Effective Meetings

Join us on Friday, September 18th from 10:00am - 12:00pm in the MHLS Auditorium for a helpful workshop: Effective Meeting Management: Getting Results & Moving Forward.

Meetings are a fact of life. Meetings can advance understanding and informed decisions - or feed frustration and waste time. In this workshop you will learn how to:
- Determine when to hold a meeting
- Design a meeting to get the outcome you want
- Keep the meeting on track by managing difficult personalities, conflicts, and interruptions
- Positively influence productivity of meetings you are attending but not running

Whether you are a seasoned manager seeking to hone your skills, a rising star taking on more work or volunteer responsibilities that include chairing meetings, or a victim of painful meetings preparing to act, this workshop offers practical help.

This program is useful for directors (particularly members of MHLS Advisory Committees); youth services staff; trustees and Friends. Presented by Upper Hudson Library System's Youth & Family Services Consultant, Mary Fellows.

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

MHLS Announcements
The MHLS Board of Trustees held a Special Meeting on July 28, 2009 in the MHLS Conference Room and:
- Approved the Minutes of the May meeting;
- Approved the financial reports for April and May;
- Approved the May warrant;
- Reviewed the System's 2009-2010 State Aid Budget application;
- Approved the System's new three-year delivery contract with Hudson River Transports
The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 16th, at 10:00am in the MHLS Auditorium.

MHLS Libraries
The Adriance Memorial Library's temporary location at Bancroft Road in Poughkeepsie is now closed. Until their grand re-opening in early October Poughkeepsie patrons will use the Arlington Branch of the Poughkeepsie Public Library District. For Central Library Reference Support call the Arlington branch of PPLD at 845.454.9301.

The Friends of the D.R. Evarts Library in Athens have been hard at work securing funds for the library this year. They received a $7,000 grant from the Athens Community Foundation for three specific projects for the library: a match grant for the technological improvements; support for the Summer Reading Program; and additions to the adult and juvenile nonfiction collections. They also secured a $595 grant from Stewarts' Holiday Match Fund for the purchase of a Home Schooling Core Collection and for the purchase of reference resources for youth. [The Stewart's Shop grant information can be found on the MHLS Grant Listing page: http://midhudson.org then Marketing, Advocacy & Funding then Fundraising then Grants or get there directly at http://midhudson.org/funding/fundraising/grantmakers.htm#program]

Professional Development
The Basics of Archives, Thursday, August 20th from 9:30am - 3:00pm at the Akin Free Library, Old Quaker Hill Road in Pawling, NY. Registration Fee: $10. Presented by Linda Bull, RAO, NYS Archives, Region 9; Dianne Macpherson & Reg White, Regional Archivists, DHP, Hudson Valley Region. This full-day, basic workshop is for those who work with historical records but are not trained archivists - staff, volunteers, librarians. You'll get practical advice on archival procedures including, appraisal, accessioning, arrangement and description, preservation and accessibility, as well as handling, storage, reference policy, copyright, outreach, sample forms and policies. Learn the basic practices you need to follow so that you can collect, protect, and help people use the historical treasures in your care. To register send your name, organization, address, telephone number, email address to Dianne Macpherson at dhp@greaterhudson.org. Questions? Call Dianne at 914.592.6726.

Planning and Management of Buildings
September 16-17, 2009 from 10:00am - 5:00pm (9/16) & 8:30am - 4:30pm (9/17) at the Saratoga Springs Public Library. Presented by Cheryl Bryan.
$250 for PLA members; $300 for ALA members; $400 for nonmenbers. Planning a building that meets the various needs of your library and patrons is a difficult and time-consuming task that requires specialized skills and knowledge. Learn the principles of building planning and management in this intensive two-day workshop. By the end of the workshop, you will be able to:
- Assess the current condition of your building.
- Develop a list of building maintenance and operation procedures.
- Plan a building improvement project
- Follow the correct procedures when hiring architectural, engineering, and consultant assistance.
- List technology planning needs and associated building requirements.
To register visit the PLA web site: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/pla/index.cfm Questions? Contact PLA at pla@ala.org or 800.545.2433, ext. 5PLA. This course is part of PLA's Certified Public Library Administrator Program.

Marketing, Advocacy & Funding
Library Journal's 2009 Best Small Library in America Award goes to the Union County Carnegie Library (UCCL) in South Carolina. UCCL was chosen for its three-year improvement of library services. "The library board, selected by the county supervisors, knew something had to be done to improve library services, described by one observer as "a kind of selective club warehousing an out-of-date collection and occasionally functioning computers." The library director's mission was to turn UCCL into an "inclusive, modern, service-oriented community center.":
- Staff focus = excellence in service and to make that service easily available to everyone who came to the library, regardless of "age, gender, race, ability or status."
- The "front" staff interacts with the public at the circulation desk and by providing roving reference.
- Intransigent staff were replaced with "willing learners" with experience in retail or other service industries.
- Fines and fees were eliminated to bolster the service transformation.
- New computers and revitalizing youth services were top priorities.
Circulation (up 40%) and computer usage (up 172%) skyrocketed in the three-year concentrated effort by the library. This was all carried out with no increase in the library's budget. A complete account of UCCL's efforts is included in the February 1st issues of Library Journal.

Programming
Adult Book Discussion Group Grants: Reading Between the Lines Grant - Deadline: September 25, 2009 for Spring 2010 programs. Reading Between the Lines (RBTL) is the New York Council for the Humanities' book discussion program for adults who want to explore humanities topics in depth. Each series involves four conversations centered on thematically linked books and is facilitated by a humanities scholar. RBTL is hosted by museums, historical societies, libraries and community centers statewide. More about RBTL...http://www.nyhumanities.org/discussion_groups/adult_audiences/rbtl.php

Job Openings
Poughkeepsie Public Library District Employment Opportunities:
-Librarian I - Adult Services: Responsibilities include reference, collection development, training, and other duties as assigned. MLS and Public Librarian certificate required at time of appointment. Includes evening and weekend rotation. Salary $25.12/hour
-Library Clerk - Borrower Services: High School Diploma required. Assist in daily activities to include circulation, processing, and other duties as assigned. Computer knowledge preferred. Includes evening and weekend rotation. Salary $12.27/hour
-Security Guard - Building Services: Duties include patrolling the premises to safeguard property and people, along with the ability to perform semi-skilled building maintenance tasks. Must have the ability to think and act quickly in emergencies. Candidate needs Security Guard Certification and be in possession of a valid NYS drivers license. Includes evening and weekend rotation. Tentative salary is $15.00/hour
These are non-competitive Civil Service positions. All positions are 17.5 hours per week, include scheduled evening and weekend hours, and offer leave benefits. Apply to: Lauren Muffs, Assistant Director, Poughkeepsie Public Library District, 93 Market Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601. 845.485.3445 x 3306. E-mail applications and resumes accepted at lmuffs@poklib.org.

PAGE 3: "Around the System - July 2009"

PAGE 4: August 2009 Calendar: http://calendar.midhudson.org/

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.