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Contact Us
The MHLS Bulletin welcomes submissions from member libraries.
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Advocacy Fundamentals Series
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The New York Library Association (NYLA) will begin a six-part series later this month focusing on, Advocacy Fundamentals. Each 90-minute session will spotlight the different aspects of advocating for your library. There is no fee to participate in this series, but registration is required. To register for the entire series or any of the individual sessions please visit
From Education to Action | Tuesday, October 27th | 9:00 am - 10:30 am
Presented by Briana McNamee, Director of Government Relations & Advocacy (NYLA)
You have a unique and deeply rooted interest within the field of librarianship but how do you utilize your expertise and personal experience to assist in an advocacy campaign? In this session, we'll review the Audience Engagement Roadmap, learn how to craft impactful messaging and explore the mediums and tools available to advocates at every level. Attendees will have the opportunity to draft their own stories and share them with others.
Building People's Self Advocacy Skills: An Introduction to the Right Question Strategy | Tuesday, November 24th | 9:00 - 10:30 am
Presented by Luz Santana (She/Hers), Co-Director of the Right Question Institute & Yeja Dunn (They/Them)
Led by representatives of the Right Question Institute (RQI), this session will ask library workers to decide for themselves the need to be involved in advocacy work. Any library worker - from a Director with a master's degree to the library clerk or volunteer - needs to feel their work is valuable and critical to their communities before they can expect others to understand and appreciate the library experience. Libraries are foundational to a healthy community. We will use the Question Formulation Technique to explore the role of the library and library workers in making libraries flourishing and well-resourced public spaces.
The Legislature & Libraries | Tuesday, December 15th | 9:00 - 10:30 am
Successful advocacy at the New York State Capitol requires community involvement and support from the legislature. The general election is now in our rear-view mirror and we are speeding ahead to the next two-year legislative session. Members from the Senate and Assembly will join us to discuss the 2020 Session, their roles within their respective houses, priorities and, the year ahead.
Empowerment through Self Advocacy | Tuesday, January 19th, 2021 | 9:00 - 10:30 am
Advocacy means fighting for the self, too. As women have cracked the glass ceiling and climbed the ladder in the working world, stereotypes about their behavior have increased. Women attempt to assert themselves when faced with challenges, yet assertive women are viewed as aggressive, mean, or bossy. Historically, librarianship has been regarded as "women's work" and women dominate the field. However, library administrative roles are often held by men. How might women in the library world advocate for themselves and ascend these roles? Be inspired by these three women who overcame challenges in the workplace.
Growing Genuine Community Support (Budget) | Tuesday, February 16th, 2021 | 9:00 - 10:30 am
Presented by Brian Hildreth, Executive Director, Southern Tier Library System
Local libraries are funded with local funds. This statement might seem obvious to library advocates, but it is a mystery to many local officials and residents. Community members who are charged with funding libraries, or who influence local decision-making will exercise good choices on behalf of their communities when they understand how libraries are funded, and the true value of delivery meaningful service. This workshop will focus on how libraries can (1) advocate consistently for local funding, (2) inform local stakeholders about the nuances of library funding and (3) craft messaging that ties increased library investment to improved community wellbeing.
From Your Hometown to the Capitol | Tuesday, March 9th, 2021 | 9:00 - 10:30 am
Presented by Briana McNamee, Director of Government Relations & Advocacy (NYLA) & Megan Murray Cusick, Assistant Director for State Advocacy (ALA)
You've made it to the end! Or have you? Advocacy work is cyclical, without a starting or ending point. Ask yourself, "What's next?" You now have the ability to reach your legislators, mobilize your patrons, and market your movement. Now that you have developed your advocacy skill set and a better understanding of this work, you will be able to set your legislative priorities. Your outcomes this year will determine your efforts next year.
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MHLS Announcements
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REMINDER: The MHLS Annual Membership Meeting will be held on Friday, October 23rd at 10:00 am. This event will include both a business meeting and keynote speaker, Tracie D. Hall, Executive Director of the American Library Association speaking on Fighting Two Pandemics: Information Poverty and What Libraries Can Do to Close the Gap. Register online:
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MHLS Libraries
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In preparation for Hispanic Heritage Month Bryan Rowzee, Senior Librarian at the Coxsackie Correctional Facility, worked with library clerks to track down, repair and better organize the Spanish language materials in the facility's general library collection. The new collection includes materials written in Spanish filling two tall bookcases near windows with signage near the entrance to guide users to the new offerings and signs labeled Spanish/Espanol directly at the collection bookshelves to help patrons find the material. The library's patrons include many who grew up speaking Spanish at home and others interested in improving their Spanish language skills. The collection currently includes about 342 tiles written in Spanish. Of those 80 are fiction titles by popular authors such as Clive Cussler and James Patterson, which benefit the library's Spanish-speaking users and act as a conversation starter to encourage borrowing other Spanish language titles.
