Some library trustee terms begin on July 1. This is an important reminder that New York State Public Officers Law §10 requires all public library trustees (but not association library trustees) to take an oath of office within 30 days of beginning their term of office. Public library trustees are public officers and the oath
Blog Archives
Collection Development Through OverDrive Workshop: Best Practices for Increasing Digital Circulation – Presented by Jo-Ann Benedetti, former Outreach Consultant. Jo-Ann has over a decade of experience in selecting eBook and eAudiobook titles that circulate!
Many MHLS libraries are selecting and purchasing eBook and eAudiobooks for the shared OverDrive collection – all libraries are eligible to have their own account to do so. This workshop is designed for current content selectors as well as those who would like to start.
In this interactive workshop, you’ll learn:
• Selection tips and tricks to pick things you can be sure will circulate, and get the biggest return for your dollar
• The easiest & most productive ways to shop OverDrive and get the digital titles your patrons are asking for
• How to engage eBook readers in your community who are not currently using the library’s digital collection
• How your digital collection provides outreach support to your community
Two locations to choose from:
• Tuesday, July 14 from 12:30 – 2:30pm @MHLS Auditorium
• Monday, July 20 from 10:00am – 12:00pm @Saugerties Public Library (91 Washington Ave., Saugerties, NY 12477)
Please register online for either workshop.
Want $100 for eBooks? Read this week’s Bulletin (6.16.15) to learn about the MHLS Outreach Mini-Grant Program for OverDrive Collection Development!
Candidates sought to fill three seats on the Mid-Hudson Library System Board of Trustees:
The election of MHLS trustees will be an item of business at the Mid-Hudson Library System’s Annual Membership Meeting, Friday, October 16, 2015.
MHLS is governed by a fifteen-member board, three trustees from each of the five counties served.
Nominations are due prior to July 1, 2015.
COLUMBIA COUNTY– (5-year term- 2016-2020) Send names and contact information of nominee(s) to Julie DeLisle, Chair of the Columbia County Library Directors Association: 518.392.3666
DUTCHESS COUNTY-(5-year term- 2016-2020) Send names and contact information of nominee(s) to Carol Rodriquez, Chair of the Dutchess County Directors Association: 845.724.3414
GREENE COUNTY-(5-year term- 2016-2020) Send names and contact information of nominee(s) to Sue Ray, Chair of the Greene County Directors Association: 518.943.4230
Delivery Reminder: The Non-Bin Form must be attached to any materials going through the MHLS delivery system that are separate and do not fit in the regular shipping bins. Examples would be computers, die-cut machines, Book Club in a Bag, etc. Materials will not be picked up unless this form is attached. Download the Non-Bin Form here
Trustees and member library directors are invited to help Shape Public Library Trustee Education in New York State! A big part of what makes New York’s libraries strong are the citizen boards that govern them. Neighbors helping neighbors. However, with increasing regulations, the tax cap and rapid changes in our society related to technology, economics, education and the environment – public library trustees have never had more to contend with.
A statewide team of public library system staff has been formed to develop a consistent trustee education framework to facilitate knowledge creation amongst public library trustees in New York. The team, Helping All Trustees Succeed in New York State (HATS), is working through New York State Library’s ILEAD USA program.
The team has developed a survey to collect input from stakeholders from around New York State. The goal of this survey is to gain a general understanding of trustees’ confidence level in board related topics, preferences in receiving information, and limitations in the area of trustee education. Input will help shape the next step in this project; please answer as honestly as possible. All responses are anonymous.
Action: Trustees and Directors are invited to fill out the survey found at http://bit.ly/HATSsurvey
Deadline: Monday, June 15th
87,667 records from Hudson River Valley Heritage (HRVH) and other NY institutions now in the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)!
Southeastern NY Library Resources Council (SENYLRC), Hudson River Valley Heritage (HRVH), and Empire State Digital Network (ESDN) are pleased to announce that digital materials from New York institutions are now available in the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). All records contributed through the ESDN can be found online here. These New York collections join more than 10 million items already available through DPLA.
Spring Cleaning workshops offered in June! Two workshops presented by Thomas O’Connell, MHLS Automation Coordinator, will help member libraries to clean up patron and item records in Sierra.
Sierra Data Entry – Spring Cleaning:
This workshop will be beneficial for any staff responsible for creating and updating item and/or patron records in Sierra. You might be surprised by some areas where errors are often made – let’s work together to fix them!
The Directors Association 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.
The workshop will cover:
• How to identify some of the most common errors.
• Best practices to improve accuracy.
• How to spot the ‘quirky’ things lurking in your records.
