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Contact Us
The MHLS Bulletin welcomes submissions from member libraries.
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The State budget was finalized on April 2nd. Library advocates efforts helped to fight the odds in this challenging economic climate, with a result that helped the starting spot for library aid land above the Governor's proposed cut thanks to a legislative add of $2.5 million. We will start the year with an estimated 3% cut with a very large caveat tied to it. The Governor has the authority to cut our funding at three different points over the course of the fiscal year in response to actual revenues received. This will mean careful planning for the year as we do not truly know how much funding we will receive.
MHLS is already working in-house, with our board, and with the leadership of the Directors Association to address this unusual situation and we appreciate your patience and support as we map our way through uncharted territory.
The State Aid for Library Construction Program was funded at $14 million
, while a significant cut from last year, we can all agree we are lucky to see this program in existence this year. Currently, we understand the timeline to apply for funds through this program is unchanged. If you plan to apply for these funds this year, please
register
for the upcoming introductory webinar
Applying for Funds Through the State Aid for Library Construction Program
on April 23rd.
Thank you all for your unwavering advocacy work this year, it is working and more will be needed.
ACTION: Please take a moment to say thank you to our state legislators, they worked very hard on our behalf this year and went through a grueling budget session. Send a message of thanks through the New York Library Association's Online Advocacy Center:
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MHLS Libraries
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 Julia L. Butterfield Memorial Library
in Cold Spring is hosting Friday night trivia, the Living Room Edition via Zoom. Patrons can access the event through the library's calendar.
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Professional Development
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Recordings of the Library 2.0 special pandemic mini conference: Serving the Needs of Communities in Crisis, are now available.
Library 2.0 posted the video recording, an audio-only recording, and the chat lot for each of the four sessions. Additionally, where provided, they have posted presentation slides and handouts. All are available at
https://www.library20.com/page/crisis
. You do need to be a member of Library 2.0, but there is no cost to join.
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Resource Sharing & Sierra
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Thomas O'Connell, MHLS ILP Operations Supervisor will be offering Sierra Lunchtime Webinars
beginning at 12:00pm all next week. Each day will cover a different topic:
There are still spaces available for both sessions of An Introduction to Decision Center on
Wednesday, April 8th 12:00-1:30pm and Thursday, April 9th 12:00-1:30pm.
This workshop will be beneficial to any library staff responsible for gathering statistics, running reports on usage, and making collection development decisions for their library. Decision Center is a Comprehensive collection management and analytics solution that provides library staff with dynamic tools to report, analyze, and make action-oriented decisions and recommendations regarding collection management.
REMINDER: Member library directors should put in a ticket to techsupport@midhudson.org to extend due dates of items for patrons and expiration dates for library card holders.
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The FCC has provided information
regarding community use of E-Rate supported Wi-Fi networks. The full public notice is available through
this link.
"By this Public Notice, the Wireline Competition Bureau reminds schools and libraries that are closed due to the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak that they are permitted to allow the general public to use E-Rate-supported Wi-Fi networks while on the school's campus or library property. Specifically, libraries may offer access to E-Rate funded services on their premises as well as services that are "integral, immediate and proximate to the provision of library services to library patrons"4-and because the mission to serve the public is ongoing, libraries are permitted to allow the public to access E-Rate funded services even when they are closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic."
If you have any questions, please contact
Natalie McDonough
, Division of Library Development, New York State Library, State E-Rate Coordinator for Libraries.
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Reference & Collection Development
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Free for students, families, and colleagues to use to enrich PreK-12 literacy connections, TeachingBooks is happy to give you unlimited access to our brand-new
Book & Reading Engagement Kit: Home Edition
. Open through September 15th, children and families can delve into the world of children's and young adult books.
- Read-along performances of favorite books that are translatable into 100+ languages
- Virtual storytime with 1,000+ complete book readings
- Interviews with thousands of authors
- Reader's advisory
- Discussion questions and much more!
Back to top
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Library programmers met online on April 2nd for the first MHLS Virtual Program Discussion
. Participants discussed how library programming is evolving since library facilities have been closed due to COVID-19. Attendees heard from Amy Smith, Red Hook Public Library; Jen McCreery, Desmond-Fish Public Library; Donna Davies, Highland Public Library and AnnaLee Dragon, Kinderhook Memorial Library who shared innovative programs they are working on to engage patrons online. Attendees also learned about virtual storytime, and web conferencing platforms they can use to hold programs online. The recording of this webinar is available at
Up next is a two-part series of Social Media and Community Connections webinars
. Join MHLS Library Sustainability Coordinator, Casey Conlin on
Friday, April 10th from 11:00am-12:00pm
.
Library staff working to build connections and support their community through stay at home orders are invited to attend this event. We will
talk about the evolving role of the library as a social connector while the library building is closed
. At this program we will discuss:
- Developing a social media strategy
- Software to manage social media posts
- Connecting with people who may not be online
- Building partnerships to support your community
On April 15th from 10:00-11:00am
MHLS Outreach & Engagement Specialist, Courtney Wimmers will discuss
Social Media Best Practices
.
Library staff involved with social media are invited to talk about best practices while library facilities are closed. Library staff will be able to ask questions ahead of time that will be answered during the event. At this program, we will discuss social media best practices including:
- Using social media analytics to determine the best time to post
- What types of posts the library should share at this time
- How to create quality social media posts
Libraries that are interested in promoting and sharing their online classes and events across a wider platform are all invited to use the FindNYCulture.org website
, which was created by the Office of Cultural Education. Sharing these events statewide could help to extend access to online story times, book chats, and lectures across the state. Visit
https://midhudson.org/covid19/
for information on creating an account and posting events to the site.
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On April 1st MHLS held a
COVID-19 Trustee Briefing specifically for member library trustees. You can view the recording of this one-hour webinar at
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Administration & Management
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The Division of Library Development (DLD) has provided guidance for reporting statistics for the 2020 Annual Report
, which will be completed in February 2021, that states that libraries should not report sessions and attendance for virtual programs or hours open unless the library building is fully open. All libraries should make a local determination for how they will collect statistics for their own decision-making and for reporting to their local stakeholders; it may be necessary to track statistics separately for the Annual Report. To read the full text from DLD please visit
You can now view a recording of the webinar, Mitigating COVID-19 When Managing Paper-Based, Circulating, and Other Types of Collections, from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. This program provides an overview of the CDC's guidance for community settings and environmental disinfection, and a discussion of how libraries, archives, and museums can help mitigate COVID-19 when working with paper-based, circulating, and other types of collections. The webinar was presented by Dr. David Berendes and Dr. Catherine Rasberry, from the Centers for Disease Control.
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Library Journal has opened temporary, free full access
to the digitized edition as well as for all content on the website. The website content is usually available only to Premium Subscribers. For full online access visit
https://www.libraryjournal.com/?page=login
and log in with the following credentials:
Email
: access@libraryjournal.com
Password
: LJfullaccess1
Library Journal is also providing free access to the digitized editions of their magazine archive
, including the latest issue. To access, go to the homepage and click on "Access Digitized Edition" in the upper left-hand corner. For return visits to the digital editions site, click on "Bookshelf" in the upper right-hand corner to read current and back issues of Library Journal.
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