Helping Your Patrons

Helping Your Patrons easily, effectively and with expertise workshops will be held in all five counties in April 2008.

Presented by Sue Hermans, Head of Reference and Adult Services & Coordinator of Central Library Services at the Poughkeepsie Public Library District, this program is designed for all staff that are asked questions by patrons. It will help you develop your ability to assist them, simplify finding the right answers and help you provide quality library service to your community.

Can you show someone where to look for their family tree? How do you find the information to help your patron fix their car? Can you recommend the next book to your avid Grisham reader? What is a good price for Depression glass? How do you help someone pass a civil service test?

The workshop will help you develop expertise with HOMEACCESS resources and learn new tricks for Google searching.

Ulster County
Wednesday, April 2 from 1-3pm @ Kingston Library (55 Franklin Street in Kingston)

Columbia County
Monday, April 7th from 10am-12pm @ Hudson Area Association Library (400 State Street in Hudson)

Dutchess County
Tuesday, April 8th from 10am-12pm @ MHLS Auditorium (105 Market Street in Poughkeepsie)

Greene County
Wednesday, April 23rd from 10am-12pm @ Palenville Branch Library (3335 Route 23A in Palenville)

Putnam County
Tuesday, April 29th from 10am-12pm @ Kent Public Library (17 Sybil's Crossing in Kent Lakes)

Register online at http://calendar.midhudson.org


MHLS Libraries
“Dutchess County Reads” launched: A free readers' service, Dutchess County Reads, was launched this month. With this service, Dutchess County library patrons can subscribe to a series of e-mail newsletters featuring all type of books: historical fiction, fantasy, travel, Christian fiction, romance, and more. Each featured title is linked to the online catalog. The service is paid for using county funds. The service is powered by NextReads, a service of NoveList [http://www.nextreads.com/].

Marketing, Advocacy & Funding
“Logo Echo”: The LaGrange Library and their Friends Group have provided a great example of logo development for other libraries. Their Friends logo spins off of their library logo to create a visual connection for patrons between the two.

Submit a star for National Library Workers Day: Start the celebration early for National Library Workers Day (NLWD) by telling the world what makes your favorite library employee special. Submissions for the NLWD Stars web site are now being accepted at: http://www.ala-apa.org/about/nlwdstarsform.html NLWD is celebrated on Tuesday, April 15th, during National Library Week.

Bus Registrations for Lobby Day are due this week (February 22nd) to the Ramapo Catskill Library System. If you’d like to make participation in Library Lobby Day on March 11th easier take the bus! There are convenient stops along the NYS Thruway. Download the registration form at http://midhudson.org [Correction - please note: The Catskill exit off the NYS Thruway is #21]

Programming
Check out the Librarians; Index to the Internet (LII) Newsletter [http://lii.org]: "[A] good resource for planning for holidays and observations, birthdays of notable people in history, special months, etc. We try to feature these sites in advance in the newsletter and are always looking for new sites about cultural and historical occasions."

Project StoryKeeper, an organization whose mission is to preserve the American heritage by capturing and sharing the life stories of all Americans, today announced it is seeking 100,000 volunteers to be trained for the special skill of interviewing and gathering audio biographies of elders. The stories will then be posted on the internet for family and friends to enjoy, preserve and add to for generations to come. Learn more at http://www.storykeeper.org/

Youth Services
Reminder: The Gaming Grant Workshop will be held on Friday, February 22nd from 2:30 – 4:30 pm in the MHLS Auditorium. Even if you aren’t planning to apply for the grant this is still a great opportunity to learn more about gaming in public libraries and the value is can bring to your library. Register online at http://calendar.midhudson.org

Cleaning out the craft closet: “We did a program called the "Monster Mash" which was basically a creative way to get rid of the odds and ends in the craft supply closet. Create boxes full of all sorts of stuff (paper, feathers, glue, paint, puff balls, fabric, etc) and have the kids break into groups, giving each group a box. The Library picked a monster theme (but you could pick anything) and the groups would try to create something out of the materials in the box. We had each team name their monster and give it a little back-story and introduce it to the whole group. Its a great program for younger kids and really allows for creativity.” - Kate Pickett, Young Adult Librarian, Johnson County Library (KS)


Trustee Resources
New Titles in the MHLS Professional Collection:
-Library Board Strategic Guide: going to the next level, by Ellen G. Miller, Patricia H. Fisher, Scarecrow Press, 2007. [Boards of Directors / Trustees MHP 658.422]
-Planning the Modern Public Library Building, by Gerard B. McCabe and James R. Kennedy, editors, Libraries Unlimited, 2003. [Library Buildings / Area Planning MHP 711.57]

To borrow from the MHLS Professional Collection: http://midhudson.org/mhls/professional_collection.htm

Administration & Management
Ethics in Librarianship: WebJunction recently did a feature on Ethics in Librarianship, reminding us of an important framework that can be applied in decision-making for libraries; the ALA Code of Ethics: "When making a decision on the job, how do you know you're choosing the most ethical option? Does your library consider the ethical ramifications of certain policies and procedures?" We've attached the Code to this week's Bulletin to help refresh everyone on this document. It can be found on midhudson.org under Administration & Management then Standards, Values & Principles (get there directly at http://midhudson.org/admin/standards_values_principles/main.php)

Job Openings
Kent Public Library seeks a part-time Library Assistant (Youth Services) who is a team player committed to children's services and quality programming. Minimum Qualifications: Bachelors degree from an accredited institution and one year of experience working with children and/or teenagers in recreational, youth park service, cultural or education enrichment activities. 30 hours per week including evenings and Saturdays. This is a competitive civil service position. Email resume to frees@kentlibrary.org or send to Frank Rees, Director, Kent Public Library, 17 Sybil's Crossing, Kent Lakes, NY 10512

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