MHLS Well Represented in Albany

MHLS was well represented at NYLA's Library Lobby Day in Albany last week! 31 libraries were represented in Albany with just over 70 library supporters packing legislative offices at all 13 appointments this year. Attendance of MHLS supporters was about double what we normally see! Overall, NYLA reports more than 1,000 library supporters from across NYS were in attendance.

Legislators heard from System trustees and staff, library directors, trustees, Friends and patrons.

Saugerties Home School Mom Ariel Dedolph made a great impression at the meetings she attended and Cold Spring's feel-good-story-of-the-year, director Gillian Thorpe's sons, were in attendance. (Gillian's two older sons attended a CPR class at the library that helped save their youngest brother!)

Library supporters were not shy! The case was made about the increase in library usage, the rough time the System is having after more than a decade of flat funding and the critical services Systems provide to every library.

By the end of the day the news was brighter than expected: the Senate's budget proposal restored the 18% to library funding. However, the Assembly's budget is unknown - there is still work to be done! Keep pushing the online petition and any postcards you have left.

Also, this week each library will receive a pack of hold shelf slips to be used to increase patron awareness about the cuts, "This Item Traveled Miles to Reach You…"

MHLS Announcements
The MHLS Board of Trustees met on Saturday, March 14, in the MHLS Auditorium and:
· Approved three 2008 year-end budget adjustments;
· Approved the Task Force on System Funding and the Directors Association's fee recommendations for 2010;
· Reviewed the System' s 2008 Annual Report;
· Authenticated the applications for the System's two LSTA Projects: "Building Your Base: Part II" and the 2009 NYS Summer Reading Program: "Be Creative @ Your Library (children) and Express Yourself @ Your Library (teens).
The next meeting of the Board is Wednesday, May 20, at 10:00am at the Germantown Library, Germantown, New York.

Resource Sharing & Millennium
MHLS transit slips go green! You may have noticed that we have reduced the length of the transit slips to save paper, $ and TREES!

Marketing, Advocacy & Funding
Federal Stimulus Funds* & Library Construction (*American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
Libraries with "shovel ready" construction projects need to get on the radar for ARRA funding. The New York Library Association is encouraging libraries with projects that fit the "shovel ready" descriptor to make sure decision makers are aware: "[I] encourage you to… submit any shovel ready projects to your local municipal/ county leaders for inclusion in their list of projects to be submitted to NYS." (Michael Borges, NYLA Executive Director)

Libraries benefit from Senior Community Service Employment Program included in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA): The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes a provision that can help senior citizens find jobs - by working at their local library. The Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) provides community service jobs to older Americans at nonprofit and public facilities, including libraries. To express interest in having a program participant placed as an employee in your library at no cost to the library, contact:
Tim Kovarik, Aging Services Program Coordinator
New York State Office for the Aging, Title V Unit
Empire State Plaza, Agency Building #2
Albany, NY 12223
Ph: 518.474.7252; Toll-Free: 800.342.9871;
Email: t_kovarik@ofa.state.ny.us

On the Federal Level: The American Library Association (ALA) says the FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill, signed into law by President Obama last week, is a victory for libraries. The $410 billion spending bill, which includes the nine unfinished appropriations bills from last year, contains $171,500,000 for the Grants to State Library Agencies program within the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). This funding level is a $10 million increase from last year. While local public libraries do not see direct cash from the federal budget these funds support activity and services at the State Library that benefit all New Yorkers. For example, these dollars support the NYS Talking Book & Braille Library, which got some great news in the new budget - $29 million to the Library of Congress to complete the transition of the Digital Talking Books program for the blind.
The LSTA funds mentioned above are contingent on NYS library aid funding levels. If the Governor's proposed 18% cut were to go through it would mean a $2 million loss in LSTA funds for NY.

Did you know? System-Wide Stats
(September - February)
Cards Issued: Increase of 8%
Between 9.07- 2.08: 10,022 cards were issued.
Between 9.08 - 2.09: 10,826 cards were issued.

Items Circulated: Increase of 8.3%
Between 9.07- 2.08: 1,871,460 items circulated.
Between 9.08 - 2.09: 2,026082 items circulated.

Requests Filled: Increase of 13.7%
Between 9.07 - 2.08: 397,998 requests filled.
Between 9.08 - 2.09: 452,569 requests filled.

Youth Services
Get Graphic: The World in Words and Pictures [GetGraphic.org] from the Buffalo-Erie County Public Library provides a section on their web site called "Graphic Novel Resources for Librarians" that is worth checking out. In addition to an introduction to graphic novels, making the case to the public for providing them, top graphic novel series and Internet resources the site recommends four "must-haves" for every library collection:
· American Born Chinese by Gene LuenYang (Grade 7 & up)
· Bone: Out from Boneville by Jeff Smith (Grade 3 & up)
· Maus: A Survivor's Tale. Pt. 2 by Art Spiegelman (Grade 9 & up) and
· Runaways by Brian K. Vaughan (Grade 9 & up)

Job Openings
The D.R. Evarts Library in Athens currently is seeking applications for a Substitute Library Clerk. The applicant will be required to fill in for staff vacations as needed and work every third Saturday on the circulation desk. Applicants must be reliable and have a working knowledge of Millennium and Microsoft applications, strong customer service skills, and 1 year of public library experience. Pay will be based on experience. Submit resume and 3 references to Bonnie Snyder, Library Director, D.R. Evarts Library, 80 Second Street, Athens, NY, 12015 or email to athens@mhcable.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.