• How to clean up records, making sure the correct data is in the correct field.
Register for one of the following sessions through the MHLS online calendar:
• Thursday, June 4 from 10:15am-12:15pm at the MHLS Auditorium (105 Market St., Poughkeepsie 12601)
• Monday, June 15 from 10:15am-12:15pm at the Germantown Library (31 Palatine Park Rd., Germantown 12526)
• Friday, June 19 from 10:15am-12:15pm at the Kent Public Library (17 Sybil’s Crossing, Kent Lakes 10512)
• Monday, June 22 from 10:15am-12:15pm at the Kingston Library (55 Franklin St., Kingston 12401)
Using Sierra Create Lists to Efficiently Clean Up Records: Every library is responsible for the accuracy of their records in the Sierra database. This workshop is a companion to the ‘Sierra Data Entry: Spring Cleaning’ workshop, and is designed for staff who create and update item and/or patron records, and are looking for efficient ways to clean them up.
Attendees will learn how to develop queries in Create Lists and export data specifically designed to locate records with the most common errors that are lurking in your library’s item and/or patron data entry. The workshop will cover:
• What information can be accessed through Create Lists
• How to build efficient Queries for Create Lists
• Getting specific with your search to find the data you need
Attendees will benefit the most if they are either: regular users of Sierra Create Lists and familiar with creating and running basic reports; OR have attended the ‘Sierra Create Lists to Increase Circulation – Level 1’ training; OR have reviewed the 1 hour MHLS ‘Create List – Level 1’ webinar at http://kb.midhudson.org/sierra-webinars
Register for one of the following sessions through the MHLS online calendar: http://calendar.midhudson.org
• Thursday, June 4 from 1:15pm-3:15pm at the MHLS Auditorium (105 Market St., Poughkeepsie 12601)
• Monday, June 15 from 1:15pm-3:15pm at the Germantown Library (31 Palatine Park Rd., Germantown 12526)
• Friday, June 19 from 1:15pm-3:15pm at the Kent Public Library (17 Sybil’s Crossing, Kent Lakes 10512)
• Monday, June 22 from 1:15pm-3:15pm at the Kingston Library (55 Franklin St., Kingston 12401)
Help the New York Library Association (NYLA) Help Your Library! NYLA and the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) have partnered to create a “Library Champions” bookmark useable year round to build our list of library advocates that are interacting with the NYLA Online Advocacy Center (OAC). Our Government Relations expert at NYLA, Mike Neppl, has challenged the library community to build our list, we need more than double the number of advocates currently enrolled in the OAC to make more of an impression during budget negotiations at the state level. The bookmark is appropriate for use year-round. NYLA will provide a letter in the OAC that can be sent at any time of year so that people new to the interface can take action right away, not just January – April. A pack of these bookmarks will be coming to your library, we ask that you help NYLA help you by distributing these to your trustees, Friends, patrons and staff who are not current users of the OAC.
Essential Trustee Duties and Responsibilities
Presented by Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, MHLS Coordinator for Library Sustainability & Merribeth Advocate, MHLS Assistant Director
Especially for new board members, but open to all. Library board members looking for essential, baseline information to increase their effectiveness in serving on a library board will benefit from attending this session.
Attendees will learn effective ways to carry out the nine essential library trustee duties and responsibilities (everything the library board does either falls within one of these duties or is done in support of them).
What people are saying:
- I expected this to be very dry & frankly a bit boring. Not so. It was absolutely enlightening. Enjoyed it and learned a lot. Thanks so much!
- Excellent program that inspired action steps to introduce to my own library.
- This was great! Although I have been a board member for a long time, I needed this.
Please register online for one of the following sessions:
Saturday, June 13
10:15am – 12:30pm at East Fishkill Community Library
348 Route 376, Hopewell Junction 12533
Tuesday, June 16
5:30 – 8:00pm at Kingston Library
55 Franklin St., Kingston 12401
Wednesday, June 17
10:15am – 12:30pm at Phoenicia Library
48 Main Street, Phoenicia 12464
Friday, June 19
10:15am – 12:30pm at Starr Library
68 West Market St., Rhinebeck 12572
MHLS is a cooperative of 66 member libraries and communication is key to cooperation. With hundreds of library staff and thousands of library trustees and Friends to keep up-to-date we offer a variety of ways to learn about MHLS news and exchange ideas with your peers. We also use online communication tools to facilitate material requests and tech support.
We have added a new page to the “About Us” area of the web site called “eCommunications” that pulls together all of our eCommunication channels to ensure you stay connected to the news and support you need to help your library thrive!
