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Volume 19-43 | 10.22.19 
Stanford Library Grand Opening
Almost two hundred community members joined the Stanford Free Library staff and trustees to celebrate the grand opening of their new building on September 8th! Assemblymember Didi Barrett joined the celebration and spoke about how important libraries are to their communities. Board members past and present were honored including Laura Gilhooly for her tireless efforts over the years in securing State and Municipal Facilities (SAM) and State Aid for Library Construction grants to help pay for the new library. Christa Cerul, the friendly face you see behind the circulation desk, and library director, Arlene Christensen, were also honored for their dedication and hard work in serving the community. From the beginning, board president, Mark Williams, has served as leader and cheerleader for the new building, and the library's new Community Room was named "The Mark T. Williams Community Room," to honor his commitment and enthusiasm for bringing this beautiful new space to life for his neighbors.
(above) Stanford Free Library's New Building

The new library facility is centrally located within the town of Stanford next to the Town Recreation Area making the library more accessible for the community.
(above) Stanford Free Library's Board of Trustees with Assemblymember Didi Barrett at the Grand Opening event.

To learn more about the new Stanford Free Library building and to view the construction timeline, in pictures, please visit http://stanfordlibrary.org/
MHLS Libraries
(above) John Barath, a MHLS Delivery Operations Clerk moves Claverack's items to a storage area.

The Claverack Library will be closed from October 12th-25th while they move into their new building.
The Claverack Library's new building will offer the community a 21st century library experience including much-needed space for programming, meetings, computers and, of course, books. The library is closed while the collection is moved from the old space to the new space, but patrons can still get their holds thanks to the Philmont Public Library, which has generously offered to serve as a pickup location for Claverack patrons during the move. Behind the scenes, MHLS Tech Ops will update the catalog to reflect the change in pickup location and update the status of all the items on the shelf at the Claverack Library to "moving," which makes them unavailable to the holds system. MHLS delivery staff will redirect any checked in items for Claverack to MHLS for storage until opening day, and Tech Ops will update the status of these items daily. When Claverack's new space officially opens, the books in storage at MHLS and on the hold shelf in Philmont will go to their new home at the Claverack Free Library, and Tech Ops will restore the status of all the items  from "moving."
Professional Development
In early September, MHLS library programmers (pictured above) got a chance to meet and talk about their summer reading programs. Courtney Wimmers, Outreach & Engagement Specialist, shared programming best practices that were part of the MHLS 2019 Lab Project and programmers then had a chance to share what they struggled with over the summer, as well as what programs they were most proud of. Attendees reported that they love having an opportunity to network with and learn from other library staff members!
Sustainable Libraries
The New York State Program for the Conservation and Preservation of Library Research Materials provides $500,000 each year for preserving materials in the collections of libraries, archives, historical societies and similar agencies. The Conservation/Preservation Program provides State funding for libraries and other organizations engaged in efforts to preserve deteriorating library research materials. The grant awards for 2020-2021 will be limited to a minimum of $2,500 and a maximum of $40,000. The Conservation Preservation Discretionary Grant Program guidelines and online grant application for 2020-2021 are available at http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/cp/index.html  The deadline for applications is Friday, November 8th.
Programming
Small Business Saturday on November 30th is a chance for people to support their neighbors in local and small businesses by shopping locally rather than in big box stores. Studies report that every $100 spent in independent businesses results in $68 in local economic activity - that same $100 spent at a large retail chain store results in just $48 in local economic activity. Libraries can champion local and small businesses in their community through programs and messaging that make people aware of Small Business Saturday and the benefits of shopping local and encouraging community members to "Shop Small." For more information and promotional ideas please visit https://amex.co/2nVRZlR
Trustee Resources
There is still time to register the for Advanced Level Trustee Education: Strategic Thinking: Advocacy & Planning workshop on Wednesday, October 30th from 5:30-8:30pm at Patterson Library.
 
This advanced-level course is for trustees who have been on the board for at least a year. It is recommended that trustees have already attended the Trustee Essentials workshop prior to this one.
 
For more information about this workshop and to register please visit http://calendar.midhudson.org
Administration & Management
At the October DA Workshop Kristin O'Neill, Assistant Director for Committee on Open Government (COOG), presented and answered questions for library directors about Open Meetings Law (OML), Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) and the COOG. O'Neill's presentation included an overview of the COOG, and the resources available to library directors and the public for determining how common issues relate to OML and FOIL, including the laws, opinions and publications available on the website, and email and phone support from COOG staff. For more information visit https://www.dos.ny.gov/coog
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