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The MHLS Bulletin welcomes submissions from member libraries.
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MHLS Annual Meeting Highlights
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Approximately
130 library directors, trustees, staff members and special guests attended the MHLS 58th Annual Membership Meeting on Friday, October 27th held at the Wallace Center/FDR Presidential Library and Home, Hyde Park.
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS
President von Bergen (above) introduced
MHLS Trustees and library directors who served as 2017 liaisons to the MHLS Board.
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Executive Director, Tom Sloan stressed the important role our elected state legislators play in advocating for funding MHLS and other NY public library systems, state aid to public libraries, and public library construction projects. He thanked legislators for the increase in funding for NYS Construction Grant Projects and for Special Legislative Grants for member libraries.
Senator Serino
(left)
, Senate District 41 thanked attendees for supporting libraries, and recognized the important role libraries play in communities; stated that the distribution of $200,000 in Bullet Aid to libraries in Senate District 41 was a top priority for her; and pledged to continue to advocate for increased library funding to support library services.
Assemblymember Didi Barrett
(left)
, 106 Assembly District informed the audience that her appointment as the new Chair of the New York Assembly's Committee on Libraries & Education Technology will afford her an excellent opportunity to advocate and lobby on behalf of libraries; thanked MHLS for continuing to work collaboratively with herself and her staff on the "Women's History Project"; and emphasized that libraries are an integral part of a communities infrastructure and provide invaluable services to their patrons.
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ELECTION OF FOUR MHLS BOARD MEMBERS
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Lisa Baker Brill, Chair of the MHLS Board's Nominations and Elections Committee, conducted the election of four trustees to the MHLS Board:
- Rajene Hardeman (right) - Dutchess County (5-year term)
- Robert Culp - Putnam County (4 year term)
- Priscilla Goldfarb - Putnam County (5-year term)
- Lynne Ridgeway - Ulster County (5-year term)
Candidates Hardeman, Culp and Ridgeway introduced themselves, and spoke briefly of their long standing affiliation with libraries, and the desire to serve as members of the MHLS Board of
Trustees. All four nominees were elected and will begin their terms on January 1, 2018.
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT
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Mr.Sloan
(left) presented a review of System services, highlighting service accomplishments; recognized system staff for their dedication and member libraries for their cooperative efforts; and noted that the program insert contained an At-a-Glance report and a crossword puzzle of library quotes by famous people.
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SPOTLIGHT PANEL ON CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
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Merribeth Advocate, MHLS Assistant Director, facilitated a panel discussion on libraries supporting civic engagement.
(l-r) Thea Schoep, Julie Spann, Margie Menard
Thea Schoep, Director of Claverack Free Library,
Julie Spann, Director of the Blodgett Memorial Library (Fishkill), and
Margie Menard, Director of the Kingston Library, shared information about the civic engagement projects initiated by their libraries including
voter registration drives, community partnerships that support civic responsibility, and promoting the
library as an open and nonpartisan forum. The Directors described the keys to the success of their projects and the importance of continuing to foster civic engagement activities.
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 Paul Grondahl (left), Director of the New York State Writers Institute at the University at Albany presented "News Literacy, Fake News and the Job of an Informed Citizenry". He addressed the need for the public to discern fact from fiction when dealing with information disseminated in today's climate of unvetted social media and the financial problems faced by the news industry and professional journalists. He praised librarians and libraries for being essential to having a well-informed citizenry. A lively question and answer period followed.
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WOMEN IN POLITICS SYMPOSIUM
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 Ms. Advocate (left) facilitated the Symposium, which included the recognition of the Centennial of Women's Right to Vote in New York. Eve Waltermaurer, Ph.D., provided the opening address, reporting findings of the Women @ Work Poll. Assemblymember Sandy Galef, Senator Sue Serino, and Assemblymember Didi Barrett answered questions regarding their experiences as women serving in elected office. Sandra Opdycke, Ph.D., provided a brief history of the suffragette movement in the US and NY.
(l-r) Sandy Galef, Sue Serino, Eve Waltermaurer, Didi Barrett, Sandra Opdycke
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MHLS Announcements
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MHLS will be closed on Friday, November 10th in observance of Veterans Day. There will be no MHLS Delivery Services. MHLS technology staff will be available via the MHLS ticket system (techsupport@midhudson.org) from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm to support system-wide Sierra Encore issues. During these hours, MHLS staff will be checking the ticket system periodically each hour and will address system-wide Sierra Encore issues, sending tickets as necessary to Innovative, and posting to MHLS-Alerts. Please note, phone and general technology support will not be available during this time.
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