Vol.23-52 | 12.26.23

Please join us on February 7th in Albany for the New York Library Association (NYLA) Library Advocacy Day! This event brings together library advocates from across New York State to converge on Albany to voice their support for funding and policies that benefit libraries. Your attendance can make a BIG impact. Join us for meetings with your NYS representatives to make the case that libraries should receive funding increases and infrastructure investments that respect our role in the community!

How to get ready for Advocacy Day:

• Register to attend Library Advocacy Day in Albany.

• Register for the MHLS Advocacy Day Briefing | January 30th | 10:00 – 11:00 am | Online

Join Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Mid-Hudson Library System (MHLS) Executive Director and guest speaker Max Prime, Director of Government Relations and Advocacy, NYLA. This event is designed for all library advocates – library directors, staff, trustees, Friends Groups and volunteers – who are interested in speaking up for libraries during the New York budget negotiation season. 

• Plan your trip to Albany!
• The Buses Are Back! Take the bus for only $10.00! Register to reserve your seat.
• Bus Pick-Up Locations:
• West Nyack
• Newburgh
• Elmsford
• Brewster
• New Paltz
• Kingston
• Catskill

• Driving Yourself
• Directions & Parking Information
• Map of the Empire State Plaza

If you haven’t already, please use this call to action from the NYLA to encourage the Governor to increase funding for libraries and library systems in the executive budget.

This is just the beginning. Stay tuned for more information and updates leading up to February 7th. 

For information and resources about Library Advocacy Day visit 

https://midhudson.org/library-advocacy-day/.

MHLS will be closed on January 1st in observance of New Year’s Day. There will be no deliveries and the MHLS ticket system will not be monitored.

United Way of the Dutchess-Orange Region is challenging you to a 21-Day Equity Challenge that will share resources about specific equity topics in our community for each day of the challenge. You can choose to read an article, watch a video or listen to a podcast - or delve more deeply into the topic by engaging with all three. Depending on your choice, each challenge will take from a few minutes up to an hour daily.

The 21-Day Equity Challenge begins on Monday, January 15th, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and is open to anyone in the Hudson Valley. This is a powerful opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of how inequality affects our lives and our community. To sign up, go to www.uwdor.org/mlk24.

MHLS will be asked to authenticate if your library is in compliance with New York State Minimum Standards. Please review your compliance in advance of the Annual Report to the State in January-February. This includes ensuring all required info is posted to your website. 

• Title 8 NYCRR 90.2 Standards for Registration of Public, Free Association, and Indian Libraries 
• Helpful Information for Meeting Minimum Public Library Standards

So, what happens if you are unable to comply with one or more of the minimum standards by the deadline for your annual report to the state in February? You will go through what is called the "variance process." This requires a form to be filled out to explain which standards you didn't meet, a meeting with MHLS staff to determine a compliance path, and approval of that compliance path by the MHLS Board and the Division of Library Development. You would usually have 12-18 months to come into compliance. 

If you have questions about your library’s compliance with minimum standards, please contact Laura Crisci, MHLS Library Sustainability Coordinator.