Category Archives: Director-Home Page

Orientation for New Staff: Wednesday, October 7th from 10:00am – 12:00pm in the MHLS Auditorium. Presented by Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, MHLS Coordinator for Library Sustainability and Merribeth Advocate, MHLS Assistant Director, this program is designed for new library staff and volunteers, but open to all who would like to attend.

This workshop provides introductory, baseline information about working effectively in a public library and in the Mid-Hudson Library System.

The workshop will cover:
• The role of the public library in our communities;
• How your library fits into the library structure of New York State;
• Your role as a library representative;
• Helping patrons find what they want;
• Overview of the online catalog, HOMEACCESS database and interlibrary loan; and
• System-wide resource sharing concepts and issues.

Please register online for this event through the MHLS online calendar

On Wednesday, September 30, 2015 from 10:00 – 11:00am please join MHLS Coordinator for Library Sustainability Rebekkah Smith Aldrich for a webinar designed for library directors and trustees who would like a refresher, or an introduction, to the New York State Property Tax Cap law and regulations. This law impacts all libraries that a) have their own board of trustees and b) have ever had a public vote on their budget (yes, even 414 libraries who have not recently had a vote). Please register online for this event through the MHLS online calendar

A Reminder from Robert Drake, MHLS Technology Operations Manager: “All Sierra, website, “tech everything” queries should go to

techsupport@midhudson.org

This goes into our ticket system which is directly accessed by five different staff people including myself, Gerry Formby, and Thomas O’Connell. Unlike our individual emails, multiple people are tracking whether or not tickets are resolved in a timely fashion.

To this end, please remind your staff to use this as well. While we endeavor to get through every email they send, tickets receive a much faster resolution due to the number of people simultaneously working to solve them.”

The New York State Education Department, Office of High School Equivalency, announces the availability of a new brochure regarding the Test Accessing Secondary Completion (TASC) writing subtest. The TASC writing subtest is one of five subject area tests required for a high school diploma in New York State. The new brochure helps students prepare for the writing subject area test by providing a guideline to key subject areas as well as tips and strategies for the exam. The New York State High School Equivalency Office is providing this document for distribution to any interested persons through public libraries in the state. Public libraries are asked to contact the office at 518.474.5906 or hse@nysed.gov to request free bulk copies of the brochure for distribution.

The next meeting of the Roundtable for New Directors will be on Wednesday, September 2nd from 12:30 – 2:30pm (after the Directors Association meeting) in the MHLS Conference Room. Our topic will address the role of the library director as “the face” of the library. This roundtable is designed for those who have been directors for 3 years or less.

At this workshop we will cover:
• The importance of the perception of the director in the community
• Best practices for being visible and making connections
• How to balance the need to be visible outside of the library with the work that needs to get done “inside” of the library.

We are very pleased that our special guest speaker at this instance of the roundtable will be Margie Menard, Director of the Kingston Library.

Directors should register online

All member library Summer Reading Program final reports are due Wednesday, September 9th. Your library can access the online form through the MHLS calendar under the due date September 9 or get there directly http://svy.mk/1eATWcd

The Summer Reading Program final report contains information needed for member library Annual Reports as well as to provide New York State (NYS) with important data about public library summer reading programs. All MHLS member libraries are required to submit an online Summer Reading Program final report. Questions about the report should be directed to Kerstin Cruger, MHLS Marketing & Program Assistant

Reminder: NYS considers any program that takes place during the summer months to be a “Summer Reading Program.”

The Mid-Hudson Library System (MHLS) Board of Trustees has accepted the official claims of serious inequities and hardships from the public library boards of the Beekman Library, the LaGrange Library, and the Millbrook Library. The claims were based on the Town of Union Vale providing less than median or average funding for public library services, and Town residents use of neighboring libraries representing 5% or more of the libraries’ total circulation of materials. The Town of Union Vale has no chartered public library.

MHLS and its 66 member libraries will implement a restriction, as authorized in the state approved MHLS Direct Access Plan, on loaning non-print (DVD’s, CD’s, Audiobooks, Video Games) library materials to the residents of the Town of Union Vale.

RESTRICTION SCHEDULE:
July 27, 2015 – Stop placements of holds on non-print materials by Union Vale residents.
August 3, 2015 – Stop loaning non-print materials to Union Vale residents.

We are pleased to share that three MHLS member library directors have been chosen for the New York Library Association’s ground-breaking Sustainability Initiative Retreat!

• Casey Conlin, Pawling Free Library
• Erica Freudenberger, Red Hook Public Library
• Sarah Potwin, LaGrange Association Library

This group of library leaders join 20 other forward-thinking NYLA members to discuss how libraries will adapt to the changing world and become co-creators in shaping strategies that ensure libraries remain vital, are able to rebound from disruption and provide on-going value to the communities they serve.

Data from the 2014 Annual Report to the State is now available on the MHLS web site.