Monthly Archives: October 2015

Removing Barriers Mini-Conference

aaronOn Wednesday, November 18th from 10:00am – 1:00pm MHLS will hold the Removing Barriers Mini-Conference in the MHLS Auditorium. This program is part of the MHLS Increasing Circulation Incubator Project.

For the past 10 months a dedicated group of member library directors and System staff have been using 10 member libraries as a laboratory to discover the secrets behind increasing circulation in our libraries. This mini-conference is the opportunity to hear about their triumphs and discoveries! The event will also feature a keynote speech by an international expert on User Experience – all with the goal to get you thinking about how to help your library thrive during these changing times.

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Tax Cap Refresher Webinar

A recording of the recent Tax Cap Refresher webinar provided by MHLS Coordinator for Library Sustainability, Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, is now archived and available for viewing at your convenience. This recording “lives” in the Sustainable Funding area of the MHLS website.

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MHLS Board Meeting

After the Annual Membership Meeting on Friday, October 16th the MHLS Board of Trustees met in the Vassar Room of the  Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel and Banquet Center, and: reported the number of items borrowed/loaned between MHLS member libraries is up 12%; critiqued the 56th Annual Membership Meeting; discussed the current status of the provision of

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1 Person Per Library

The MHLS Resource Sharing Advisory Committee recommends that at least 1 person per library attend this data entry training session to ensure the accuracy and efficiency of the shared Sierra database. This workshop will be beneficial for any staff responsible for entering brief bibliographic records in Sierra:

New Location Added for Data Entry: How Brief is Too Brief Workshop: This workshop is being held in five locations this month, now including a session at the Philmont Library.

  • Wednesday, November 4 from 10:00am-12:00pm in the MHLS Auditorium (105 Market St., Poughkeepsie 12601)
  • Friday, November 6 from 10:15am-12:15pm at the Saugerties Public Library (91 Washington Ave., Saugerties 12477)
  • Thursday, November 12 from 10:00am-12:00pm in the MHLS Auditorium (105 Market St., Poughkeepsie 12601)
  • Tuesday, November 17 from 10:15am-12:15pm at the Philmont Public Library (101 Main St., Philmont 12565)
  • Friday, November 20 from 10:15am-12:15pm at the Kent Public Library (17 Sybil’s Crossing, Kent Lakes 10512).

Learning Objectives: In this workshop, attendees will have the opportunity to see the whole cataloging process – from brief bib record through item record creation. Special emphasis will be placed on the requirements and best practices for staff adding records to Sierra.
The workshop will cover:

  • What the MHLS Cataloging Department does –step-by-step
  • What information you need to provide in the brief record
  • Best practices for ensuring an accurate catalog for everyone

All sessions will be presented by Nina Acosta, MHLS Cataloging Specialist II. Please register online for the session of your choice: http://calendar.midhudson.org

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United for Libraries

United-for-Libraries-400_0

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MHLS Annual Meeting

The 56th Annual Membership Meeting of the Mid-Hudson Library System was held on October 16th at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel. Attending the meeting were 112 library directors, trustees, staff members and special guests. Our theme this year was “Libraries Build Sustainable Communities.”

Annual meeting2015
Camilla von Bergen and Roland Patterson, members of the MHLS Board of trustees and Tom Sloan, MHLS Executive Director

gallay annual meeting 2015
Keynote Speaker, Paul Gallay, Hudson Riverkeeper

Phoenicia annual meeting 2015
Bethia Waterman, Liz Potter and Bernard Handzel of the Phoenicia Library pose with their Outstanding Achievement award for the Grand Opening of their new building.

Read the full summary of the meeting in this week’s MHLS Bulletin

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Red Hook Win Shubert Award!

The New York State Regents Advisory Council on Libraries has announced that the 2015 Joseph F. Shubert Library Excellence Award has been awarded to the Red Hook Public Library for recognition of its innovative programs and successful community engagement partnership efforts.

red

The Red Hook Public Library, in existence for 150 years has more than 4,500 active card holders with more than 200,000 annual visits. In recent years library visits have increased 516%, library program attendance has increased 140% and circulation has increased 23% due to the library becoming an integral part of its community and developing partnerships with both local and regional organizations as well as with the local school system and Bard College. Library staff recently revised the library’s website (www.redhooklibrary.org) and has begun issuing a monthly e-newsletter.

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Sierra Q&A

sierraSierra Q&A Webinar: MHLS Automation Coordinator Thomas O’Connell will offer his usual lunchtime webinar of training and Q&A on Tuesday October 27th at noon. The topic will be setting up printers within the Sierra client (it is not on setting up printers!) The session will take place online and last for about 45 minutes. There is a 15 person attendance limit, so register soon!

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Big Library Read – October 7 – 21

The OverDrive Big Library Read is back! As we have done several times before, all MHLS libraries will be participating in the next worldwide OverDrive Big Library Read, and for the first time ever there are two titles to enjoy! This global event will run from October 7th through the 21st, enabling readers from around the world to enjoy the same eBook titles at the same time, creating a worldwide book club.

door in the hedge
shadows

Both of these titles will be available for unlimited access in the MHLS Digital Download collection at https://mhls.overdrive.com between October 7 (midday EDT) and October 21 (midday EDT) for the duration of the lending period. During this period the eBooks will be available for every patron that wishes to read them—no holds, no waitlists.

By participating in the Big Library Read, we are joining a global movement of passionate readers and library patrons who support the availability of eBooks at libraries. For more information and available marketing materials, please visit
https://resources.overdrive.com/library/marketing-outreach-community/

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Non-Profit Revitalization Act and Audits

The NYS Division of Library Development has shared a new ruling from the State Education Department’s Office of Counsel in regards to whether or not the audit portion of the Non-Profit Revitalization Act applies to public and/or association libraries – it does not apply to either type of library. The ruling remains that the only portion of this law that impacts libraries is the requirements surrounding a conflict of interest policy and whistleblower protection.

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