Early Literacy Winners

Early Literacy Parenting Workshop Initiative Winners: Last fall the MHLS Youth Services Department launched the Early Literacy Parenting Workshop Initiative as a follow up for the training program conducted in October by Carol Rodriguez, (formerly of PPLD and now director at the Beekman Library!). Carol led participants through the steps to present a parenting program to encourage parents to act as their child's first teacher. Parents would learn about their child's language development and how they could offer ongoing activities to foster good literacy readiness. MHLS libraries were encouraged to offer such workshops and then apply for prizes under the Initiative. Three member libraries stepped up and did some outstanding work in their communities as a result:
· The Mahopac Library's program, under the direction of Cindy Green, is the 1st place winner and will receive a wonderful Beginning with Mother Goose Early Literacy Kit from the Vermont Center for the Book.
· Honorable mention: Kinderhook Memorial Library, Alanna Almstead & NorthEast-Millerton Library, Helen Warren.
Some of the high points of these libraries' programs included:
· using pre- and post-workshop surveys to assess the level of literacy interaction; offering free books as an incentive to come back and fill out the post-program survey;
· posting the 6 literacy skills not only during the program but ongoing in the children's story hour area of the library;
· networking with various local agencies who work with families to set up these workshops and others with related topics;
· asking parents what types of interactions they already have with their children and explaining how those fit into the 6 literacy skill activities.
Materials on the MHLS Growing Readers site at http://midhudson.org/reader/ and the PLA Every Child Ready to Read Project at http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/ecrr/ecrrhomepage.cfm were used by the libraries to present their programs. Scripts, surveys, parent handouts and more are available to anyone who wishes to offer this type of program. For anyone who wants to explore and perhaps buy the great kits on the VT Mother Goose site for use by local families, go to http://www.mothergooseprograms.org/.


MHLS Announcements
MHLS Incentive Program Deadline Reminder:
July 15th is the deadline to send in claims under the MHLS Incentive Program for payment in the next incentive checks. There has been a change in the IRS approved mileage rate. This is for travel after July 1st. The change has been added in the claim sheets available on the MHLS website at http://midhudson.org/mhls/incentive/main.htm. Those libraries which had submitted a letter of intent to attend this year’s PLA/ALA conference (package C Libraries), but have not submitted proof of attendance yet need to do so before July 15th. Please call Doris Formby at x10 or e-mail to dformby@midhudson.org if you have any questions or need help filing your claim.

MHLS Libraries
The NorthEast-Millerton Library is doing a Community Reading Challenge this summer: “We are asking everyone to contribute to the collective total of 2,008 items for the year 2008. Turn in your personal count each time you return to the library. You will be eligible for a drawing for great prizes…”

Resource Sharing & Millennium
Reporting Data Entry issues: Last week a library called and asked why they couldn’t find a title with the words “Rock ‘n’ Roll” in it. It would show up in a keyword search, but not a title search. The reason: a typo. In the record, it appeared as “Rock n’ Roll” with the first apostrophe was missing. This seems small, but a phone call had the record corrected immediately. What if this happened with the latest hot fiction title or DVD? We need your eyes. Please report any item needing correction, or if something just seems weird to Laurie (x21), or Karen (x53). Thanks!

Marketing, Advocacy & Funding
Summer Statistics: Now that it is officially summer and your programming is in full swing, consider putting Millennium to work for you tracking the stats on items related to your summer program. A new document has been added to the Millennium toolbox that will help you to tag items that you are using in your programs and allow you to track them as a special collection. This is a great way to see if your programming, marketing and display work is paying off. Go to http://midhudson.org then Resource Sharing & Millennium then Millennium Administrator’s Toolbox or get there directly at:
http://midhudson.org/resource/millennium/tools/icode1uses.pdf

New Report from OCLC Discussed at the American Library Association (ALA) Conference last week: From Awareness to Funding: A Study of Library Support in America. Key findings:
· A library’s most committed funding supporters are not its heaviest library users.
· Perceptions of librarians are an important predictor of library funding support.
· Voters who see the library as “transformational” as opposed to “informational” are more likely to increase taxes in its support.
· Increasing support for libraries may not necessarily mean a trade-off with financial support for other public services.
· Targeting marketing messages to the right segments of the voting public is key to driving increased support for U.S. public libraries.

Reference & Collection Development
The GALE database called LegalForms (New York) is a new database that the MHLS Central Library / Collection Development Advisory Committee would like you to evaluate. A trial is available at: http://trials.gale.com/public/go/?key=3862_124603
There are over 1,000 NY legal forms included. All forms are officially approved and/or drafted by attorneys. There are two different ways to search:
· Keyword Search By Category: Click on the Category button. Users simply enter a keyword or phrase and hit "enter." Within each category are specific titles of the forms, for example: POWER OF ATTORNEY - DISABILITY. Users can scroll through these results and when the desired form is located, click on the form title, then click on the desired format and that form will open in a new window.
· Keyword Search By Title: A Title search searches the forms' title description for a word or combination of words. Click on the Title button. Users enter a search term or phrase and hit "enter." Results matching the search criteria are returned.
Please send your comments to Merribeth Advocate, MHLS Outreach & Education Coordinator at: madvocate@midhudson.org

Youth Services
The American Library Association will launch a project to measure the impact of gaming on literacy skills and build a model for library gaming that can be deployed nationally. Funding for the project will be provided by a $1 million grant from the Verizon Foundation.

Teens Work to Select Materials for Other Teens: The MHLS Health Information Project’s summer Teen Intern Program is now under way at libraries in Beacon, Esopus, Garrison, Greenville and Kinderhook. Now in its 10th year, the Program has hired 31 teens to evaluate DVD’s, websites and books that will help these teens and their peers make better-informed life decisions. As in the past, the materials and sites that the interns select will be made available for System-wide use.

While these interns are at work, you can point your teen patrons to materials that already have been reviewed and recommended by program participants. At http://hip.midhudson.org, teens will find summaries of high-interest fiction titles, a blog of intern book reviews, a listing of nonfiction titles, and peer-reviewed DVDs and websites. For easy access, all materials are linked to the online catalog; Project bookmarks are available through the Online Material Request Form. For more information, contact Barbara Clapp, Health Information Project Coordinator: 845.471.6060 x23 or bclapp@midhudson.org.

Trustee Resources
Motivating Your Board - Each month WebJunction presents a free, hour-long webinar related to the work of sustaining rural and small libraries. Join them on July 31st at 2:00pm for a webinar about motivating your board to realize their full potential and positively impact your community. For instructions and archives of past webinars: http://webjunction.org/do/DisplayContent?id=13377

Job Openings
Library Director - Immediate Opening: The Dover Plains Library in Wingdale, NY is seeking a creative, community minded individual to fill the Library Director's position. Masters in Library Science required. Salary and benefits package are negotiable. Please send resume to Caroline Williams, Board President, by fax: 845.832.3588, or email: clearwilliams@msn.com

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.