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Professional Development
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The American Library Association's (ALA) Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship (COSWL) will present the free webinar How Employers Can Support Library Workers Who Are Caregivers During COVID-19 on Thursday, November 5th at 3:30 pm. You are invited to join presenters as they explore how employers can create emotionally healthy workplaces with relevant policies and procedures; how employers can provide flexible schedules as well as work expectations; and how employers can assist staff who are taking care of children and/or parents during this time of COVID-19. The session will be moderated by Loida Garcia-Febo, Chair of COSWL. Featured presenters include:
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Maggie Farrell, Dean of Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
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Tonya A. Garcia, Director, Long Branch Free Public Library, New Jersey
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Bobbi Newman, Community Engagement and Outreach Specialist, National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Greater Midwest Region, University of Iowa
Space is limited. This webinar will be recorded and made available to registrants who may not be able to attend the live event. To register, visit
The New York Library Association (NYLA) and Grow with Google offer
Discover Digital Resources to Empower Your Community on October 20th at 9:00 am. At the workshop, a Google trainer will review the Grow with Google Partner Program, which offers free resources and curriculum to participating public libraries to teach digital skills to help patrons grow their careers and businesses, and how to apply for the program. The Grow with Google/Libraries Lead initiative is a partnership between the New York State Library (NYSL) and the New York Library Association (NYLA), working with the American Library Association (ALA) and the Public Library Association (PLA) to implement and promote the national Grow with Google/Libraries Lead program. This 2020 initiative will support library-based workforce development programs through public libraries across New York State. To register for this program visit
g.co/grow/NewYork. For more information about the New York State Library's Grow with Google initiative, contact Frank Rees at the NYSL Division of Library Development.
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Resource Sharing & Sierra
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There is still time to register for A Deeper Dive: OverDrive Reports & Marketing on Monday, October 19th at 2:00 pm. For those member library staff who want to take a deeper dive into what is possible within OverDrive to create and promote collections that meet community needs, MHLS OverDrive
Coordinator Nina Acosta will delve into reports such as Title Status and Usage and Purchased Titles Summary and marketing options such as Advantage Curation, Lucky Day Collections, and weeding to enhance the desirability of your library's OverDrive collection.
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A new Concurrent User lending model is now available in OverDrive. This metered access model allows multiple users to borrow a copy simultaneously, until the fixed number of checkouts has been reached. Titles available under this lending model will appear for purchase in the OverDrive Marketplace as MA: ${"["}#] checkouts (concurrent users).
There are currently 41,000 audiobooks and 11,000 ebooks available in this format. If you choose to add titles to your collection under this lending model, checkouts will not be limited to your own Advantage patrons, as these are available for sharing throughout the consortium. For more info visit
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Sustainable Libraries
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 The Great Give Back takes place on Saturday, October 17th! Don't forget to post to your social media accounts on Saturday and include the hashtags, #tggb #libraryggb #librariesgiveback #greatgiveback to help this statewide
initiative get noticed. Make sure you take plenty of pictures and send your best photos and stories to MHLS Library Sustainability Coordinator Casey Conlin,
Check out Libraries Transform's latest Because statements to raise awareness of your library's resources for job seekers, parents and caregivers, or community members who lack internet access. The Libraries Transform toolkit
is free to use on social media, newsletters, websites, and more.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) announced the release of new data from the many thousands of rural public libraries in the United States that shows the critical role they play in connecting community members to vital resources and programs. The accompanying infographic highlights the
collective impact libraries have on rural communities including 750,000 programs offered to 12.5 million attendees, which demonstrate the continued relevance of libraries and library services to their communities.
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Reference & Collection Development
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 The New York State Library is evaluating the New York Online Virtual Electronic Library (NOVELNY), and is requesting participation from members of the New York library community in a short survey to help plan for the future of the NOVELNY program, especially within the context of the State Library's next Library Services and Technology Act Five-Year Plan. The survey closes on October 29th, 2020. It should take about 10 minutes to complete, and can be accessed here.
