Cheery Friday Greetings,
The Board held their annual retreat today, facilitated by Herbert Alexander of Cayuga Health System, who led a conversation through a DEI lens about broader trends affecting libraries. I hope we can have Herb present a similar program to the membership at some point in the upcoming year!
At the Board meeting following the retreat, the Allegany County Historical Society’s affiliate membership application was approved. The historical society contains copies of the Andover News 1800s and 1900s; family histories and genealogies; collections pertaining to Allegany County people; various published literature relating to Allegany County; collections of obituaries; cemetery information; school yearbooks; and thousands of photos and postcards. Welcome, Allegany County Historical Society!
The Board also appointed Matthew Roslund, Medical Librarian at Bassett Healthcare Network to serve in the special library/hospital seat until the annual the membership meeting in October.
The Board also discussed the ongoing issue of book challenges and formally approved a statement regarding book censorship and challenges. It is located here.
Another topic of discussion was how to facilitate the establishment of a digital equity coalition in this region. Many such initiatives follow the state’s economic development regions—SCRLC’s counties span five of them. Our region lost 32,414 people between 2010 and 2020 according to the US Census while the State as a whole gained population. What role did the digital equity ecosystem have in this population decrease? The Board agreed, a few of the members volunteered, to meet with a few interested parties to begin this conversation. If you, or someone you know, would like to be at the table, please let me know!
Finally, a quick note that our recent speaker, Gaelynn Lea, participated in the 2022 Disability Unite Festival on July 17, along with many other artists. The recording is here.
Yours in partnership,
Mary-Carol Lindbloom
Executive Director
|
|
The Empire State Library Network has launched a new "Ask" pilot service, which is available to all SCRLC members and their members. Ask the Archivist!
Ask the Archivist is a one-year pilot that can provide answers to basic questions regarding archives and special collections. This service is staffed by archivists at several of the ESLN Councils that have archivists on staff. The service will provide advice to members on all aspects of archival work including processing, preservation, reference, acquisition, appraisal, and digital projects. We invite all your questions on archives and special collections, big or small. Questions can be submitted through this online form.
|
|
July is Disability Pride Month.
When celebrating Disability Pride Month at your own organization, consider highlighting services your patrons may not know about (such as loanable magnifiers or wheelchairs, curbside service, or NYSL's Talking Book and Braille Library). |
|
Doyin Adenuga uploaded 360° photos to create virtual tours of the library, including labels for neighboring buildings and different areas of the library building.
If you're interested in trying esie.space for your library, email Claire at clovell@scrlc.org. |
|
Elaine L. Westbrooks joins Cornell University as the new Carl A. Kroch University Librarian this month. This is a return to Cornell for her, as she had previously worked as the head of the metadata services department at Cornell University until 2008. She has since worked at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Michigan, and most recently, as University Librarian at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she set up the Sustainable Scholarship initiative and launched the Reckoning initiative. |
|
Binghamton University Libraries welcomes several new hires this summer: Elise Ferer as Instruction and Outreach Librarian, Ruth Carpenter as Digital Scholarship Librarian, and Caitlin Holton as Digital Initiatives Assistant. Earlier this year, BU also hired Bryan Field as Libraries Communications Officer, Jillian Sandy as Instruction and Outreach Librarian, Ning Jiang as Annex Collections Assistant, Katie Berwald as Annex Collections Assistant, Hailley Harvey as CMF / Annex Clerk, Margaret Pierce as CMF / Annex Supervisor, Andre Mathis as Reader Services Reserves & Student Coordinator, and David Floyd as Cataloging Librarian & Subject Librarian for Music. |
|
Events produced by the other councils are open for SCRLC members to attend!
|
|
|
|
Thursday, August 11, 12:00 - 1:00pm
Ready the articles and come ready to share your thoughts.
|
|
|
|
Effective Health Communication & Health Literacy: Understanding the Connection
Tuesday, September 20, 1:00 - 2:00pm
This webinar introduces the concepts of health literacy and health communication, outlines components of clear health communication, and identifies online resources from NLM, government agencies and other recognized resources for health literacy and health communication.
|
|
|
|
Join us for this webinar series exploring various services the Empire State Library Network has to offer.
Academic Overdrive with Christi Sommerfeldt, July 29, 10am
Empire Library Delivery with Maria DeGaetano, August 26, 10am
Ask the HR Expert with Holly Nowak
September 30, 10am
|
|
|
|
Tech-Talk Webinars:
Create Highly Effective Videos with Narration and Animated Clips
July 27, 3pm
Job Hunting - How to Get to the Top of the Pile, August 10, 3pm
The Secrets of Password Managers, Might You Use Them or Not? August 24, 3pm
Transforming Ugly Duckling Documents Into Swans, September 14, 3pm
|
|
|
|
Library Juice Academy offers a range of online professional development courses for librarians, archivists, and other staff, focusing on practical topics to build new skills.
|
|
|
|
In addition to the weekly Tech-Talk newsletter, SCRLC members have access to the Tech-Talk Database, which offers an up-to-date library of technology and communication articles and videos. Login & PW: scrlc.
|
|
NEW EXHIBITS & COLLECTIONS |
|
Southworth Library Association worked with the Dryden Town Historical Society this spring to put together two digital collections, as well as a circulating kit for patrons and a few events. Dryden was once home to a massive annual agricultural fair. The fair collection has great pictures, including a 1909 postcard of "Zingerella" performing. The Dryden Women Collection is a fascinating look at how integral women have been in the farming community. Of particular note is Mary Thorp Monroe of Dryden, who traveled around the northeast as a paid speaker, instructing women in the raising of poultry to earn money (and therefore a degree of independence). On Google Books, read a brief and charming lecture she gave in Connecticut: "My Friend the Hen," on page 75.
Thanks to the generosity of a private donor, Houghton College's Willard J. Houghton Library was able to digitize their most recent 30 yearbooks. They've also been selected for a 2022-2023 Technology and Digitization Grant from SCRLC for the remaining 60 yearbooks, so look for that later this year.
Another of the ARPA projects this spring was from Chenango County Historical Society. Intern Zac Greenfield has done a phenomenal job of digitizing material, including these glass negatives taken by Vernon Duroe, a photographer and professor from Norwich. Few of the subjects are identified by name, but the pictures are fun to look through, like this class photo showing 1910s children goofing around.
SUNY Cortland Archives and Special Collections department worked with the Cortland County Historical Society this past spring to record 21 original oral history interviews and digitize a collection of SUNY Cortland scrapbooks. The scrapbooks document college activism and visitors like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The oral histories cover a broad swath of community members who were active in Cortland life.
One of the oral history interviews done for The People's Record of Cortland County was with Jim and Jean Weiss, a married couple who became political activists in the late 1980s when then Governor Mario Cuomo considered their town for a low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) dump site. This collection from the Weiss family documents their founding of Citizens Against Radioactive Dumping (CARD).
|
|
Did you receive our newsletter as a forward? Would you like to subscribe directly? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
