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Contact Us
The MHLS Bulletin welcomes submissions from member libraries.
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MHLS Joins Innovative as Development Partner for Vega
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As a development partner with five other library systems, Mid-Hudson Library System [MHLS] will help ensure that Innovative's new Vega platform meets the unique needs of public libraries in today's world by participating in advisory discussions, usability testing, and beta testing. Vega, a new ultramodern catalog discovery platform from Innovative, promises to increase engagement and amplify collections of all types, helping public libraries strengthen and advance their crucial role in communities across the world.
 Laurie Shedrick, MHLS Assistant Director and Technology Operations Manager said about the platform, "People expect libraries to provide modern tools, experiences, and outreach, and until now that technology has been behind. We're excited about Vega modernizing that experience and the ease of use it offers - we expect no learning curve as it's designed with the same principles that guide so many of our experiences today on services like Amazon and Netflix."
Vega is designed specifically to address many of the unsolved challenges inherent in current public library catalog platforms, including our own Encore catalog. Features include:
- Robust Discovery - Delivers personalized experiences with re-imagined lists, reading history, recommendations, and library outreach to promote higher-quality interactions.
- Work Roll-Ups - Eliminate endless scrolling by combining formats and editions into a single search result with one smart "hold" or "check-out" button, simplifying workflows and offering at-a-glance availability.
- Showcases - Provide access to related materials, people, and topics in a visual interface that encourages people to explore and uncover further areas of interest.
- Patron Engagement - A portfolio of tools, such as customer relationship management, marketing automation, website builder, and event management to strengthen libraries' connections to their communities.
- Accessibility - Responsive user interface works across devices, adheres to latest accessibility standards, and supports multiple languages.
- Cloud-based Design - Built as software-as-a-service, on a new multi-tenant platform.
The Vega platform will expand beyond discovery to include intelligence, analytics, marketing tools and services for public libraries, and easily integrate data and third-party software. A rich set of APIs offer deep connectivity to digital content providers, catalog enrichment sources, and more. "Now, more than ever, libraries need to be available anywhere, anytime. Like its namesake, the next North Star, Vega will lead people to a purposeful destination," said Yariv Kursh, General Manager of Innovative.
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MHLS Announcements
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Member library directors please ensure MHLS has the most up-to-date information about your reopening plans and your quarantine strategy by updating your info through this form. You can see what you've already reported to MHLS on the reopening side of things on the Library Service Status page. MHLS uses this information for data analysis purposes as well as to identify trends.
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 Putnam Valley Library has composting bins for community members to drop-off their food scraps. The bins are located right outside the community room doors and can be accessed 24/7. The compost will be used by Longhaul Farm, a small family farm in Garrison, NY. The program runs from June through September.
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Registration is now open for the annual Rochester Librarian Tech Camp conference. This free event is open to all school, public, academic, and special library staff and runs from August 17th-20th. Through a variety of online sessions, learn from industry professionals on topics related to technology, education, and collaboration in library services and practices. Attend all of the sessions or just register for the ones that fit your schedule and learning needs best. Conference attendees may earn up to 9.5 hours of continuing education credit.
Conference sessions include:
- Allyship and Racial Equity in the Children's Library
- Information Literacy: Real Skills Our Students Need to Fight for Democracy
- Green Engineering Design Projects & Resources
- Health Issues in the Headlines: Learning to Read Between the Lines
- Best Practices for Working with Teachers This Fall
- Transforming Interest into Impact: Citizen Science and Crowdsourcing in Your Library
- Truth Online: Inspiring Information Literacy
- Customize Destiny Discover
- Donalyn Miller's 40 Book Challenge/NFL Draft Mash Up!
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Resource Sharing & Sierra
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Join MHLS ILP Operations Supervisor, Thomas O'Connell for the latest series of Sierra Lunchtime Webinars. All events begin at noon.
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 As libraries begin to reopen their buildings and offer curbside pickup and additional services, many are working to address problems around food scarcity brought on or exacerbated by the pandemic. In addition to coordinating food pickup, libraries can make families aware of the new Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) program, which gives food benefits to children who lost access to free or reduced-price school meals because of COVID-19 school closures. P-EBT benefits can be used to buy food at participating stores with benefits of $420 per child issued automatically to eligible families. The Hunger Solutions New York Outreach Toolkit provides fliers, letters, infographics, and social media posts that can help spread the word about this program to impacted families.
 The U.S. Census Bureau announced that it will begin following up with households in the Mid-Hudson area that have not yet responded to the 2020 Census starting August 6th with door-to-door visits. Census takers will be provided with and required to wear face masks while conducting their work and will follow CDC and local public health guidelines when they visit based on training they receive on social distancing and health safety protocols. If no one is home when the Census taker visits, they will leave a notice of their visit with information on how to respond to the Census online, by phone, or by mail. All Census takers carry a valid government ID badge with their photograph, a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark and an expiration date. The public may contact their regional census center to confirm the Census taker's identity. For more info, visit the Census newsroom.
