MHLS will be closed in observance of Memorial Day on Monday, May 29. There will be no MHLS Delivery Services or Tech Support Services.
Category Archives: General News-Home Page
What is your library planning to do for the “Building a Better World” Summer Reading Program theme that will empower children, teens and adults to create a better world in your community? The New York Library Association’s Sustainability Initiative wants to know: http://bit.ly/2oHWueF
The New York Library Association (NYLA) makes it easy for you to thank your local legislators for their efforts during the Budget season in Albany through the NYLA Online Advocacy Center! In less than 15 seconds, you can send a message of appreciation with a pre-loaded thank you letter, or edit the letter to send your own personal message of thanks.
Adult Literacy Library Services funds, awarded to the Mid-Hudson Library System by the NYS Library Division of Library Development, will be used to fund mini-grants of $1,000 each for up to 9 eligible member libraries.
These funds are intended to be used by a library to help a library develop and expand adult literacy programs (which will enhance workforce development services in public libraries, improve adult literacy on the job and in the home) and increase participation of adults in library literacy programs which will improve their career and educational opportunities.
Eligibility Criteria:
- The library must have a new or existing partnership with a Literacy Partner Organization to be considered eligible for the funds.
- The Literacy Partner Organization must be local public schools, colleges or other organizations that are operating adult literacy programs, which is designed to initiate, enhance or extend services to adults to increase their literacy skills.
- The library must have a related infrastructure component (such as a public computing center in the library; a literacy office in the library; the library is in a designated Literacy Zone).
More information, including the requirements, and the application form are available at https://tinyurl.com/MHLSAdultLit17-18
Thanks to your efforts we have relatively good news from Albany via the New York Library Association (NYLA) about the fate of Library Aid in the upcoming NYS Budget :
- The Library Aid program will be funded at $95.6 million reflecting a restoration of Governor Cuomo’s proposed cut. While this is flat funding over last year, our efforts staved off a reduction.
- Library Construction Aid has been increased to $24 million. This not only reverses the Governor’s proposed cut of $5 million, it also increases the Aid program by $5 million above where were last year!
- There is also word that there will be $15 million in Senate “Bullet Aid” for Special Legislative Grants for education institutions, including public libraries. While this is less than last year, it is still a viable source of funds for your library. NYLA will have a sample letter you can use to request funds through your State Senator soon.
MHLS thanks you for your efforts to influence this outcome.
Recommend to Library Function now Live in the MHLS eBook and downloadable audiobook collection (OverDrive): Now each member library will be able to get recommendations from their patrons of OverDrive titles that would like the library to purchase! Read all about it in this week’s MHLS Bulletin.
Thank you Columbia County Library Directors for a $3,300+ donation to MHLS for the purchase of eBooks & eAudiobooks to be shared by all 66 MHLS member libraries!
We are dubbing this Phone-a-Thon week!
A double dose of library advocacy is called for as we find ourselves activated on two fronts: Library funding at both the state and national level is under fire and NOW is the time to keep the pressure on both our New York State Senators and Assemblypeople and our national representatives in Washington D.C.
1) Please call your NYS legislators and urge them to keep the negotiations for an increase to library aid alive through the end of the month! The final budget is expected on April 1.
2) The President has called for a defunding of the federal Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) which provides a large portion of the funds that enables the State Library and Division of Library Development to exist. A looming deadline of April 3. Please use the American Library Association’s Online Advocacy Center to call your representatives ASAP and tell them to #SaveIMLS!
OverDrive Big Library Read, March 16th-30th
The eBook ‘Art of the Pie’ by Kate McDermott is available for every patron that wishes to read it—no holds, no wait lists. Available for download at https://mhls.overdrive.com/ By participating in the 12th worldwide Big Library Read, we are joining a global movement of passionate readers and library patrons who support the availability of eBooks at libraries, and it’s a great way to increase circulation.
MHLS now provides Library Card Registration Forms in a bilingual English and Spanish format. Upon request, the Mid-Hudson Library System supplies all member libraries with library card registration forms free of charge. Order Form
