Graduation Day

On April 23rd, thirty library staff from libraries in the Mid-Hudson, Ramapo Catskill and Westchester Library Systems graduated from the Public Library Administrators Program held at the Mahopac Public Library. Certificates were given to all graduates by Jerry Nichols, Director of Palmer Institute for Public Library Organization & Management, C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University.

This was the culmination of five semesters of post-Masters degree work, begun in 2006 when MHLS partnered with the Palmer Institute to bring this program to the area. In Fall 2007 the program also began at the Starr Library in Rhinebeck.

The Palmer Institute's post-Master's Advanced Certificate program in Public Library Administration is designed to develop and enhance the management skills and credentials of professional librarians working within the public library sector and to train the leaders of tomorrow. The program covers all content areas required in the NYS Public Library Director civil service examination series. The program has been recognized by the NYS Education Department as a formally approved NYS Certificate in Advanced Studies, the first such program in the nation.

Congratulations to graduating staff from MHLS member libraries: Hilary Albert (Mahopac Public Library), James Cosgrove (Marlboro Free Library), Mary De Bellis (Mahopac Public Library), John Georghiou (Plattekill Public Library), Gloria Goverman (East Fishkill Community Library), Fran Harrison (Mahopac Public Library), Sheelagh Kaplan (Mahopac Public Library), Patricia Kaufman (Mahopac Public Library), Amy Raff (Woodstock Public Library District), Ellen Tannenbaum (Dover Plains Library), Kelly Tomaseski (Town of Esopus Library) also to Mid-Hudson Library System trustee Pat Miller.


MHLS Announcements
And the Winners Are… Twenty-five MHLS libraries will be getting a little extra funding to expand their summer reading programs this year.

MHLS receives funds each year from the NYS Library’s Division of Library Development to help member libraries enhance their summer programming. This year 2 grant options were available: $200 grants for libraries with total operating receipts less than $125,000 to hire extra performers or programming staff and $450 grants for libraries to purchase gaming equipment and offer gaming programs in their communities.

Performer / Programming Grant Recipients: Amenia, Germantown, Hurley, Livingston, Pine Plains, Red Hook, Stanford, Tivoli, Windham and Valatie.

Gaming Grant Recipients: Beacon, Clinton, Cold Spring, Coxsackie, Highland, Kent, Kinderhook, Mahopac, Marlboro, Millbrook, New Lebanon, New Paltz, Poughkeepsie, Rhinecliff and West Shokan.

Among the exciting activities the libraries are planning are dance contests, Hip Hop dancing demos, family dance offs with Dance Dance Revolution games, martial arts demos and Ninja Reflex tournaments, beekeeping talks and playing Bee Movie games, Wii sports fun combining teens with Seniors, tying gaming into the 2008 Summer Olympics and much more. These activities will bring new audiences into area libraries and change the perception held by most teens that the library is just about books and being quiet!

Millennium Issues for Small Libraries @ the Small Libraries Roundtable: Monday, May 19th from 10:00am – 12:00pm at the NorthEast-Millerton Library. This users group is designed for the administrators of small libraries (3FTE or less). The purpose of the group is to discuss the issues surrounding running a small library. Facilitated by Josh Cohen, MHLS Executive Director, Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, MHLS Coordinator of Member Information & Laurie Shedrick, MHLS Automated Systems Manager we will discuss the topic of Millennium Issues for Small Libraries. The workshop will cover:
· Small Libraries & the MHLS Resource Sharing Standards
· Techniques for using Millennium to make life easier in a small library
· Staff training tips
Register online through the MHLS Calendar by going to http://midhudson.org and clicking on Calendar OR get there directly at http://calendar.midhudson.org/

MHLS Libraries
The East Fishkill Community Library [http://www.eastfishkilllibrary.org/] and Poughkeepsie Public Library District [http://www.poklib.org/] are advertising Library Elf on their home pages. ELF bills itself as “Your Personal Email Library Reminder Service,” sending out reminders to subscribers about due dates to help patrons return items on time. Something many patrons would appreciate!

If you advertise Library Elf at your library it would be important for library staff to be familiar with the privacy issues related to a patron connecting their library record to a third party product. The library’s commitment to patron privacy does not carry over to a product like this, and it would be important that patrons understand that. [Privacy in the Public Library, MHLS: http://midhudson.org/patronprivacy.htm]

Take a look at Library Elf’s Frequently Asked Questions page, especially the privacy section at http://www.libraryelf.com/FAQ.aspx.

Marketing, Advocacy & Funding
Applications for Let’s Talk About It: Love & Forgiveness, a theme-based reading and discussion program for public libraries are now available. Successful applicants will receive a $2,500 programming grant, training, promotional resources and more. Applications will be accepted through July 15, 2008: http://www.ala.org/publicprograms.

“Soul of a People: Voices from the Writers’ Project” is a collaboration between the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Library Association (ALA), and Spark Media, a Washington, D.C.–based production and outreach company. The library programs associated with “Soul of a People” are funded by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to the American Library Association. “Soul of a People: Voices from the Writers’ Project” will give public audiences the opportunity to participate in library-sponsored humanities programs that explore the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Writers’ Project through the American Guide series of state and regional travel guides, regional cultural studies, oral history interviews, films, and photographs. “Soul of a People” will also showcase works of important authors of the twentieth century who got their start in the Writers’ Project. Application deadline: July 11, 2008. http://www.ala.org/publicprograms
[Note: Folklorist, Polly Adema, Ph.D., is interested in working with an area library on this grant project. If you are interested contact her at 845.454.3222 x11 or padema@artsmidhudson.org]

Recent Addition to the Professional Collection:
Merchandising Strategies Manual (Library Video Network): Learn how to merchandize your library's collection and increase circulation and customer satisfaction. Detailed, step-by-step instructions give you the skills you need to create vibrant displays that grab customers' attention. [MHP021.7L]
To borrow from the MHLS Professional Collection: http://midhudson.org/mhls/professional_collection.htm

Reference & Collection Development
The Saugerties Public Library recently added over 100 Career and Study Skill DVDs and books to their Teen collection. A Special Legislative State Education Grant from Assemblyman Peter D. Lopez made this possible. All items are available for inter-library loan. If your patrons are looking to explore career options, nail that job interview, make the most of a college visit or pass the GRE, check out this collection of helpful, up-to-date resources.

Caregiver Resources: The Dutchess County Caregiver Resource Center at the Arlington Branch of the Poughkeepsie Public Library District features numerous books, videos and other informational materials of interest to caregivers available to be borrowed by anyone within MHLS. Among the many titles available in the collection are: "Are Your Parents Driving You Crazy?" "Alzheimer's: The Answers You Need," "Caregiving Daughters: Accepting the Role," "Stress Reduction for Caregivers" and "Taking Care of Caregivers." The entire collection is accessible through the shared catalog (a.k.a. OPAC) [http://gigcat.midhudson.org]. The Caregiver Resource Center is made possible by the Poughkeepsie Public Library District, Dutchess County Office for the Aging, the New York state Office for the Aging and the U.S. Administration on Aging.

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.