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The election of Mid-Hudson Library System (MHLS) trustees will be an item of business at the MHLS Annual Membership Meeting on Friday, October 21st. MHLS is governed by a fifteen-member board made up of trustees from each of the five counties served.
Procedures for Election of Trustees:
Article II. Nominations:
Section 2.01 -The county library association of each county for which a trustee is to be elected shall meet for the purpose of selecting a candidate from their county to nominate at the MHLS Annual Membership Meeting. The chair of the county library association shall submit to the MHLS Executive Director the name of the county library association's nominee no later than two months prior to the Annual Membership Meeting.
Section 4.03 - Each member library is a voting unit having one vote.
Three MHLS Board of Trustee vacancies are to be filled for terms commencing in January 2023:
Dutchess County: Rajene Hardeman
Ms. Hardeman has been unanimously nominated by the Dutchess County Library Association for a
second five-year term (2023-2027).
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Rajene Hardeman, MSLIS is a current trustee for the Mid-Hudson Library System and has served as a former trustee for the Howland Public Library. In addition, Rajene is a board member of Wikimedia New York City, and current chair of the Wikipedia and Library Users Group. She also volunteers for the Metropolitan Museum of Art Nolen Library. Her e-bulletin column, “Libraries in Motion” appears bi-monthly for NYLA Voice, the official publication of the New York Library Association. Rajene is a committed community advocate with experience serving environmental organizations, Mozilla Foundation and Tactical Technology Collective, National Alliance on Mental Illness, and numerous library associations, both at the local level and across the globe. She is the founding director of DataCrafters LLC, a librarian’s consultancy.
Ulster County: Heather Blakely
Ms. Blakely has been unanimously nominated by the Ulster County Library Association to serve a five-year term (2023-2027).
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Heather Blakely is currently the treasurer of Hurley Library. She grew up in Kinderhook NY, graduating from Ichabod Crane. She received a BS in Business Economics from SUNY Oneonta and soon moved to Hurley. She lives with her husband Dave who grew up in Hurley & daughter Paige, who is attending SUNY Binghamton.
Putnam County: George Joiner
Mr. Joiner has been unanimously nominated by the Putnam County Library Association to serve a five-year term (2023-2027).
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George Joiner was born and raised in the Bronx, graduating from Fordham (AB in Economics) and Wharton (MBA, Industrial Management/Operations Research). Mr. Joiner has worked for IBMN, AT&T-IS, HP and Nextel. In the late 90s he pivoted from large corporations to the “dot com” world where he spent the remainder of his career in leadership positions with three small start-ups. Mr. Joiner served on the Ossining School Board for six years, three of which were as board president, and helped create and implement the “Ossining Plan” which virtually eliminated de factor segregation in the Ossining schools. He was elected twice to the Ossining Village Board and served as Deputy Mayor for two years in addition to service on the Village Zoning Board of Appeals, the Village Planning board and the Town soccer, baseball and basketball boards. Lastly, he was an adjunct professor teaching business and economics at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, The Interboro Institute in Manhattan, and Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry. In retirement, Mr. Joiner has been active in SCORE, a national 501c3 that provides free, confidential business mentoring to small businesses, not for profits, and entrepreneurs.
Register for the Annual Membership Business Meeting
Register for the Annual Membership Meeting Keynote Speaker
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E-Rate Workshop Series: This series is set up to provide the information and support needed to navigate the process throughout the year. Sessions are timed to prepare you for each of the forms and processes as they are approached in the funding year. The timing of the first session is in line with getting you through the 2023 funding year. Additional sessions are scheduled to cover all the deadlines and forms at the time they are relevant. If you decide E-Rate is not for your library, or you change your plans, you can drop out at any time.
Session 1: Getting the process started | October 4th | 10:00 am – 12:00 pm | Register
In this first session, we will explore what E-Rate is and isn’t. The timing of this session is in line with getting you through the 2023 funding year.
- Overview of the funding year
- What can you hope to receive
- Compliance requirements to consider
- Policy
- Filtering
- Creating or updating the EPC Account
- Form 470
Session 2: Next steps/Bidding | December 8th | 1:00 – 3:00 pm | Register
- E-rate Application window – form 471 (Jan-Mar)
- USAC E-Rate Review (Mar-Jun)
Session 3: Final Segments | April 12th | 10:00 am - 12:00 pm | Register
In this final session, we will review the final segments of the E-Rate funding year and consider the preparation and process for the next year.
- Form 486
- Invoicing
- Preparation for next funding year
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Poughkeepsie Public Library District, the Central Library for the Mid-Hudson Library System is the latest member library to go fine free bringing the total of completely fine free libraries in MHLS to 42! If your library is interested in going fine free the MHLS Tech department (techsupport@midhudson.org) is happy to help you explore the idea. We use the opportunity to review the loan rules already in place which require 1-2 weeks to turn around depending on the size of the library and the current state of your loan rules. For more resources about going fine free please visit https://midhudson.org/fine-free-libraries/. | |
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Have you registered for the MHLS Equity Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)
Mini Conference on Friday, October 7th?
