Category Archives: Director-Home Page

MHLS Delivery Services: As 2015 winds down we’d like to share some delivery numbers from the past year.
• A total of 23,700 individual delivery stops were made.
• Our delivery vans drove 200,750 miles this year, the equivalent of driving across the United States 58 times!
• 31,923 boxes came into MHLS headquarters which if stacked is equal to over 30 times the height of the Empire State Building!
• 1, 436,535 items were sorted and turned around at MHLS for delivery to member libraries.

This is all made possible by our member libraries generously sharing their resources among each other, the delivery drivers, and the material handlers at MHLS. Best wishes for 2016!

[MHLS Delivery Service’s Material Handler Staff are pictured above: John Barath, Chris McCann, Vinnie McCombs & Michael Tsahalis]

Governor Cuomo is currently crafting his executive budget for the coming fiscal year which means that now is the right time for library advocates to speak up for library aid! Take 3 minutes out of your day to send a message to the Governor through the New York Library Association’s Online Advocacy Center.

A message from Jeremy Johannesen, Executive Director of the New York Library Association (NYLA):
We have not gotten any assurances that library funding is secure. In 2014, the last legislative election year, Governor Cuomo cut $4M in library aid as a negotiating tactic with the legislature. Now, with an upcoming election year, library aid is again subject to these same negotiating tactics. The $5M in extra funding we worked so hard to get during this year’s budget is uncertain at best. This is unacceptable.

TAKE ACTION NOW and tell the Governor that library aid should be INCREASED, not CUT. Use NYLA’s pre-drafted letter to voice your support for fully funding NYS Library Aid in the FY 2016-2017 Budget. After you submit your zip code you will have the opportunity to view and EDIT the pre-drafted letter. The NYLA OAC submits your message directly to the Governor’s inbox.

Productivity Webinar: Presented for MHLS by Ron Kirsop, Assistant Director, Pioneer Library System: Thursday, January 28th from 10:00 – 11:00am. This popular program from the 2015 New York Library Association Conference in Lake Placid is being brought to MHLS!

Designed for library directors and staff, in this presentation, Ron Kirsop will talk about shifting the way we think about our day-to-day priorities by highlighting methods, organizational tools, and habits that can be used to make us the most productive versions of ourselves. During this webinar we will cover:
• Become familiar with six existing productivity methods.

• Learn about the best habits to increase productivity.

• Talk about productivity tools that can be used to help with organization and task management.

Please register for this even through the MHLS online calendar

Hands-on Annual Report to the State workshops, designed for new directors, but open to all, are scheduled for January 2016:

Ÿ Friday, January 22nd from 10:00am – 12:00pm

Ÿ Monday, January 25th

• 10:00am – 12:00pm
• 1:00 – 3:00pm

Ÿ Tuesday, January 26th from 1:00 – 3:00pm

All sessions will be held at MHLS. Please register online at http://calendar.midhudson.org

December 15th is the deadline to take advantage of the 2015 MHLS Member Library Mileage Equalization Grant Program. Reimbursement is contingent on member libraries providing their staff reimbursement at the IRS rate for travel to attend training or to participate in meetings sponsored by and located at MHLS headquarters in Poughkeepsie. For more information and

The Philmont Library is set to defend their title as the MHLS Thanksgiving Challenge Champ! Library Director Karen Garafalo revealed her “Grateful/Thankful Tree” on Facebook last week, “…can’t remember a challenge I didn’t want to win!” said Karen!

“And the Thanksgiving Challenge continues with a grateful/thankful tree. Stop by the library and add a leaf with a word or two about why you are grateful/thankful for the Philmont Public Library.”

MHLS will be closed on Wednesday, November 11th. There will be no deliveries. Technology staff will be available via the MHLS ticket system (techsupport@midhudson.org) from 8:30am – 4:30pm to support system-wide Sierra Encore problems only. During these hours, tech support staff will be checking the ticket system periodically each hour and will address system-wide Innovative issues, sending tickets as necessary to Innovative, and posting to MHLS lists. Please note, phone and general issue support will not be available during this time.

On Wednesday, November 18^th 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.

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

Sierra 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!