Vol.21-29 | 7.20.21
When Anti-Racist Reading Lists Aren't Enough
On Thursday, August 19th at 2:00 pm you are invited to join MHLS Executive Director Rebekkah Smith Aldrich for an online discussion with Dr. Nicole Cooke (pictured left), the Augusta Baker* Endowed Chair and an Associate Professor at the School of Library and Information Science, at the University of South Carolina on the topic of “When Anti-Racist Reading Lists Aren't Enough”.  

Dr. Cooke is the author of the now famous Publishers Weekly article: "Reading is Only a Step on the Path to Anti-Racism" and curator of the Anti-Racism Resources for All Ages website.  
 
Dr. Cooke will address how to move beyond simply reading and talking about issues related to equity, diversity, and inclusion and move to action as library workers and library organizations to ensure we are leading our libraries forward, acting authentically, and taking concrete steps to address racism in our society.  
 
To learn more about Dr. Cooke and her research and teaching interests please visit: http://www.nicolecooke.info/ 

Register for this event at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/  

*Who was Augusta Baker? Augusta Braxton Baker was a legendary and beloved children’s librarian and storyteller who had a 37-year career at the New York Public Library. Ms. Baker was the first black person to earn a B.S. in library and information studies from SUNY Albany; she wrote "Books about Negro Life for Children" (later renamed "The Black Experience in Children's Books"), the first extensive bibliography of children’s books that featured positive black role models; and, she was the first African American Coordinator of Children’s Services for all 82 libraries within the New York Public Library System, where she worked tirelessly throughout her career to diversify the genre of children’s literature and to make books for children and young adults more reflective of the young people who read them.
MHLS Announcements
The Board of the Mid-Hudson Library System met on Wednesday, July 14th, 2021. At this meeting the board: 
  • Received a “clean opinion” from the auditors at RBT CPAs; 

  • Were provided with a mid-year report from the Executive Director on the System’s Action Plan which is viewable here; 

  • Approved the 2021 Central Library Program Budget; 

  • Approved the 2022-2026 Plan of Service components: System Plan of Service, Central Library Plan of Service, and the Direct Access Plan; 

  • Updated the committee charges for both the Personnel & Planning and Nominations & Elections Committees; and 

  • Were introduced to a new EDI Policy and Procedure Analysis Framework created by the MHLS Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Working Group. This framework will be used by all MHLS Board Committees that have a policymaking role.  
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As per the bylaws of the Mid-Hudson Library System we are officially notifying MHLS member library board presidents and directors of the MHLS board’s intent to present two amendments to our bylaws at the 2021 MHLS Annual Membership Meeting which is currently scheduled to be held on Friday, October 22nd, 2021.  

The amendment clause of our bylaws requires:  
The proposed amendments impact:  

  1. Article IV. Board of Trustees – Sec. 9. Liaison Members: this amendment is proposed to reflect the current, actual practice of allowing a rotating list of members of the Directors Association’s System Services Advisory Committee to serve as their liaison to the board in a given year.  
  2. Article VI. Committees – Sec. 1. Establishing Committees: this amendment is proposed to simply to add a list of our standing committees of the board. This will streamline board operations as then we would no longer need to authorize each committee annually.  

If you have any questions about the proposed bylaw amendments, please feel free to reach out to MHLS Board President, Ric Swierat or to MHLS Executive Director, Rebekkah Smith Aldrich
MHLS Libraries
The Summer Reading Program is BACK! Many member libraries welcomed back families with Summer Reading Kick-Off programs. The Beekman and Patterson libraries both recently held events that drew in hundreds of community members.
(above) The Beekman Library showcases their Summer Reading raffle baskets at their Kick-Off event.
(above) Kids enjoy the petting zoo at the Patterson Library Summer Reading Kick-Off event.
The Bookie Monster is making a name for itself among MHLS member libraries. Germantown and Kinderhook libraries book drops are two that have made the transformation to celebrate the start of Summer Reading.  
(above) Germantown Library book drop
(above) Kinderhook Memorial Library book drop 
Resource Sharing & Sierra 
Sierra Interlibrary Loan (ILL) has now been in place for 6 months, beginning with training sessions in December of 2020 and implementation in January of 2021. It was a learning curve for the member libraries and for our own workflows at MHLS! Small adjustments have been made to improve on our initial process and the processes seem to be working properly. At this time, MHLS will be removing the old manual form from the website, now requiring all OCLC requests to be initiated within Sierra ILL. The new process streamlines work, documents, and stores information within the patron record, and makes the process more visible to the patron. If you have any questions or would like to schedule follow up training, please make that request by sending an email to techsupport@midhudson.org. Details, step by step instructions and instructional videos can be found on the MHLS Knowledge Base.  

