions are our Friends, our allies – willing to carry our message with enthusiasm and passion. Clients can easily be moved up, but Customers may take more effort. More tips from Peggy’s presentation:
· Word-of-mouth “must have’s”
- A good product/GREAT customer service
- A plan with clear positioning, key audiences, strategies
- A clear, memorable and consistent message
- A prepared and committed sales force
- People who are willing to testify
· Your message should be: Conscious, Clear & Consistent
- Sample: Did you know you can use the library in your pajamas? We’ve got great resources online.
· Create a culture of customer service in your library: “Give staff the power to make people happy.”
· “Feed the grapevine”: If someone indicates they are pleased with the service they received, ask them to “Please tell your friends.”
· All staff and trustees should have a business card that identifies their affiliation with the library. You never know who knows who!
· In print publicity, admit you don’t have a lot of funds for PR: “We don’t have a big advertising budget. Please tell your friends.”
· Tips for promoting databases:
-“Sell the library one patron at a time.” Show them what a database can do. “Reference by Appointment”
- Don’t just pass out bookmarks. Staff should be able to articulate why a database would be useful to a patron.
- Grab people by subject
- Feature one database per newsletter
[For copies of the handouts contact Rebekkah: rsmith@midhudson.org]

Job Openings
Part-time Library Clerk. Phoenicia Library. Seeking part-time Library Clerk to begin immediately. Hourly pay between $7.15 and $10.00 per hour depending on education level, skills and responsibilities. 5 - 15 hours per week, must include at least one Saturday per month. Required skills: Basic computer skills including MS Word and use of the Internet; ability to provide friendly customer service; working knowledge of library methods and materials. Preferred (but not essential) skills to include knowledge of Millennium and circulation desk procedures; ability to run or assist Library Director in running children’s programming; advanced computer skills including debugging and flexible schedule. Must have at least a partial college education; current college students acceptable. Please submit a resume to Regina Johnson, Library Director, via e-mail phoenicialibrary@hotmail.com or U.S. mail to Phoenicia Library, P.O. Box 555, Phoenicia, NY 12464.

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