Trustee Institute @Saratoga

The 2008 Trustee Institute sponsored by the New York State Association of Library Boards (NYSALB) will be held at the Holiday Inn in Saratoga Springs, NY May 2nd & 3rd. This is a conference for trustees and directors. There are sessions for all levels of trustees with opportunities to gain valuable information on trustee roles and responsibilities.

Friday, May 2nd
4:00-4:45pm: Tour of the Clifton-Park Halfmoon Library, “a model of environmentally-advanced architecture.” There will be bus transportation from the hotel.
5:15-6:00pm: Tour of the Saratoga Springs Library
6:00pm: Check-in and Cocktail Reception
7:00-9:00pm – Welcome & Dinner
Saturday, May 3rd
8:00-9:00am – Buffet Breakfast & Trustee Networking
9:00-10:15 – Concurrent Session One:
- Goals = Dreams with Deadlines
- Green…”To Be, Or Not To Be: That is the Question”
10:30-11:45 – Concurrent Session Two:
- Trustees and Friends: Working Together to Build Better Libraries
- Board Leadership Begins with You: Tips for Managing Trustee/Director Relationships
[presented by MHLS’ Josh, Merribeth & Rebekkah]
12:15-3:00pm – Lunch and Program

For more information and to register online visit http://www.nysalb.org/institute/index.html

MHLS Announcements
Construction Grant Workshop @MHLS: The New York State Library is offering a workshop at MHLS for libraries interested in applying for a 2008 Public Library Construction Grant. The workshop will be held Thursday, April 24th from 10:30am - 1:00pm. State Library and library system staff will provide detailed information about grant requirements and the application process. Library staff and trustees will have an opportunity to ask questions about the grant program and proposed projects during an open question and answer period. Register online at http://calendar.midhudson.org/. [Directions to MHLS can be found at http://midhudson.org/help/directions.htm.]

We’ve got a record number of library supporters signed up to go to Albany for Library Lobby Day on Tuesday, March 11th! There is still room for anyone who would like to join the fun. Check out the Lobby Day Survival Kit at midhudson.org for:
- Registration
- Bus information
- Appointment Schedule
- Tips for Making it Through the Day
On the homepage you can also take advantage of the NYLA automated faxing program where you can easily send a message to your legislators – just click on the “Become a Library Advocate” button and a few minutes later you will have communicated with both your NYS Senator and Assemblyperson. It really couldn’t be easier.

MHLS Libraries
The Greene County Library Association has partnered with All Arts Matter to present the 9th annual Rip Van Winkle Poetry Competition. Taking place during National Poetry Month (April) this is a no-fee competition with cash prizes in both adult and youth categories. On April 26th there will be an awards presentation with a reading of the winning poems by the authors. The program is underwritten by the Bank of Greene County, Brookside Books and Catskill Bookee.

Oldest chartered libraries in MHLS:
· 1862: Starr Library (Rhinebeck)
· 1882: Reed Memorial Library (Carmel)
· 1887: Sarah Hull Hallock Library (Milton)
· 1888: Grinnell Library (Wappingers Falls)
· 1894: Claverack Free Library

Professional Development
Reminder: The Orientation for New Staff & Circulation Essentials workshops will be held this Friday, March 7th in the MHLS Auditorium. Register online at http://calendar.midhudson.org/


Resource Sharing & Millennium
As of January 2008 there were:
· 403,693 patron records
· 2,223,164 item records
in the MHLS Millennium database.

Marketing, Advocacy & Funding
Bring Art Into the Library: Applications are now being accepted for Picturing America, a project of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), conducted in cooperation with the American Library Association. In order to enhance the teaching, study, and understanding of American history and culture, Picturing America brings some of the nation’s greatest works of art into public libraries. Successful applicants will receive a set of forty high-quality reproductions of American masterpieces, a teachers resource book and additional educational resources available at http://PicturingAmerica.neh.gov. Awards will be announced in May 2008 and distributed in September 2008 for display during the 2008-2009 school year and beyond. For more information about Picturing America, including a list of the artwork featured, grant guidelines, and the online application, visit http://picturingamerica.ala.org. Deadline: April 15, 2008.

Find Out What Users Want: The American Statistical Association (ASA) describes methods for finding what users want through the Survey Research Methods section of their web site, there you will find the "What is a Survey Series" http://www.whatisasurvey.info/.
Chapters include:
· What is a Survey?
· What are Focus Groups?
· More About Mail Surveys
· What is a Margin of Error?
· How to Plan a Survey
· How to Collect Survey Data
· Judging the Quality of a Survey
· How to Conduct Pretesting
· Designing a Questionnaire
· More about Telephone Surveys
This link is now included on the MHLS Marketing & PR web page: http://midhudson.org then Marketing, Advocacy & Funding then Marketing & PR

Reference & Collection Development
“Government Information Online: Ask a Librarian”: The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) has issued a reminder to librarians that, given the current election climate, questions about primaries, caucuses and the Electoral College process, and more can be answered by the free web-based “Ask a Librarian” service offered at http://govtinfo.org/. Called “Government Information Online: Ask a Librarian,” the service is managed by nearly 20 public, academic, and state libraries nationwide. [Source: Library Hotline]

The Commons: The Library of Congress Pilot Project [http://flickr.com/commons] Browse photos in this collection that is a collaboration between the Library of Congress and the online photo management and sharing application Flickr. Users are invited to view photos and help describe the photos by adding tags and comments. Free account required to comment or tag photos. Initial photo sets include "1930s-40s in Color" (with photos from the Farm Security Administration and the Office of War Information) and "News in the 1910s." [From the Librarians’ Index to the Internet, http://lii.org]

How long does copyright protection last today? The author's lifetime + 70 years. Exceptions: (1) works made for hire (120 years from creation of the work, or 95 years from publication) (2) U.S. government works are in the public domain (3) Older works may be in the public domain. Public domain works: http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/public_domain/

Administration & Management
E-Product Statistics: In January we changed the way patrons are authenticated to use the e-products available through HOMEACCESS. The primary benefit of this switch is the library-specific user statistics that are now gathered. To see the statistics for your library go to http://midhudson.org then Resource Sharing then Management & Reports then Web Access Management Statistics.

You can access your user statistics for TumbleBooks through the TumbleAdmin link at the bottom of the TumbleBooks page. You need your TumbleBook username and the password (teach). Contact Merribeth Advocate, MHLS Outreach & Education Coordinator for your user name if you don’t already know it [madvocate@midhudson.org].

PAGE 3: "Around the System for February 2008 "

PAGE 4: March 2008 Calendar: http://calendar.midhudson.org/

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.