The Great Give Back @MHLS Libraries! (MHLS Bulletin) 11.21.23

Vol.23-47 | 11.21.23

The Great Give Back @MHLS Libraries!

More than 40 MHLS member libraries participated in The Great Give Back this year! The Great Give Back provides an opportunity to shine a light on the work libraries do to respond to the needs of the people in the community by creating opportunities for community members to ‘give back’ and connect more people with what's going on at their local library.

Here are just a few of the programs that took place:

Hudson Area Library and Claverack Free Library each offered a Pop-Up Period Pantry for the Zonta Club of the Upper Hudson Valley. Collected period products will be dispersed to those in need through local food kitchens.

Livingston Free Library held a fire safety program and Roeliff Jansen Community Library invited the local Fire Department to educate community members on how to become a firefighter.

Brewster Public Library invited community members to join their effort to “Nurture Our Neighbors” by creating kindness crafts at the library. They held a drop-in program with a variety of age-appropriate crafts for participants to make. Staff members distributed the finished kindness crafts in outdoor spaces throughout the community in hopes to spread some positivity and inspiration to their neighbors.

Patterson Library held a Putnam Lake Park Cleanup lead by their Teen Leadership Council.

Putnam Valley Library participated in the NexTrex Recycling Challenge. The library was a drop off location for soft film plastics and packaging.

Dutchess County Libraries collected personal care items to support a variety of local agencies who help individuals and families who are in need.

Greene County Libraries served as collection sites for non-perishable food items to give to local food pantries and Ulster County Libraries created a healthy competition in the Ulster County Food Fight to collect food stuffs to help stock the more than 30 local food pantries in Ulster County.

To view all the programs that were held during this year’s program visit The Great Give Back web page.

The Great Give Back is a statewide community service initiative created by the Suffolk County Public Library Directors Association and the Suffolk Cooperative Library System, in conjunction with the Nassau Library System.

MHLS Announcements

A reminder from the MHLS Delivery Department: Please help delivery run as smoothly and efficiently as possible by providing a clear path to your library’s incoming and outgoing bin location, notify us of any lock and key changes in advance, and provide any feedback on the service and drivers.

For questions regarding MHLS delivery operations please contact Tom Finnigan, Delivery Operations Manager.

MHLS will be closed on November 23rd and November 24th in observance of Thanksgiving Day. There will be no deliveries and the MHLS ticket system will not be monitored.

Professional Development

The Sustainable Libraries Initiative invites you to attend Sustainability Challenge: Month by Month on Wednesday, December 6th at 1:00 pm. Presented by Addie Smock & Brian James of the Kingston Library.

This webinar demonstrates an integrated approach to creating a year-long sustainability effort to bring awareness and change within a community. In the face of the mounting environmental crisis, the Kingston Library asked patrons to rise to the challenge and participate in monthly themes designed to transform overwhelming information into bite-size, achievable activities. They've identified twelve segments of sustainable living that individuals could easily participate in by making simple changes and assigned each of these challenges to a month.

This online event requires registration.

Resource Sharing & Sierra

There is still time to register for the live, online Vega Discover Catalog for Member Library Staff on November 27th at 1:30 pm. This 1.5-hour webinar will provide a broad and comprehensive introduction to the system's new catalog, Discover. Staff will learn about the new interface, how to use it, what they need to know to help patrons make the change, and some of the behind-the-scenes configurations and planning that is happening at Mid-Hudson.

Sustainable Libraries

Register today for the Digital Navigators Information Session on December 5th at 2:00 pm. This session is for anyone who is curious about Digital Navigators of the Hudson Valley. If you are considering applying to the upcoming cohort, have already applied, or want this service at your library or organization, this meeting is for you!

Southeastern NY Library Resources Council will give you an overview of the program timeline and how Digital Navigators are helping individuals in the Hudson Valley achieve Digital Equity. There will be plenty of time for Q&A so that you can ask about the program requirements and decide if you want to join.

Programming

YSS Pied Piper Award: Did you have a program this year at your library for kids/teens that you thought was engaging, unique, fun and could be planned in multiple library settings? Submit for the 2024 Pied Piper Award through YSS - the Youth Services Section of NYLA.

Learn more about the Pied Piper Award and access the application. Submissions will be accepted until December 1st, 2023.

The Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) will host their 3rd annual CSLP Summer Symposium on Thursday, December 7th, 2023. This half day virtual offering is for public library staff to connect, learn, and collaborate as participants plan for summer library programming around the upcoming theme of Adventure Begins at your Library. View the agenda and register.

Unable to attend? Sign up to be notified when the recording is posted.

Trustee Resources

Ask Me Anything (AMA) with Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, MHLS Executive Director & Co-Author of the Handbook for Library Trustees of New York State is a monthly installment where Rebekkah will answer your questions! Feel free to submit your question here or contact Rebekkah at rsmith@midhudson.org with the subject line: AMA Trustee Question.

Q. Does our board need to follow Robert’s Rules of Order during our board meetings?

A. Using Robert’s Rules of Order is best practice. If the library’s bylaws specify it is used, then it should be used. Please be aware that Robert’s Rules of Order sometimes conflict with New York State Law, for example, in the area of calculating a quorum and executive session state law takes precedence over RRO. Check out the chapter on “Library Board Meetings” from the Handbook for Library Trustees of New York State for more information on these issues

A new edition of the Handbook for Library Trustees of New York State will soon be available in print from Mid-Hudson Library System (MHLS) and digitally on the Division of Library Development (DLD) site. Details for ordering print copies and information on how to access the handbook online will be forthcoming.

Administration & Management

Join New York State Library staff on Thursday, December 14th at 1:00 pm for Helpful Information for Meeting Minimum Public Library Standards.

All public and association libraries in New York State must meet minimum standards of service according to Section 90.2 of the regulations of the Commissioner of Education. This 2-hour webinar will include an overview of the minimum standards plus helpful information and resources for each standard. Learn about the challenges, strategies, resources, and best practices needed to successfully meet the minimum standards.

Registration is required. This webinar will count towards the required two hours of annual trustee education and the 60 hours of professional development needed to maintain New York State Public Librarian certification.

Job Openings

Social Media Specialist Part-time, Remote, Ulster County Library Association

The Ulster County Library Association is looking for a talented Social Media Specialist with library experience to administer our social media accounts. You will manage promotion of the Ulster County Library Association’s shared services in a cohesive way to achieve our marketing goals. You will be responsible for creating original images, text, and video content, creating posts, and sharing them to the 21 Ulster public libraries.

$25 per hour, up to 6 hours per week. This will be an independent contractor job with invoices submitted to UCLA monthly. Please submit a resume and 5 examples of media posts to hurleydirector@gmail.com by November 30, 2023. Please put Social Media Specialist in the subject line of the email. View the complete job description.

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.

MHLS Calendar

MHLS Online

Bulletin Archive