A message from Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Executive Director of the Mid-Hudson Library System:

Last week the American Library Association issued a statement condemning ongoing threats against libraries. A scan of state and national headlines in the past few weeks reveals a series of unnerving events including bomb threats and “swatting,” incidents that were thankfully false alarms but also more school shootings that were anything but a false alarm. 

The recent bomb threats in central New York school districts were particularly alarming as they were reported made in opposition to students’ rights to access and read LGBT+ books in their school libraries. The New York Library Association spoke out against this through a recent statement, reaffirming the defense of the right to read in our libraries. 

I share this not only to raise your awareness about the severity of this issues in other parts of the state and country but to urge you to review your Emergency Action Plans, including what to do if there is a bomb threat at the library or if you are confronted with someone who is threatening violence. If it’s been some time since you had an evacuation drill at the library, now may be a good time to review this with staff. 

If you are lacking documentation related to emergency procedures, here are some resources that might help you develop your own:

• “How to Plan for Workplace Emergencies and Evacuations,” Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor
• Emergency Evacuation Planning Guide for People with Disabilities, The National Fire Protection Association

Templates:

• Emergency Action Plan Template, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
• Emergency Action Plan Template, Maine Department of Labor 
• Bomb Threat Procedures, Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency 
• Library Employees Emergency Response Procedures, Massachusetts Library System & Instructions: How to complete the Library Employees ERP Template

Library examples:

• Emergency Procedures, Lancaster Public Library, Buffalo & Erie County Public Library 
• Bomb Threat Policy & Procedures, Bay County Library System 
• Emergency Procedures Manual, Elmhurst Public Library

The Roeliff Jansen Community Library recently enrolled in the Sustainable Libraries Initiative certification program. They have formed their sustainability team and are beginning to review what they are already doing and where they want to focus their efforts first.

REMINDER: Please clear your hold shelf every day the library is open. Clearing the hold shelf purges the holds table of more than the items on your physical hold shelf it also removes cancelled and expired holds. Please do your part in keeping this very critical process running smoothly by making this a priority task every morning. 

You can find instructions and a video tutorial under holds at https://kb.midhudson.org/circulation/. 

Read Books. Spark Change. The Children’s Book Council and Every Child a Reader have released the slogan for this year’s Children’s Book Week, “Read Books. Spark Change.” This year’s celebration of young readers will take place as two week-long events held May 1st – 7th and November 6th – 12th, with a special educator kit offered in the fall. The official 2023 Children’s Book Week poster was created by Rilla Alexander, an award-winning artist, author, and illustrator. This year’s poster features the Children’s Book Week slogan, which speaks to the power that books and stories have to inspire positive change. Each Book Week participant is eligible to receive two free posters and activities. Registration for Book Week is currently open and can be completed online.

Trustee Tip of the Month: Annual evaluation of the library director and the library board are key ingredients to a healthy organization. Evaluating the director without a companion evaluation of the board can create a lopsided evaluation strategy of the governance and management of the organization so be sure to plan for both, each year. For tips and sample forms visit http://midhudson.org/topics/trustees/. 

Trustee responsibilities are small in number but broad in scope. This monthly Bulletin feature is designed to remind, reinforce or introduce tips that are helpful to member library trustees. 

Join MHLS Executive Director Rebekkah Smith Aldrich for a 414 Vote Libraries Meetup on April 12th at 2:00 pm. Note: This session was rescheduled from March 28th. At this online meetup we’ll check in with MHLS member library teams going for a 414 vote this year, share best practices and ensure your team is on track to hit all of the required milestones for a successful vote. This is also an opportunity to learn from your peers also working on 414 vote campaigns this year.

Library Director, Valatie Free Library 

The Valatie Free Library Board of Trustees is looking for a new Library Director. The new director will start at 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 along the scenic Hudson River Valley. 

Position Overview: 

• Plans, organizes, and supervises the activities at library. 
• Oversees circulation staff including setting hours. 
• Assists library patrons in the use of library services, facilities, and equipment. 
• Interprets library policies for patrons. 
• Coordinates activities with Program Coordinator.
• Markets programs on library website, newsletter, and other social media.
• Works with Library Board on facilities maintenance and upgrades.
• Participates in library special projects as needed.
• Prepares monthly reports for the Board of Trustees. 
• Provides training for new library clerks, and conducts periodic evaluation of library clerks.

This position may require working during any of the hours that the library is open, including evenings and weekends. 

Qualifications Profile:

• Degree in Library Science preferred.
• Previous library experience and knowledge of Sierra required.
• Comfortable working with computers and software, and able to instruct other staff and the public on computer usage.
• Ability to supervise and delegate tasks successfully.
• Outstanding customer service skills in order to relate courteously and effectively with library patrons and co-workers.
• Ability to work independently. 

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.

Local

• Women Finding Balance | Howland Public Library | Highlands Current 3.24.23

National

• Judge orders books removed from Texas public libraries due to LGBTQ and racial content must be returned within 24 hours | WKOW | 4.1.23

• Book ban attempts reach record high in 2022, American Library Association report says | PBS | 3.23.23

• American Library Association reports record number of demands to censor library books and materials in 2022 | ALA | 3.22.23

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