Report to the Community

Best Practices & Tips for an Annual Report to Your Community, presented by Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, MHLS Coordinator of Member Information and Laurie Shedrick, Automated Systems Manager.

Wednesday, December 17th
10:00am - 12:00pm
MHLS Auditorium (105 Market St., Poughkeepsie)

This program is designed for directors, staff, trustees and Friends of libraries interested creating an effective Annual Report to the Community that will market your library to the community and make you compliant with Minimum Public Library Standards in NYS.

The workshop will cover:
· What type of information to include in a printed or online Annual Report to the Community
· Easy ways to make your library look great
· How to pull statistics from Millennium that will tell your story

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

MHLS Announcements
How did you make out with the "Thanksgiving Challenge"? Last week, each library was challenged to find one supporter to write a letter to the editor of their local paper about why they are thankful for their public library or system services like the online catalog and delivery. If one of your supporters followed through for you be sure to spotlight their letter in the library, in your library's newsletter and on your library's web site. No reason this challenge can't continue on through the holiday season - keep those letters to the editor going! Experience has shown that people will be glad to help if you just ask them.

Please note two brochures that have been discontinued by the NYS Office of the Attorney General and therefore removed from the MHLS Online Materials Request form. The information contained in both is available in other ways - see below:
- Information for Charitable Organizations Conducting Raffles in New York State [http://www.oag.state.ny.us/bureaus/charities/pdfs/raffles.pdf]
- Right from the Start: Guidelines for Not-for-Profit Board Members [available through the MHLS Professional Collection: MHP 021.7361]

Professional Development
Ebsco & Cengage-Gale Webinars: The New York State Library has announced webinars for databases included in the NOVELny pilot project will be offered at no charge. These sessions, which will last approximately one hour, will be conducted by trainers from the two NOVELny database vendors, Cengage-Gale and EBSCO Publishing.
· December 4th at 3:30 pm Ebsco: "Getting the Most Out of MasterFILE on EBSCOhost 2.0"
· December 16 at 2:00 pm Cengage-Gale: "NOVELNY Business Resources"
These webinars will offer the opportunity to learn about databases and database interfaces available for children, young adults and adults as part of the
NOVELny pilot project. Online registration for the webinars is available at: http://www.novelnewyork.org/training.php
For more information on these webinars, contact David Fiske at the State Library, Division of Library Development by calling 518.486.4857 or by email at dfiske@mail.nysed.gov.

Marketing, Advocacy & Funding
Feeling challenged? The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom is compiling its yearly list of most frequently challenged books. Although many challenges are never reported in the newspapers, OIF still strives to be as comprehensive as possible in its records. To report a challenge to be included in the 2008-2009 compilation, fill out the challenge form on ALA's web site: http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/challengesupport/reporting/index.cfm or email the information to Angela Maycock: amaycock@ala.org by December 31st, 2008. [Print version of the form is included with this week's Bulletin.]

Reference & Collection Development
NewYorkHeritage.org is a research portal for students, educators, historians, genealogists, and others who are interested in learning more about the people, places and institutions of historical New York State. The site provides immediate free access to more than 160 distinct digital collections that reflect New York State's long history. These collections represent a broad range of historical, scholarly, and cultural materials held in libraries, museums, and archives throughout the state. Collection items include photographs, letters, diaries, directories, maps, newspapers, books, and more.

Programming
Apply to host the new traveling exhibit, "Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War." The 1,000 square foot exhibit exhibition will travel to libraries from mid-2009 through 2011. "Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War" offers a fresh and innovative perspective on Abraham Lincoln that focuses on his struggle to meet the political and constitutional challenges of the Civil War. To apply, you must register your library at Grants.gov. [Register with Grants.gov as soon as possible, as the process can take up to two weeks to complete.] Find the application and guidelines and complete instructions for registering and applying through Grants.gov at http://neh.gov/grants/guidelines/SGL_Lincoln.html. Online applications must be completed through Grants.gov by January 30, 2009.
Successful applicants will host the 1,000 square foot exhibit for six weeks and receive a $2,500 grant from NEH for attendance at an exhibit planning workshop and other exhibit-related expenses. Participating libraries are expected to present at least two free public programs featuring a lecture or discussion by a qualified scholar on exhibition themes. All showings of the exhibition must be free and open to the public. For more information visit www.ala.org/publicprograms.

Youth Services
Youth Services resources from the 2008 NYLA Conference: A summary of the various resources and ideas gathered by MHLS Youth Services Coordinator Margaret Keefe at the 2008 NYLA Conference has been posted on the MHLS Youth Services site, under What's New: http://midhudson.org/department/youth/main.htm.

More news from the MHLS Youth Services Department:
-MHLS receives many children's and teen books from publishers and every year we make these books available free 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 the YS department. There is a sheet on a clipboard with each library's name where you will check off that you selected your 10 titles. The giveaway continues until January 30.
-New group purchase on AWE Early Literacy workstations offered. Handouts including the order form are posted on the MHLS youth services site at
http://midhudson.org/department/youth/main.htm. Purchase timeframe: February 1-28, 2009.
-Be a part of keeping an important web resource for students alive: A committee is being formed to review Lifelines Homework Help website and update as needed. Most work to be done remotely; initial organizational meeting Wednesday, December 10 from 4:00-6:00pm at Dutchess BOCES. Interested staff can register on MHLS calendar.

Administration & Management
The MaintainIT Project has announced the latest Cookbook: "Planning for Success, a guide for the overworked librarian"
http://www.maintainitproject.org/cookbooks/planning-for-success
This free online resource brings together the most current ideas and best practices for planning, building, and managing your library's computer technology. Librarians around the country have contributed their knowledge on topics ranging from security solutions and strategic maintenance practices to community building experiences involving Web 2.0 tools and vital partnerships. Some topics worth checking out:
· sample technology plans
· in depth strategies that can help you save money, make the right decisions, document necessary information and test your equipment,
· important insight into daily management, from remote desktop software and help desk management, to extending the life of your computers and step by step troubleshooting guides,
· basic practices for ensuring your library's network security, including use of firewalls, bandwidth management, security policies, how to monitor performance and choose an ISP, AND
· examples of Web 2.0 in action in libraries!

PAGES 3 & 4: "ALA - Challenge Database Form"

PAGE 5: December 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.