MHLS welcomes our newest employees!

• Ricky Conner joined the Delivery Operations department as a Material Handler.
• Elizabeth Garcia, our new Financial Assistant began work at MHLS this week.
• Ashley Teal, our new Administrative Assistant. One of Ashley’s very first tasks was coordinating our first in-person Annual Membership Meeting since 2019. 

Beekman Library is the recipient of a $7,000 award from the Dutchess County Department of Community and Family Services’ Division of Youth Services for the library’s Youth Empowerment through Service program (Y.E.S.). This is a teen program that develops leadership and job readiness skills through meaningful service in the community. Teens can participate in one or more of the following opportunities:

• Reading Buddies – Teen volunteers meet weekly with a beginning reader to build confidence, fluency & a love of reading.
• Student Reading Buddy – For students k through 5.
• Homework Helpers – Teen Volunteers who are proficient in Math or English assist students with homework support.
• Teen Shelvers – Help us get all the returned materials back on the shelves and assist with filling patron requests.

Is the primary focus of your job public library outreach/community engagement? You're invited to join your colleagues on Friday, December 8th at 10:00 am for a one-hour online discussion with your peers on new ideas/new connections and anything else outreach-esque that you would like to talk about. 

Please register in advance for this event. This program is facilitated by Upper Hudson Library System and open to all library staff across NYS.

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The Public Library Association (PLA) is offering 50 scholarships to attend the PLA 2024 Conference, happening in Columbus, Ohio, April 3-5, 2024. Scholarships will cover registration fees, travel stipends, and one year of PLA membership.

Applications are due November 12th (11:59 p.m. Central). Learn More & Apply

Transparent Language has announced a new training series for library staff. Webinars will be recorded and archived, and a link for each webinar will be emailed to everyone who registers.

Getting Started with Transparent Language Online | December 11th | 10:00 – 11:00 am | Register

Just getting started with Transparent Language Online, or training someone new? In this webinar, we will cover a basic introduction (or refresher!) to the Transparent Language Online for Libraries system. We will look at various aspects of learning dashboard and dive into some of the great learning activities available – specifically highlighting speaking and typing. We will also highlight some recent updates to Transparent Language Online.

Supporting Your ELL Community with Transparent Language Online | December 20th | 1:00 – 2:00 pm | Register

Does your library support a growing community of English Language Learners (ELLs)? In this webinar, we will discuss the language pairings (30+) available for non-English speakers to learn at the beginner level, as well as discuss higher-level content for English learners, including Intermediate and Advanced Conversations in English and our American Citizenship Test Prep Course.

Supporting Young Learners with Transparent Language Online | January 20, 2024 | 10:00 – 11:00 am | Register

Did you know that Transparent Language Online has learning content specifically designed for young learners? In this webinar, we’ll explore the available content for different ages, including K-2, elementary, and teens. We will look at how the content differs for each age range and review what supplemental resources are available.

Transparent Language Online: Reporting and Marketing | January 17, 2024 | 11:00 am – 12:00 pm | Register

Trying to promote and measure interest in Transparent Language Online in your library community? Looking for new promotional ideas? This webinar will focus on running usage reports and marketing Transparent Language Online to your community. We will look at:

• Types of reports that admins can generate and the types of information each report will give you
• How to schedule reports so that they can be delivered right to your email for convenience
• Marketing tactics and ideas for increasing adoption and usage of Transparent Language Online

If your library participated in The Great Give Back 2023, we'd love to hear about how your programs went and hear any feedback you would like to provide. The information you share will help us make next year's The Great Give Back even better! Statistics are an important advocacy tool, helping us demonstrate that libraries are fundamental to community health, and to help more libraries join the event.

Please use this form to share your stories, successes and experiences. 

If you would like photos of your events to be shared on thegreatgiveback.org, please email them to librariesgiveback@gmail.com along with your library information and a few sentences about your program.

Trustee Tip of the Month: Board packets should be distributed a week in advance of a board meeting to give all trustees enough time to review reports and consider items on the agenda for discussion. Any document planned to be discussed at a board meeting must be posted to the library’s web site no later than 24 hours in advance of the meeting, as per New York State Open Meetings Law.

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.

The Division of Library Development is offering an online session of E-Rate Training for Libraries on Wednesday, November 15th from 10:00 – 11:30 am. Win Himsworth, Executive Director at E-Rate Central, will provide an E-Rate update and training specifically for NYS libraries. Registration is required.

MHLS Calendar