MORNING SESSION (9:30 am – 12:15 pm) Designed for library board members, directors, and administrators, but open to all.
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Keynote Speaker: Freddimir García, Program Advisor for The Board Institute, Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress will speak on Inclusive Leadership - Unmanaged Bias Limits Leadership
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Panel Discussion: Members of the Mid-Hudson Library System Board of Trustees EDI Working Group will share their experiences and resources developed over the last two years. Facilitated by MHLS Executive Director Rebekkah Smith Aldrich.
AFTERNOON SESSION (12:45 pm – 3:30 pm) Designed for library staff and directors, but open to all.
- Keynote speaker: María Estrella, Founder of Young Diverse Readers will speak on Flourishing Institutions: Best Practices for Inclusive and Equitable Library Spaces.
- Panel Discussion: Gina Loprinzo, Brewster Public Library Director, Erik Brown, Racial Equity & Social Justice Committee Co-Chair, Desmond-Fish Public Library and Rhiannon Leo-Jameson, NorthEast Millerton Library Director will talk about their experiences in implementing practices and programs at the local level to help engage their communities in conversations around diversity and employing hiring practices to create a more inclusive and welcoming environment.
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Resource Sharing & Sierra | REMINDER: The cataloging department will suppress all items that have a status of ‘Lost & Paid’, ‘Discard, or ‘Claims returned’, which have not been updated for 3 months, in the third week of September. The items will not be deleted. Changing the annual report code to “w - MHLS staff suppress” simply keeps them from displaying in the public catalog. | |
Calling all Friends Groups for the 2022 MHLS Member Library Friends Group Online Meetup on October 18th from 3:00 – 4:30 pm. Join MHLS staff and fellow member library Friends Groups for sharing and discussion. All MHLS member library Friends Groups and individuals interested in creating a Friends Group for their local library are welcome to come and share their experiences, questions, and concerns for building and sustaining a Friends group and supporting their local library. Register now to secure your seat. | |
On October 11th at 3:00 pm Infopeople is offering a free one-hour webinar presented by Beckett Czarnecki, Practicing Inclusion: Welcoming Transgender Customers and Colleagues. This event is free to attend but registration is required.
As rights for transgender people continue to be challenged, libraries should be a welcoming place for the youth, adults, and colleagues in our communities. Join us to learn how to provide excellent internal and external customer service to transgender individuals at your library.
This interactive session will help participants reframe ideas around gender, give them best practices for serving trans customers, and end with developing strategies to make their libraries trans-inclusive.
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Administration & Management | |
The Governor announced on September 12th that the COVID-19 state of emergency will not be extended. This state of emergency has been in effect since March 2020 and extended monthly up until September 12th. The Monkeypox and Polio States of Emergency are still in effect.
On March 17th, 2022, the designation of COVID-19 as an airborne infectious disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health under the HERO Act ended. Private sector employers are no longer required to implement their workforce safety plans.
The suspension of the COVID-19 State of Emergency means that the COVID-19 era Open Meeting Law Adjustments are no longer in play. To ensure you are clear on Open Meetings Law in a “post-state of emergency” you will want to review:
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Library Clerk, East Fishkill Community Library
The East Fishkill Community Library is looking for a Library Clerk to join their customer service-oriented team. Primary responsibilities include library service transactions (checking in/out materials, locating resources, providing technical help with computers and printing, issuing library cards, etc.) and routine clerical duties to maintain the library’s efficient flow of materials. A strong desire to interact with the public, and a willingness to learn and assist others in learning about the library’s digital and technological offerings, are key.
Qualifications, Desired Knowledge, Skills:
- Excellent customer service skills and an ability to work well with others as well as independently.
- Knowledge of basic computer functions with willingness and ability to stay up to date as technology changes.
- Enthusiastic, inquisitive, tactful, with strong verbal communication skills.
- Ability to represent the library in a professional and courteous manner.
- Performs routine circulation duties, including handling patron payments, and using the copier, fax machine, printer, and scanner.
- Ability to stand for long periods, lift, kneel, crouch, and stoop.
- Attends job related training and meetings.
- Accepts other duties as assigned.
Requirements: Applicants must have a high school diploma or GED. Previous library experience is a plus.
Hours: Monday 9am–3pm, Thursday 9:30am–5:30pm, Friday 10am–6pm. Hours subject to change and candidate must take part in Saturday and Sunday rotation.
Wage: $15.00/hr
To Apply: Interested individuals should email a cover letter, resume, and references if possible to Kaitlyn Stroud at stroud@eflibrary.org with “Clerk” in the subject line.
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Library Clerk (part-time), Kent Public Library
The Kent Public Library in Putnam County seeks a Part-Time Library Clerk, 15 to 17 hours a week. Must have a high school degree, be experienced with computers, courteous, service oriented and able to work with the public at a busy circulation desk. Previous library experience preferred. Ability to speak Spanish would be a plus. $14.50 to $15.00 per hour, with paid vacation, sick leave and personal time. Participation in the NY state retirement system is optional. Please send your resume to cdonick@kentlibrary.org, and mention "clerk" in the subject line.
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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