June 6th through October 18th, we are inviting everyone to visit as many MHLS Member Library locations as they can – learn about the different programs and services each library offers & earn souvenirs along the way!

Check out the details and how to participate.

Staff information is available here.

The Board of the Mid-Hudson Library System met on May 13 at the Highland Public Library. 

• The Board thanked Julie Kelsall-Dempsey, Director of the Highland Public Library, for her years of dedicated service to the Mid-Hudson Library System on the eve of her retirement. Ms. Kelsall-Dempsey served as chair of the Directors Association, System Services Advisory Committee, and Resource Sharing Advisory Committee during her tenure. She was also recognized as an early adopter of technology and for stepping up to be a pilot library for every new service from MHLS including the new catalog and mobile app. 
• The Board received a “clean audit” with no material findings from their new audit firm, EFPR.
• The Board voted to reaffirm the organization’s core values:
  • Responsive Customer Service: The staff and board of the Mid-Hudson Library System strive to be active listeners and timely problem solvers that create a culture of support and professionalism with each other and our member libraires.  
  • Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: The staff and board of the Mid-Hudson Library System believe in working together to co-create a society that is free from structural inequities.  
  • Environmental Stewardship: The staff and board of the Mid-Hudson Library System are committed to minimizing our organization’s ecological impact and maximizing future generations’ ability to live, work, and play in our shared natural environment, with equal access to clean air, clean water, and natural resources.  
  • Economic Feasibility: The staff and board of the Mid-Hudson Library System are committed to achieving sustainable funding both for the System and for member library services. 
  • Future-Focused: The staff and board of the Mid-Hudson Library System are devoted to optimizing, balancing, iterating and innovating services to equip member libraries for the future.
• Executive Director, Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, provided the board with an orientation on the topic of eBook and Downloadable Audiobook Licensing and the negative impact this is having on member libraries. 

The next meeting of the MHLS Board will be Friday, July 18 in the MHLS Auditorium. All board documents are available at https://board.midhudson.org

This year, the Mid-Hudson Library System (MHLS) is producing a series of events for library trustees and directors to help strengthen the financial future of your library.

This series is designed to meet directors and board members where they are, providing assistance for a range of developmental activities such as:

• Helping Association and Municipal Public Libraries to a pattern of annual votes;  
• Creating budget goals to address issues such as a living wage for staff, benefits, adequate funds for digital collections, programming or your facility
• Building an adequate reserve fund structure or
• Minimizing risk to your organization through adequate insurance coverage

All events for trustees count toward the NYS Trustee Education Requirement for 2025. 

Next in the series:

Legal Basics (intermediate-level)
Monday, June 16  |  6:00 – 8:00  |  IN PERSON: Town of Esopus Library  |  Register here

This intermediate-level course is for trustees who have been on the board for over a year and are looking for an overview of the basic laws and regulations that intersect with your service on the library board.

From the Handbook for Library Trustees of New York State (2023 Edition): “Public and association libraries are classified as New York State Education Corporations and are therefore subject to a wide range of federal, state, and local laws, rules, and regulations. While trustees cannot be expected to understand all the details of every pertinent law, they should be familiar enough with the major legal issues to be assured that their library is always in compliance.”

At this session we will review pertinent areas of Education Law, Public Officers Law, the minimum standards for libraries in New York and more!

Attendance at this event can be applied toward the NYS Trustee Education Requirements.

New York State Public Officer’s Law §10 requires all public library trustees (but not association library trustees) to take and file an oath of office within 30 days of beginning their term of office. Public library trustees are public officers, and the oath of office is required to officially undertake and perform the duties of a public library trustee. If a public library trustee does not properly complete and file an oath of office, the trustee’s position may be deemed vacant. See Public Officer’s Law §30(1)(h). For more information about how and why the oath of office is administered, and where to properly file an oath of office, please see the Oaths of Office FAQ on the New York State Library website https://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/trustees/oath.htm