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Volume 17-26 | 6.27.17 
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Trustee Education Series
MHLS Trustee Education Series: All New for 2017! Using the brand new, statewide approved "Helping All Trustees Succeed" (HATS) Curriculum MHLS is proud to offer an all new Trustee Education Series. The lineup for 2017 includes a session for new trustees as well as one for trustees who have been on the board for more than a year.  
Trustee Essentials
Particularly for new board members, but open to all. Great for library board members looking for essential, basic 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 essential library trustee duties and responsibilities;
  • develop a working knowledge of library funding and organization in New York State; and
  • become more comfortable and confident in their role at the library
This workshop provides a foundation of knowledge that other workshops in the MHLS Trustee Education Series will build on.
 
Three dates/locations to choose from:
 
Tuesday, September 12 | 5:30-8:30 pm
MHLS Auditorium, 105 Market Street, Poughkeepsie
 
Tuesday, September 26 | 9:30 am-12:30 pm
Hudson Area Library, 51 N. 5th Street, Hudson
 
Saturday, October 7 | 9:00 am-12:00 pm
Starr Library, 68 West Market Street, Rhinebeck
 
Financial & Fiduciary Responsibility
This intermediate-level course is for trustees who have been on the board for at least a year.
 
Library boards are trusted with public and private funds to provide quality library service to their community. Transparency and Accountability must be at the forefront as a board makes decisions pertaining to the library's finances. This course will focus on the financial and fiduciary responsibility involved with:
  • the library's budget
  • library funding
  • financial policies
  • reports to the board
  • external audits
Saturday, September 9 | 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Kingston Library, 55 Franklin St., Kingston
 
Tuesday, September 19 | 5:30 - 8:30 pm
MHLS Auditorium, 105 Market Street, Poughkeepsie
 
Please register online at http://calendar.midhudson.org
MHLS Announcements

MHLS will be closed in observance of Independence Day on Tuesday, July 4th. There will be no MHLS Delivery Services or Tech Support Services.
 

The July 7th Director's Association meeting has been cancelled. The next Director's Association meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 6th in the MHLS Auditorium.  
MHLS Libraries
Member Library Boards Mandating Trustee Education: The Heermance Memorial Library in Coxsackie is the latest MHLS member library to mandate trustee education for their board through their bylaws. With the recent statewide discussion about potentially mandating trustee education through the Minimum Standards for Public Libraries, a critical piece of state regulation that is tied to a library's ability to receive tax dollars, we applaud those libraries who are ahead of the curve on this issue! 
This sign greeted participants at the recent
Town of Ulster Library's Community Workshops. These events were design workshops and brainstorming  sessions to solicit input from the community on the library's master facility plan. 
Sustainable Libraries
Two more Technical Assistance Workshops for member libraries who plan to apply for this year's State Aid for Public Library Construction program are scheduled in July:
Administration & Management
Save the Date! Monday, December 11: Full day course on budgeting and financial management, the #1 requested topic by member library directors! This course is taught by NYLA Leadership & Management Academy instructors Tom Lawrence of the Poughkeepsie Public Library District and Lauren Moore, Executive Director of the Pioneer Library System.This course highlights fundamental skills required for effective budgeting and financial management.  The curriculum will include: budgeting basics; interpreting monthly financial statements; developing a budget; community based planning; budget modifications; audits; budge votes; tax cap issues; and capital finance. Member Library Directors are welcome to register today at http://calendar.midhudson.org
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