The ILL request templates are complete and fully documented. If you have not used the new templates and would like to schedule a personal training session for your staff, please open a ticket by sending a request to techsupport@midhudson.org
Sustainable Libraries
The Emergency Connectivity Fund Program application filing window is open! This application filing window opened on Tuesday, June 29th, 2021 and will close on August 13th, 2021. During this window, applicants may submit requests for funds for the purchase of eligible equipment and services made between July 1st, 2021 and June 30th, 2022 to meet the remote learning needs of students, school staff, and library patrons who would otherwise lack access to connected devices and broadband connections sufficient to engage in remote learning. 
 
For more information about the program, please visit the FCC website for a set of FAQs that cover a number of topics, including eligible entities, eligible equipment and services, eligible locations, reasonable support amounts, and unmet needs. New questions and responses are being added to FAQs, so be sure to check back periodically for more updates. 
 
Need Help? 
Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC) will continue to host weekly office hours where applicants and service providers can ask questions and get information about the Emergency Connectivity Fund Program application process. Applicants and service providers can also contact the Emergency Connectivity Fund Customer Support Center (CSC) with questions at (800) 234-9781 Monday – Friday from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm.  
 
Visit the Training section of the Emergency Connectivity Fund Program website to view trainings, access E-learning modules, register for office hour sessions, and view recordings of past trainings and office hours sessions. 
 
Applicants can also find more information regarding the Emergency Connectivity Fund FCC Form 471 on the Program website. 
Programming 
Get ready for National Voter Registration Day 2021! Your library can help activate citizens throughout your community by participating in National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday, September 28th. Learn how to get your community Vote Ready by signing up to be a 2021 Partner at
http://nationalvoterregistrationday.org. "Partners" organize in-person voter registration efforts on National Voter Registration Day and promote voter registration through marketing and communication efforts. Partners have access to toolkits, webinars, and resources and can add their own events to the nationwide map.  
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The Great Give Back (GGB) will be Saturday, October 16th, 2021. The GGB is an opportunity for libraries to provide meaningful service-oriented experiences for community members, and to use collective marketing to highlight the important role libraries play in their communities. Libraries planning to participate in the GGB for 2021 should complete this very short survey. For more information, you can access a list of MHLS member library GGB events from 2020, and the recording of The Great Give Back Informational Webinar that was held on Tuesday, July 13th. For questions, please contact MHLS Library Sustainability Coordinator, Casey Conlin, cconlin@midhudson.org.
Trustee Resources 
Oath of Office Reminder for Public Library Trustees with terms beginning in July. New York State Public Officer's Law §10 (https://bit.ly/2Qk5Nlu) requires all public library trustees (but not association library trustees) to take and file an oath of office within 30 days of beginning their term of office. Public library trustees are public officers and the oath of office is required to officially undertake and perform the duties of a public library trustee. If a public library trustee does not properly complete and file an oath of office, the trustee’s position may be deemed vacant. See Public Officer's Law §30(1)(h) (https://bit.ly/2SQEOzI). For more information about how and why the oath of office is administered, and where to properly file an oath of office, please see the Oaths of Office FAQ on the New York State Library website: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/trustees/oath.htm.
Administration & Management
MHLS can provide a 15% discount on NYLA membership for 2021-2022 for member libraries that join or renew during the open enrollment period. The open enrollment period began on July 13th, 2021 and goes through August 3rd, 2021. 

The process has been streamlined from previous years to make it even easier to apply for this discount! 

Brief directions for completing the open enrollment process are below. Full directions for the open enrollment process can be found here

Open Enrollment Renewal: 
Login to your library’s organizational membership online account at nyla.org to create your renewal order. You may add or change representative/associates, select sections and roundtables, and update trustees. Once this information has been updated, you can submit your order. The automated confirmation you immediately receive after submitting your order is NOT your final invoice. NYLA will use your order to create a single organizational invoice for our library system. MHLS will bill your library directly. 

If you need your library’s organizational membership login credentials, click Forgot Company Login on the Login page. Libraries that are joining for the first time or have let their memberships lapse should use the Forgot Company Login feature to access account credentials. If you have issues with this feature, please contact membership@nyla.org.  

