Advocates & Ambassadors Webinar |
|
Our libraries are vital to the people we serve, facilitating some of the most important aspects of a community by allowing us to collectively support children’s’ school readiness, connecting with neighbors-with-neighbors, personal growth, and lifelong learning to pursue passions. Our trustees, staff, and Friends play a critical role in helping our communities understand the work we do at the library and why it is so important. |
|
Join MHLS Library Sustainability Coordinator, Casey Conlin and MHLS Outreach & EDI Specialist, Kerstin Cruger on Wednesday, November 10th at 2:00 pm for Advocates & Ambassadors. At this 90-minute webinar library staff, directors, trustees, and Friends who want to help their libraries win public support and attract public funds to benefit their community will learn to craft messages that will generate supporters and followers for their library as well as strengthen stakeholder and community partnerships. At this workshop we will cover tools for crafting a meaningful and impactful message about your library, strategies for tailoring and delivering your message to different audiences and identifying and maximizing relationships within the community.
|
|
There is still time to register for the Mid-Hudson Library Annual Membership Meeting on Friday, October 22nd! This event is online and free to attend.
During the business meeting the board president and treasurer will report to the membership on the health of the organization, conduct board elections and a vote on amendments to the MHLS Bylaws, and hear from MHLS' Executive Director, Rebekkah Smith Aldrich. Following the business meeting Patty Wong, President of the American Library Association (ALA) will be our keynote speaker.
Please note there is a separate registration form for the Business Meeting and our Keynote Speaker. If you would like to attend both events, please make sure to register through both forms. Thank you!
|
|
Battle of the Books Makes a Big Comeback for 2021! After the heartbreaking decision to cancel the 2020 Battle of the Books competition the program came back bigger and better than ever this year! The Executive Board: President Jenn Gay of Patterson Library, Vice President Matt Pavloff of Kinderhook Memorial Library, Middle School Chair Jolie Hamer-Conroy of Poughkeepsie Public Library District and High School Chair Jane Enkler of Patterson Library are happy to report that this year's 100% online program was a great success!
Students from member libraries across the MHLS service area participated in online practice sessions and competitions this summer resulting in several exciting bouts. Congratulations to all the teams that participated this year!
|
Staatsburg Library Middle School Battle of the Books Team poses outside the library! (Picture courtesy of Staatsburg Library)
Middle School Competition
1st place Staatsburg Library
2nd place Howland Public Library
3rd place Tivoli Free Library
|
Clinton Community Library’s High School Battle of the Books team poses with their 1st place banner! (Picture courtesy of Clinton Community Library)
High School Competition
1st place Clinton Community Library
2nd place Elting Memorial Library
3rd place Howland Public Library
Battle of the Books is a fantastic way to keep middle and high-school aged patrons engaged with your library despite their increasing responsibilities by providing a fun, social, and competitive reading program throughout the summer. If your library is interested in participating, planning for 2022 begins in January. Please contact Executive Board President, Jenn Gay, ysc@pattersonlibrary.org or learn more about the program at https://mhbattleofbooks.org/ |
|
Resource Sharing & Sierra |
Libby App Reminders:
-
iOS 10 is now the minimum operating system supported by the Libby app for Apple device users. Patrons running older iOS versions may have trouble accessing, borrowing, or signing into the OverDrive or Libby apps. Affected patrons were expected to receive a security warning, but OverDrive has discovered that this does not always display for all users. The steps for updating the iOS version can be found here. For more information, visit the Libby support page.
-
The legacy OverDrive app will be removed from the Apple App Store, Google Play, and Microsoft Store in February 2022. The OverDrive app will remain available for download from the Amazon app store for Kindle users until further notice. Existing OverDrive app users will be able to continue browsing, borrowing, and enjoying titles from your library in the app during this first phase however, throughout 2022, OverDrive app users will be actively encouraged to switch to Libby, with a goal of moving most users over by the end of 2022.
|
Join the OverDrive training team on Wednesday October 20th at 2:00 pm for How to Train Your Community on Libby. It is recommended that you have basic knowledge of Libby before attending this webinar. You can prepare by watching the on-demand webinar, Getting Started with Libby. If you are unable to attend the October 20 th webinar you are still encouraged to register. All registrants will be sent a recording and a training kit after the event. |
|
More than 20 Friends Groups were represented at the 2021 MHLS Member Library Friends Group Online Meetup on Thursday, October 7th. The 90-minute session was filled with tips and triumphs about fundraising as well as the challenges faced in 2020 during the height of the pandemic. Partnerships with local organizations, book (bag) sales, holiday centerpieces, raffles, and outreach within the community were a few of the ideas shared during an energetic and informative session!
