Save the Dates!
The Resource Sharing Symposium is April 27 at Guilderland Public Library.
The CDLC Annual Meeting is May 10 at Shaker Ridge Country Club.
An Update from the Director 
Dear CDLC Members and Supporters,
 
I recently testified at a hearing with the Assembly Standing Committee on Libraries and Education Technology. It's not every day that you get invited to present before an Assembly Committee! With guidance from my Empire State Library Network colleagues and the encouragement of my Board, staff and the Committee on Resource Sharing (whose meeting I had to run out of to get downtown), I was off to reiterate the critical role libraries, and more specifically library systems, play in our state infrastructure. With the state funding we receive, we provide resources, services, grants, staff expertise, and more, both regionally and statewide.

This is a particularly challenging year, as the Governor has proposed cutting library aid by over 4%, which impacts the services and resources we provide. Here are a few things you can do to make your voice heard:
Traveling the hallways of the State Capitol with fellow library supporters is an inspirational experience. We hope to see you later this month!
JUST FOR FUN: Hundreds of regional students in Grades 3-6 will be headed up to Skidmore College for the Battle of the Books on March 12 to  share their knowledge about books. Organized by our local school librarians and school library systems, they are looking for volunteers to read questions to the students about books they've read. You can read more here and contact J'aime Pfeiffer if you'd like to volunteer for a few hours. 
Local Connections
One of the best venues for connecting with your local colleagues is the CDLC Annual Meeting and Luncheon taking place this year Thursday, May 10 at the Shaker Ridge County Club. I'm excited to announce Michael Daly from Fulton-Montgomery Community College , Emily Spinner from  Ellis Hospital  and Judith Wines from RCS Community Library  as our speakers. Registration information will be shared in March.

It went by fast, but it's been a year since the first meeting of the  Reference, Instruction and Outreach (RIO) interest group, facilitated by Kate Moss from The College of Saint Rose and Lisa Shaffer from the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Since that time, we also welcomed the Cataloging and Technical Services, Preservation, and Scholarly Communications groups and supported the Capital Area Library Assistants . There has been a great response, with 70 unique individuals representing 38 unique institutions attending an interest group meeting since July. Interest group events are open to all: read more here.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: I'm sure I wasn't the only one surprised to hear about the New Media Consortium declaring bankruptcy late last year. Then earlier this week Educause submitted an offer to acquire NMC's assets, including their Horizon Project and its well-cited reports. Let's hope the reports continue!
Shared Collections
Woman with rectifier and car 1912 from miSci digital collection. 
Over the past several weeks, we facilitated member meetings to discuss regional collections.

At the New York Heritage Roundtable, the  Rensselaer County Historical Society shared that they plan to add about 85 railroad photos to New York Heritage, while  miSci has been cataloging General Electric collections and will be adding audio files. The number of CDLC member images on  New York Heritage continues to grow with more than 29,053 items contributed by CDLC libraries.

CDLC also re-convened our  Collection Development Committee  to focus on collection development topics and the collections we have in our region. For example,  SUNY Cobleskill  now houses the collection of the Indian Iroquois Museum. Did you know that the Adirondack Research Library collection is housed at  Union College ? These are just two examples showcasing unique collections in our area. What library collections do you have that we can help spread the word about? Let me know! 
We wish Ilka Morse, our Digital Field Trainer for the past 10 years, a happy retirement! Ilka conducted countless training sessions and was just a phone call away. She provided invaluable service and guidance for New York Heritage, not only to CDLC members but to the larger New York Heritage community. As one NYH participant told us, "We were spoiled by Ilka!" We are very grateful for all of her work and will miss her in-depth knowledge, her camaraderie, and her contagious laugh! 
Your comments and questions are always welcome.

Think Spring!