Optional Library Trustees Association Section (LTAS) Rider: 
This new membership option upgrades your trustees to LTAS Section members with full NYLA voting privileges. See the LTAS Rider flyer for details and dues rates. 

If you have any questions about this program, please contact MHLS Financial Assistant, Joan Kay at jkay@midhudson.org
Job Openings
Library Director, Putnam Valley Free Library 
Putnam Valley Library, an association library serving a semi-rural community of 12,000 individuals in Putnam Valley, NY, seeks a creative and dynamic Library Director with a passion for community service to oversee all activities and operations of the Library. 

Essential Responsibilities: 
 
Staff and Operations: 
  • Supervising all library services, operations, facilities, programs and outreach 
  • Selecting, training, and evaluating personnel to maintain a strong team environment 
  • Developing and maintaining the Library’s collection in accordance with collection policies and best practices 
  • Controlling expenditures of funds and maintaining accurate financial records 
  • Supervising the purchase and maintenance of technology to enhance library services 
  • Preparing and distributing public relations and marketing materials 
  • Preparing annual reports to the state and the community 
  • Working on grant writing and reporting 

Board of Trustees: 
  • Working with the Board in an ongoing planning process that identifies and meets community needs 
  • Making policy recommendations to the Board and implementing adopted policies 
  • Preparing annual budget recommendations for Board approval 
 
 
Essential Traits: 
  • Ability to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere for staff and library patrons 
  • Good written and oral communication skills 
  • Ability to build relationships with diverse stakeholders 
  • A commitment to social justice and fostering an equitable community 
  • Knowledge of current trends and developments in the library profession 
  • Proficiency with computers, popular library software, internet and digital communications 
 
Minimum Qualifications: A master’s degree in Library and Information Science from an ALA-accredited program and experience in library administration. 
 
Salary commensurate with experience. Position includes some benefits, plus PTO and 12 paid holidays a year. To apply, please send a cover letter and résumé to: trustees@putnamvalleylibrary.org 
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Children’s Librarian, Putnam Valley Free Library 
Putnam Valley Library is seeking a Children’s Librarian to provide our community with inspired service. Hours 25-35/week, with alternate Saturdays. This is a wonderful opportunity for a MLIS candidate to get hands-on experience, or a recent retiree to keep active. 
 
Responsibilities Include: 
  • Creates and runs programs for children and families ages 0-18 
  • Performs reader’s advisory for children, teens, and parents 
  • Develops, maintains, and promotes the children's collection 
  • Maintains the appearance of the children’s floor through shelving and displays 
  • Conducts outreach in the community, networks with local school system and childcare facilities 

Qualifications: 
  • Experience working with children and running children’s programs such as weekly storytimes 
  • A commitment to equitable and compassionate library service 
  • History of good working relationships and positive team building 
  • Strong communication and organizational skills 

Education and Experience Required: 
  • General experience working with the public and diverse communities, prior library service preferred 
  • Knowledge of children's literature and programming 
  • Familiarity with internet, social media, and basic computer applications 
  • Candidates must be flexible and good-natured, able to handle competing priorities and tasks 
  • Ability to bend, reach, sit and stand as needed 

Salary commensurate with experience. Position includes PTO and 12 paid holidays. 

To apply, please send résumé and cover letter to: director@putnamvalleylibrary.org 
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Teen/Adult Programming Coordinator (part-time), Tivoli Free Library 
The Tivoli Free Library has an immediate opening for a permanent, reliable part-time teen and adult programming coordinator. Approximately 15-20 hours per week including Saturdays and some evenings. 

As a member of our small, creative team, your job will include (but not be limited to) working alongside our children’s programming coordinator in preparing, promoting, and implementing events and programs for teens and adults in our community (in-person and virtual). You will also put in regular hours on the circulation desk, providing friendly service to library patrons. 

You will be tech literate, very comfortable with social media, have a positive attitude and the ability to function independently and as part of a team. Marketing and previous library experience a plus. Familiarity with Sierra, Canva, and WordPress also a plus. 

Salary range: $14-$15/hour depending on experience and qualifications. Some paid holidays and accrued paid time off. 

Please email letter of interest and résumé to Michele DelPriore at tivolidirector@gmail.com with the subject heading “P/T Programming Position.” Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis until the position is filled. 


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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