We encourage our member library Friends Groups and those of you interested in creating a Friends Group to contact MHLS Outreach & EDI Specialist, Kerstin Cruger or MHLS Library Sustainability Coordinator, Casey Conlin with any questions or ideas you have for future meet ups. |
We would like to congratulate Kris MacDonald of the Friends of the Beekman Library for receiving the Daniel W. Casey Library Advocacy Award from the Friends of Libraries Section of the New York Library Association- NYLA for her outstanding work! Kris was presented the Daniel W. Casey Award at the Friends of the Beekman Library meeting on October 5th. |
Kris McDonald (center) is pictured with the Friends of the Beekman Library Executive Board and Library Director, Carol Fortier (far right).
Happy National Friends of Libraries Week to all our hard-working Friends!
|
|
The New York State Independent Redistricting Commission, created through an amendment to the New York State Constitution in 2014, is tasked with redrawing Congressional and State Legislative districts every ten years, after the Census is completed. The Commission will hold public hearings to solicit input from communities throughout the State and will then propose a redistricting plan to be adopted by the legislature. The Commission is eager to receive input from all New Yorkers, who can participate by sharing information and comments online or at live hearings. In New York, we will lose a congressional seat based on the most recent census date. The Redistricting & You online map from CUNY’s Center for Urban Research provides a clear view of the proposed and current district lines. |
|
Reference & Collection Development |
OverDrive has donated a new collection of juvenile Spanish language titles. These titles will be available as Simultaneous Use copies, which means they will always be available with no holds or wait lists, as multiple patrons can have the same book checked out at once. MHLS patrons will have unlimited access to this collection through October 1st, 2023. |
|
The American Library Association (ALA) issued a report, “Skills for 21st-Century Librarians: Learning Objectives for Library Programming." marking the association's next steps toward the creation of a programming curriculum for library workers and students. Through its Skills for 21st-Century Librarians project, ALA created a task force of leaders in libraries and library education to explore how core skills can be taught in library degree programs and professional development trainings. The task identified nine competency areas: Organizational Skills, Knowledge of the Community, Interpersonal Skills, Event Planning, Creativity, Content Knowledge, Outreach and Marketing, Financial Skills and Evaluation. Their report proposes specific learning objectives within each competency area and offers resource recommendations. The report also proposes next steps for the development of a programming curriculum. This programming curriculum will help libraries identify, address, and reflect community needs; enhance their institutional capacity and services; and contribute to our democratic society. The role of the library is changing and growing, and programming librarians are leading that change. |
|
There are still seats left in the MHLS Trustee Education Series session, Seven Habits of Highly Effective Boards on Wednesday, October 27th at 5:30 pm. 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 event. |
|
Administration & Management |
The NYS Digital Equity Portal is an interactive, online data and mapping tool for New York State communities seeking to advance digital equity. Recognizing that access to broadband in and of itself is a limited measure of the digital divide, the NYS Digital Equity Portal allows users to generate snapshots of connectivity, device access, population/demographics, programming, and other digital equity resources from selected geographies across the state. At the Digital Equity Portal webinar on October 26th at 2:00 pm, Russell Weaver, PhD, Director of Research, ILR Buffalo Co-Lab and Houman Saberi, Co-Director, Community Tech NY will introduce and demo the NYS Digital Equity Portal to the New York State Library’s network of libraries, library systems, partners and patrons. The webinar will be recorded and used as an educational resource for future users. The Digital Equity Portal is a collaboration between Community Tech NY (CTNY), Cornell University’s New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR), and The New York State Library (NYSL), expanding on the Western New York Digital Divide portal. |
|
The American Library Association (ALA) invites libraries to apply for funding through its American Rescue Plan: Humanities Grants for Libraries opportunity. This grantmaking program intended to assist libraries that have been adversely affected by the pandemic and require support to restore and sustain their core activities. The general goals of this ARP opportunity include to help create or preserve jobs; support or maintain general operations; create or sustain humanities programs; and implement new humanities activities or sustain existing activities. Eligible expenses include salary and benefit support for library workers engaged in humanities activities; costs related to in-person or virtual humanities programming, such as book clubs and guest lectures; and marketing and advertising to support library humanities efforts. Register for their free webinar taking place October 27th to learn more about the application.
Selected libraries will receive:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
