The Board of the Mid-Hudson Library System met on Saturday, March 16th in the MHLS Auditorium and:

• Appointed Barbara Swanson to represent Greene County. Barbara will serve through the end of the calendar year and if elected at the MHLS Annual Membership Meeting, serve out the remainder of Debra Klein's term through December 31, 2025;
• Approved a change order to the office building solar project;
• Approved the 2024 funding priorities and definition of an "economically disadvantaged community" for the next funding round offered through the State Aid for Library Construction Program;
• Approved the MHLS NYLA Conference Scholarship Grant program pending the outcome of the State budget negotiations;
• Moved forward several amendments to the MHLS Bylaws which will be voted on at the 2024 Annual Membership Meeting;
• Updated their board "Rules and Procedures" for 2024;
• Voted to name the fund for the MHLS Book Haven Collection in honor of Debra Klein;
• Approved the MHLS Annual Report to the State; and
• Received an orientation to the Members Assessment.

All board documents are available at https://board.midhudson.org/. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the MHLS Board is on Wednesday, May 15th at 10:00 am at the Putnam Valley Library.

The Julia L. Butterfield Library in Cold Spring (Putnam County) recently held a well-attended Wellness for Moms event – complete with yoga, a healthy and delicious lunch, and some excellent conversations! The library even coordinated some teen volunteers who watched and entertained the children so that the moms could participate in wellness activities.  

The Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL) 2024 ARSL Conference will be held September 11-14, 2024 in Springfield, MA. This year’s conference theme is “Libraries are (r)Evolutionary.” The conference provides an opportunity to explore the transformative power of rural and small libraries in our communities. Like chrysalises of change, these libraries nurture revolutionary ideas and evolve to meet the ever-changing needs of our patrons.

Important upcoming dates:

• April 16 | Sponsors & Exhibitors Registration Opens
• April 30 | Conference Program Proposal Applications Closes
• June 11 | Early Bird Conference Registration Opens 
• July 16, 2024 | Early Bird Registration Closes
• August 28, 2024 | Advance Registration for in-person attendance & preconference workshops closes
• September 11-14, 2024 | On-Site Registration available
• September 14, 2024 | Virtual Registration closes

For more information about the conference: https://arsl.memberclicks.net/2024-conference-main-page

REMINDER: Banned Books Symposium | May 4 | 8:30 am | Dutchess BOCES, 5 Boces Road, Poughkeepsie | REGISTER

This half-day conference will feature presentations in all capacities of banned and challenged books and programs. Cost: $25, includes lunch. Keynote speaker: Jeff Trexler.

This Symposium is in partnership with Southeastern New York Library Resources Council, Ramapo Catskill Library System, Mid-Hudson Library System, Mount Saint Mary College, SUNY New Paltz and BOCES School Library Systems of Dutchess, Orange-Ulster, Rockland, Sullivan, and Ulster.

Sierra User Group | May 9 | 10:00 am | Online | REGISTER

Join colleagues to discuss the Sierra Integrated Library System, Vega, and related platforms. Let’s talk workflows, projects and share “how we did its” related to the Sierra systems.

MHLS staff will cover the most recent Sierra upgrade and the next upgrade on the way. New products, The Mobile Patron App and LX (Library Experience) Launch for notices. We will also take a look back at Mobile Worklists!

New York State’s ConnectALL Office (CAO) is in the next phase in the state’s broadband funding process: The Broadband Challenge Period. This is an important step in making sure organizations and individuals across the state are eligible to take advantage of future state and federal funding for internet connectivity and digital equity. 

CAO has developed and published a statewide broadband service map. Only locations that are identified on this map as unserved or underserved will be eligible for Deployment Program grants. New York state residents, local governments, and nonprofit organizations have one last chance to provide comments and challenges to improve the accuracy of the final map.

MHLS recommends, especially if you are in a high need area, that you check your library's location to determine its designation (unserved, underserved or served) and if need be, submit a public challenge. 

• Visit https://register.broadband.ny.gov/map-correction
• Type in your library name and/or physical address. 
• If a location is already eligible for federal funding through the BEAD Program, it will not be selectable on the map and cannot be commented on. 
• If you are not already eligible you can submit a public challenge to any details that are inaccurate. 

The closing date for public challenges is April 11. 

If you have questions about the process or you would like messaging to spread the word to your patrons about the public challenge period, please visit https://broadband.ny.gov/new-york-state-broadband-challenge-process to access the Outreach Toolkit and step by step directions.