Library Advocacy Day is tomorrow, Wednesday, February 7th! Hundreds of library supporters will fill the halls of the Legislative Office Building in Albany to ask their legislators to Fund, Protect, and Empower New York State libraries. If you are unable to join us in Albany tomorrow, you can still make your voice heard. |  | |
Use your social media platforms!
- Mid-Hudson Library System (MHLS) has created shareable graphics to use on your library’s, or your personal Facebook and Instagram accounts. Follow MHLS for shareable content for Advocacy Day (and every day!) find us on Instagram and Facebook.
- The New York Library Association (NYLA) has cut-and-paste posts for X (formerly Twitter), as well as the X directory for NYS Assembly members and Senators. Follow @NYLA_1890 on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
Don’t forget to tag your legislators, NYLA, MHLS, and use the hashtags #LibraryAdvocate, #LAD24, and #NYlibraries.
Call your legislators!
- Call the Albany office of your local legislators to express your support for library aid and the State Aid for Library Construction Program. Find your local legislators.
Email your legislators!
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NYLA makes it easy through their Online Advocacy Center. Fill out the form to send the prewritten message, or personalize the text before sending. After you use the form, spread the word about the Online Advocacy Center to your colleagues, patrons, friends, and family.
Joining us in Albany? Visit https://midhudson.org/library-advocacy-day/ for the most up-to-date schedule of appointments with MHLS legislators, talking points, and information about the day.
There is no better way to celebrate Love Your Library Month than letting your legislators know the importance of Library Aid. Join us in fighting for NYS Libraries!
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The MHLS Board of Trustees met on Friday, January 26th and:
- Passed a resolution in honor of Debra Klein, a board representative from Greene County, who passed away unexpectedly in December. Debra will be greatly missed.
- Reviewed their 2024 Priorities.
- Approved a 1-year contract extension with delivery vendor, Valley Courier.
- Discussed the vital importance of state-level advocacy, while the state budget is being negotiated.
- Approved the banking institution and newspaper of record for the coming year; and
- Accepted the resignation of George Joiner, a board representative from Putnam County.
All board documents are available at https://board.midhudson.org/. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the MHLS Board is on Saturday, March 16th at 10:00 am in the MHLS Auditorium.
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On December 2nd, the Howland Public Library (Beacon) held a Citizenship Workshop in partnership with Citizenshipworks and Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC). Citizenshipworks is a free website that simplifies filling out the N400 application for citizenship in the same way that TurboTax simplifies filling out tax forms. At the workshop, attorneys from GMHC and volunteers were there to help people fill out the application and give the patron a free legal review of their application for naturalization.
The library is working with GMHC to hold a future Citizenship 101 workshop, as many community members who are looking for assistance are at the early stages of the naturalization process. Howland Public Library is also working with Catholic Charities of Dutchess County to provide additional workshops with free resources and assistance to immigrants.
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The New York State Library ’s Manuscripts and Special Collections unit invites you to attend Tasting History @ Your Library on February 29th at noon.
In this one-hour webinar, Elizabeth Jakubowski, Senior Librarian, NY State Library Manuscripts and Special Collections, will share the story of the NYS Library’s ongoing Tasting History project. She’ll go over the creation of the project, the eras of history the project has covered, and highlight some recipes from each era. Using Tasting History as a blueprint, Ms. Jakubowski will provide examples of programming ideas for ALL age groups, which can be used as given or as a jumping off point for further creativity for library programs.
This webinar is free to attend, but registration is required.
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The American Library Association invites you to attend Living Room Conversations: Connecting Your Library Community Through Conversation on February 27th at 2:00pm. This free webinar will guide participants through the Living Room Conversations dialogue model and offer examples of how libraries across the country have brought their communities together to engage in thoughtful, respectful, and transformative conversations.
Attendees will:
- Learn how to access free dialogue resources, including conversation guides on more than 160 topics.
- Be introduced to the Living Room Conversations dialogue model and plug-and-play library program.
- Explore how to deepen their library’s role as an inclusive and engaging community center.
- Learn techniques for launching community conversations at your library.