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Users in New York State are now closer to NOVELNY resources from Gale including Gale Academic OneFile, Gale OneFile: Health and Medicine, and Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints. The New York State Library partnered
with Gale's Open Web Initiative which allows relevant articles and resources from these sources to be more visible when users search related topics using Google, and users will be able to access these resources without additional log in steps using their geolocation. If you have any questions about this initiative please contact Amy Heebner, Library Development Specialist 2,
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Programming
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At the MHLS Programmers' Forum on September 24th MHLS member library staff presented how they serve homeschooling families and how those same services might also currently benefit families schooling remotely. Kayleigh Hartnett formerly of the Putnam Valley Library, now at the Putnam Valley School District shared her strategies for collection development, considering pedagogical needs and curricula. Olive Free Library's director, Chrissy Lawlor
spoke about the theme-based resource kits they are developing with books and activities. Paul Agne of Red Hook Public Library talked about the library's
science program for homeschooling families, Libratory and how they started to run Libratory 2 via Zoom for older kids. If you missed the Serving Homeschoolers and Families Schooling at Home event you can view a
recording of the webinar at https://youtu.be/grN0m9gi4pc.
 Registration is now open for the Dream - Build - Create Engineering Program for Libraries! The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is partnering with the STAR Library Network (STAR Net) and its Project BUILD engineering program to invite public libraries across the country to participate in an exciting virtual engineering experience this November called Dream - Build - Create, an introduction to engineers and engineering for people of all ages, especially families and children. This inspirational program will offer libraries and their patrons a free film screening of the award-winning documentary Dream Big:
Engineering Our World on November 10th, 14th, 17th, and 24th. In addition to the film, ASCE is organizing several virtual panels in November where patrons can join live conversations with our Dream Teams of young, diverse engineers. Dream Teams will include Cities of the Future, Women in Engineering, Black Engineers, and even a Spanish-language Dream Team. Register now for a passcode to gain free access to Dream Big. You will also receive updates on when and how to log into Dream Team panels.
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Trustee Resources
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The second session of Core Values & Ethics (aka Policies 101) will be held on Wednesday, October 21st at 5:30 pm. Presented by Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, MHLS Executive Director & Casey Conlin, MHLS Library Sustainability Coordinator, attendees will develop a working knowledge of the Core Values of Librarianship and how those values translate to the work of the board, particularly in the area of policy making. This webinar will also review board ethics and use case studies to illustrate "values and ethics in action." Register online: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6118626486355044621
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Administration & Management
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Under a new Executive Order passed by Governor Cuomo any individual who encourages, promotes or organizes a non-essential gathering as set forth in Department of Health regulation, shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $15,000 per day. A non-essential gathering is defined as a gathering of more than 50 people. Also, local governments are now authorized to assess and retain a civil penalty for violations of Executive Orders issued pursuant to Section 29-A of the Executive Law, or any regulations of the Department of Health, that impose requirements pertaining to maintaining social distance and wearing of face coverings, for the duration of this disaster emergency, and to conduct any hearing related to such penalties. Such penalties, if assessed on an individual basis, shall not exceed $1,000 per violation, except as otherwise provided herein.
The recording from REALM's latest webinar, Collections and Facilities: Caring for your resources during COVID-19, is now available. This webinar reviews policies and procedures implemented by some organizations in handling materials and managing building operations amid COVID-19 and REALM testing efforts and the development of project resources to inform your own local decision-making in these areas.
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Job Openings
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Library Director, Dover Plains Library
The Dover Plains Library in Dutchess County, NY is seeking an innovative,
motivated and resourceful Director to oversee the administration of Library Operations. Candidates need excellent communication and customer service skills and are expected to maintain positive relationships with the public community organizations, Town Officials, and the Library Board and Staff. You should be open to new and creative ideas that can benefit and engage our community as well as embrace current practices successfully in place such as our Non-Dewey cataloging system for our non-fiction collection and maintaining a Little Free Library at a shelter along the Appalachian Trail.
MLS required. Must be organized and detail oriented. Minimum 2 years' experience in a library or other customer-oriented establishment. Must hold or be eligible to obtain NY State Public Librarian Certification. Starting salary is $50,000 and may be negotiable depending upon experience. Health Insurance is available.
Please submit a cover letter and résumé as well as 3 business references to samgem06@gmail.com with "Director Position" in the subject line as soon as possible.
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Program Director, Hudson Area Library
The Hudson Area Library is seeking a creative, forward-thinking, community-oriented individual to join our team as a full-time Program Director. The Program Director will provide creative and administrative leadership for the development and maintenance of library programs.
Applicants must have a four-year college degree or equivalent experience and demonstrated success in developing, funding, marketing, delivering, and evaluating programs.
The position is 40 hours per week including occasional nights and weekends, $45,000 per year with paid vacation, holidays, sick leave and health insurance.
Please send a letter of interest and résumé with contact information for three professional references to Emily Chameides, Library Director, at info@hudsonarealibrary.org. Applications will be accepted until October 30th, 2020.
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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