A Message From the Director
Hi everyone, 

We hope that you are well and in good spirits-the sun shining and the flowers blooming certainly helps. As we slowly begin to turn the corner, like many of you, we are developing a reopening plan while reviewing recommendations and guidelines, reading up on the criteria and expectations for each reopening phase, and ordering safety materials and supplies.

Regarding reopening: 


  • Our next Member Forum on Tuesday, June 2 at 10:00, will focus on reopening plans. Zoom in to share your reopening status or to hear from others. 

  • With our ESLN (Empire State Library Network) colleagues, we are in the process of creating a June Webinar with panelists discussing reopening plans. More information will be available soon.

  • CDLC Resource Sharing Librarian, Meghan Wakeman, has been developing ILL guidelines and creating resources for libraries that lend and borrow items via CDLC as they prepare to reopen.

  • Empire Library Delivery (ELD) Coordinator Maria DeGaetano (also CDLC’s Business Services Coordinator) has been reaching out to ELD libraries to assess their reopening plans as we begin planning to restart the statewide ELD courier service.


We are here to support you however needed and hope that these tools and resources are of use. Let us know if there are other ways we can provide guidance or if you have recommended resources to add to the LibGuide.
The Ask the Lawyer service continues to respond to many questions related to COVID-19 .
Connections
Our 2020-2021 Board of Trustees elections took place electronically this year. We are pleased to announce that Philip Eppard from the University at Albany was elected for his second term and Katherine Moss from The College of Saint Rose was elected for her first term. Thanks to all who cast their vote. Welcome to the Board, Kate, and welcome back, Phil! 

We are fortunate to have an engaged library community who contribute their expertise to CDLC. Much of this work is done at the committee level led by our dedicated committee chairs who, together with their committees, have planned programs, reviewed grant applications, showcased member collections, and provided valuable input and assessment for our services and programs.

I'd like to thank our outgoing chairs for all of their leadership, support, and friendship. Mary Van Ullen, University at Albany , chair of the Collection Development Committee; Kim Mitchell, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences , chair of the Committee on Resource Sharing; and Colleen Smith, formerly The Town of Ballston Community Library (and now the New York Library Association), chair of the Regional Automation Advisory Committee.

I’d also like to acknowledge and thank our departing committee members. Leaving the Collection Development Committee are Jennifer Fairall, Siena College and David Moore, SUNY Schenectady County Community College , and from the Committee on Resource Sharing, Katherine Brent, SUNY Cobleskill.
We are partnering with LibraryWorks to offer a group rate of $25 to members to attend webinars. Visit our calendar to register for webinars on Weeding Your Collection (June 11), Writing Surveys (June 18) and Working with Angry Patrons (June 24).
Collections
Our members have been busy adding content to their digital collections! Visit our New York Heritage LibGuide for tips and resources on how to build your digital collection.
The Schenectady County Historical Society Pearson Street Books Collection consists of four volumes of notes and sketched maps created by Jonathan Pearson, city historian, about property ownership in the city of Schenectady, New York from the 1660s through the mid-nineteenth century.

The Albany Institute of History and Art has added the John Quincy Adams Ward Papers Collection , which contains materials from the papers of sculptor John Quincy Adams Ward, 1800-1933.

Maria College has added a collection celebrating the 50th anniversary of their nursing program.
If you are working on oral histories -COVID-19 related or not- be sure to review this recent response posted to our Ask the Lawyer service regarding oral history transcriptions and the ADA. 
Member News
Congratulations and best wishes to Colleen Smith who is joining the New York Library Association as their Finance and Administration Manager. Most recently the Library Director at the Town of Ballston Community Library, and previously at Albany Law School, Colleen is a long-term member of our Regional Automation Advisory Committee. We wish you all the best Colleen!

Congratulations to Rebecca Mugridge , University at Albany Libraries Dean and CDLC Board of Trustees Vice President, on being named a SUNY distinguished faculty . Rebecca was awarded the designation based on “the wealth of her scholarly contributions on policy development for research libraries, and her service to the University, SUNY and the field of library science.”

The May 2020 issue of Library Journal featured an article, Programming Through the Pandemic , written by Erica Freudenberger, Outreach & Marketing Consultant at the Southern Adirondack Library System , and may inspire some ideas.

Just For Fun: As academic libraries closed, librarians came up with creative ways to keep students engaged during finals week. Stephanie Ross at Hudson Valley Community College , developed this Virtual Stress Relief guide , which she shared at a recent High School to College Interest Group meeting. Visit the Exercise and Meditation tab for a 5-minute mindful breathing exercise. Thanks Stephanie for sharing this fun and useful resource!
Your comments and suggestions are always welcome and we wish you all the best and hope to see you again soon (virtually!).

Kind Regards,