Register today to reserve your seat.
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Resource Sharing & Sierra | |
Mid-Hudson Library System recently completed a successful upgrade to Sierra 6.1. Notable and useful features include:
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Reprint Bills: Library staff will be able to reprint a previously sent bill from the patron’s notice history. Bills can be reprinted from the Fines tab of the patron display using either a new right-click menu option or the Reprint Bill button.
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Show Time of Last Status Update Date: Based on customer requests, the last status update date introduced in Sierra 6.0 has been enhanced to show the date and time the status was last changed.
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Add Last Status Update Date to Create Lists: The last status update date field has been added to Create Lists to allow library staff to search for records using this field, and to list, sort, and export data using this field.
Details on 6.1 are available on the MHLS Knowledge Base https://kb.midhudson.org/sierra-release-info/. Please use the ticketing system to report anything you find is outside of your normal experience. To open a ticket send the message to techsupport@midhudson.org.
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The MHLS Horizon Series is back! In this series we continue to examine emerging trends in society, technology, education, the environment, and more, to bring you content on issues that are impacting our communities and the work of libraries.
Artificial intelligence is reshaping our information landscape. How can we (and our patrons) be critical consumers of media in a time of deepfakes and generative AI tools? How might intellectual freedom fare in the shadow of AI-powered attempts at censorship? Join Mid-Hudson Library System Library Sustainability Coordinator, Laura Crisci and Nick Tanzi, author of The Digital Librarian for
Media Literacy & Intellectual Freedom in the Age of AI, on February 22nd at 10:00 am. We’ll discuss the current state of affairs and identify what lies ahead during this one-hour webinar. Don’t miss out! Reserve your seat.
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Nick Tanzi is an internationally recognized library technology consultant, and author of the books Making the Most of Digital Collections Through Training and Outreach (2016) and Best Technologies for Public Libraries: Policies, Programs, and Services (2020). Nick is a past column editor for Public Library Magazine's "The Wired Library". His work has also been featured in publications including Computers in Libraries, Library Journal, American Libraries, and Marketing Library Services. You can find his thoughts on the intersection of libraries and technology at the-digital-librarian.com.
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Summer Reading Themes – share your feedback! The Collaborative Summer Library Program consortium (CSLP) is seeking input for future summer reading slogan and theme suggestions.
Please complete this brief survey to suggest a Slogan for the 2027 theme of Mystery /Detective /Suspense and a fresh, new Theme for 2028. Please share your suggestions by Friday, February 16th.
View a list of previous themes and slogans.
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Administration & Management | |
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The 2023 Annual Report to the State is NOW open. Recently appointed directors/interim directors have received an email with the library’s login information to access the reporting software. The email is encrypted to protect the sensitive login information. If you have trouble viewing the message, please call Library Sustainability Coordinator, Laura Crisci, at 845-471-6060, ext. 260.
Check out the MHLS Tips for Member Libraries for Completing the Annual Report. Please have your report fully submitted by Friday, February 16th, 2024.
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Part-time Library Clerk, Pleasant Valley Library
The Pleasant Valley Library is looking for a friendly, tech savvy, part-time clerk to join their team. While experience with Sierra is helpful, more important is your patience and kindness with patrons. The schedule will be a total of 26 hours biweekly. They offer 3 weeks paid time off and $15.50/hour, as well as a supportive, friendly work environment.
If you are interested, please email resume to circulation@pvlibrary.org.
See the complete job description.
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Library Director, Valatie Free Library
The Valatie Free Library Board of Trustees is looking for a new Library Director. The new director will start on a mutually agreed date. The library serves the Village of Valatie, the hamlet of Niverville and the surrounding rural areas of the Town of Kinderhook in Columbia County. Hours: 25 hours/week (days, evenings, some Saturdays required). Salary: Depending on qualifications $27,000—$30,000 with cumulative sick/vacation time to 40 hours.
Please send a cover letter, resume, and references to Emilia Teasdale, President of the Board of Trustees, at emiliateasdale@gmail.com. See the complete job description.
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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. | | | | |