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Reference & Collection Development
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 OverDrive has donated an additional collection of Kids & Teens titles for simultaneous use. The Community Read: Own Voices & Diversity Books for Students titles have automatically been added to the OverDrive collection and will be available in unlimited simultaneous use, at no cost to your library through August 31st, 2021.
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 This September, DC's Wonder Woman is embarking on a new mission to champion the power of a library card as Library Card Sign-up Month Honorary Chair. A founding member of the Justice League, Wonder Woman is known for strength, compassion, and truth. Armed with the Lasso of Truth, Wonder Woman makes a perfect ambassador to support the value of learning and the role libraries play in transforming lives and strengthening communities through education. Wonder Woman posters, stickers and bookmarks are currently available for purchase through the ALA Store. Tools for libraries to participate are available on the Libraries Transform website. Registration is required, but the tools are free! Sign up to receive print PSAs, digital graphics, artwork for library cards, PSA scripts, a sample press release, proclamation, and more.
 In preparation of its 2020 Annual Meeting, the Collaborative Summer Library Program [CSLP] will be holding four Listening Sessions throughout the month of August. These sessions are open to all staff at CSLP Member Libraries, and are your opportunity to have your voice heard, and to hear from others. The Listening Sessions will be held at 2:00pm on the following dates:
- August 18th
- August 20th
- August 25th
- August 27th
For those wishing to speak, there are thirty speaking slots per session. Each speaking slot is up to two minutes in duration. These slots are on a first come, first served basis. If you would like to speak, please indicate which topic you would like to address on the registration form. The four speaking options are:
- The 2022 slogan
- The 2024 theme
- The 2020 CSLP Elections
- Any combination of the three topics (speaking time will remain capped at two minutes, regardless of the number of topics discussed)
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The next MHLS COVID-19 Trustee Briefing will be held on Wednesday, August 12th from 10:00-11:00am. Join MHLS Executive Director, Rebekkah Smith Aldrich for this custom online event designed for member library trustees which will cover the latest info about funding considerations, restarting/reimagining library operations as well as share answers to frequently asked questions. Please send questions in advance to Rebekkah at rsmith@midhudson.org. To register please visit
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Administration & Management
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The latest Public Libraries Survey report from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, provides a snapshot of public library use, financial health, staffing, and resources for FY 2017. The report shows attendance at library events increasing, indicating an understanding of what the community wants from their library.
- Nationally more than 172 million registered users, representing 55% of the 312 million Americans visited public libraries 1.32 billion times in 2017. In other words, on average, each American visited a public library over 4 times.
- Public libraries offered 200,000 more programs in 2017 than in 2016, up to 5.6 million from 5.4. Over 118 million people attended these programs in 2017, an increase in attendance of 5 million from the prior year. Children and young adult programming make up the majority of all programming in the United States.
- The number of electronic materials available through public libraries, including audio, video and eBooks, continued to grow in 2017, with public libraries offering over 463.5 million eBooks to their patrons in the United States
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Programs Coordinator, Putnam Valley Library
Putnam Valley Library is currently seeking a fulltime (35 hr./week) Programs Coordinator. Library programming provides the individual-regardless of age or income level-with enrichment, education, and lifelong learning opportunities, as well as fosters community dialogue and connections.
Job Duties:
- Evaluates the needs of individuals and the community in the Putnam Valley area
- Leads the planning, promoting, implementing and executing of diverse programming activities-including identifying groups and individuals to deliver quality programs-for all ages from babies to adults
- Works with the social media coordinator to reach online communities and social networks
- Oversees website by maintaining calendars for programs and services; ensures content is accurate and updated, oversees development of visuals, and works with staff to ensure a smooth user experience
Qualifications:
- Successful track record of demonstrating creativity, flexibility, and initiative in accommodating community and staff needs
- Possess an understanding of marketing tools and social media, along with excellent communication, facilitation and planning skills; Bilingual (English/Spanish) a plus
- Ability to work effectively under deadlines; excellent organizational skills, time management efficiency, and careful attention to detail
- Experience with computer systems and software including Google docs, website and graphic design; basic html, and social media platforms
- Strong ability to work independently as well as part of a larger team
This position will largely work remotely, however flexibility is needed as programs sometimes occur on evenings and weekends. Salary is hourly and commensurate with experience; includes PTO and 10 paid holidays. Tentative start date of mid-to-late August.
Interested applicants should email a résumé and short letter of interest to:
MHLS recommends that the minimum starting salary of a full or part-time librarian with an MLS degree be at least equal to that of a teacher with a master's degree in the same community.
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