| Upcoming
Workshops |
Trustee
Essentials:
Thursday,
Sept. 16
6:00 - 8:00pm
@MHLS Auditorium
Saturday,
Sept. 25
10:00am - 12:00pm
@ Germantown Library
Tuesday,
Sept. 28
10:00am - 12:00pm @MHLS Auditorium
Workshop Notice
[PDF]
Advanced
Trustee:
Monday, October 18
6:00
- 8:00 pm
@ MHLS Auditorium
Saturday, October 23
10:00
am - 12:00 pm
@ Kingston Library
(55 Franklin Street, Kingston)
Save the
Date!
Building Your Base Online:
Tuesday, December 7th with
New Jersey State Library Marketing Director, and author of
"Bite-Sized Marketing: Realistic Solutions for Overworked
Librarians, Nancy Dowd.
Please register online for all MHLS events.
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SAVE THE
DATE
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The
51st Annual Meeting of the
Mid-Hudson Library System will
be held on Friday, October 1, 2010 at The Henry A. Wallace Center
at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in
Hyde Park, NY.
Our keynote speaker will be Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet &
American Life Project.
Prior to the business meeting there will be a continuing education
session: "Advocacy 101: the Five
Keys to Effective Advocacy" presented by current NYLA
President Kathy Miller and former NYLA President, Jennifer
Morris.
Invitations will be arriving later this week in your
inbox!
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Trustee
Handbook Now Available
|
Check out the 2010
edition of the Handbook for Library Trustees of
New York State by Jerry Nichols
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Feature:
E-Books, E-Readers & Libraries
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"Well, what is a book, really? Is it
its body, or its soul?"
- Anna Quindlen
"The best defense against the future is
to think
about it, to imagine different
scenarios, and try to avoid being taken by surprise."
- Stuart Candy, Futurist
"E-book Sales Surpass Hardcovers at
Amazon" - this was the big headline flying around librarian blogs,
Facebook pages and email lists around the country in July
2010. Is
this it? Is this the death knell for the printed book? For reading
as we know it? For libraries?
The
buzz surrounding e-books and e-readers has been getting louder and
louder, building since the 2007 release of Amazon's e-reader device
the Kindle. In 2010 the buzz seems to be reaching frenzy status as
librarians scramble to understand the many options and implications
surrounding the e-book/e-reader issue and trustees field questions
from the public about what happens next.
Should
we be buying e-books? Should we be lending Kindles? Are we even
allowed to lend e-readers? How much will it cost? How many of my
patrons want this? Which vendor should I use? My staff can't keep
up! - These are some of the questions, comments and fears we are
hearing from libraries around the System.
So
let's all take a breath, sit back and take stock. Click on "read
more" to expand each of the three areas below.
1.
E-books are here to stay.
[read more]
2.
No one has won the e-reader
war...yet. [read more]
3.
The Times...They Are a 'Changin.'
What's a trustee to do? [read more]
|
Funding Update
As we prepare this issue of Across the Board the Board and
Staff of MHLS along with Member Libraries are strategizing how to
move into the future together.
After
a decade of flat funding, a series of cuts from NYS, service
reductions and staff attrition combined with increasing usage of
System services by member libraries, MHLS has been forced to
explore a new funding model which calls for members to share the
expense of System services more fully.
Input gathered from members through
evaluation of System services and the 2009 Directors Retreat
indicate that members are relying on System services to help run
their library.
A System Funding Task Force, made up of member library directors
from all five counties served by MHLS, representing libraries large
and small, have been meeting since 2008 to develop a fair and
equitable solution to the funding shortfalls.
MHLS has committed to notify member libraries a year in advance of
an increase in fees. In the fall, your director will be talking to
you about the proposed assessment for 2012. The passage of this fee
will ensure that System services can continue, providing your
library with the day-to-day support required to run a 21st century
library.
If you have any questions about the proposed assessment or how
MHLS benefits your library please talk to your director. They have
the most up-to-date information from their attendance at Directors
Association meetings and understand how MHLS supports your library
daily.
Questions that your director cannot answer can be directed to
Merribeth Advocate, MHLS Interim Director at
madvocate@midhudson.org or 845.471.6060 x217.
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| Trustee
Essentials Workshop - Fall Sessions |
|
| Essential Trustee Duties and
Responsibilities Workshop:
This
workshop is designed especially for new board members, but open to
all. Library board members looking for essential, baseline
information to increase their effectiveness in serving on a library
board will benefit from attending this session.
Attendees
will learn effective ways to carry out the nine essential library
trustee duties and responsibilities (everything the library board
does either falls within one of these duties or is done in support
of them).
Register for one of the
following sessions:
Thursday, September
16 from6:00 - 8:00pm @MHLS
Auditorium
Saturday, September
25
from 10:00am - 12:00pm @ Germantown Library
Tuesday, September
28
from 10:00am - 12:00pm @MHLS Auditorium
Please register online
Trustees are able to earn $200 for
their libraries, through the 2010 MHLS Incentive Program
Trustee Reimbursement, if every member of their board has attended
MHLS Trustee Essential education within 2006-10, with at least one
attendance occurring in 2010.
All
attendees will receive a free Trustee Handbook (new 2010
edition).
Presented
by Merribeth Advocate, MHLS Interim Executive Director &
Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, MHLS Coordinator for Library Growth &
Sustainability.
Comments from last year's attendees about MHLS Essential Trustee
Duties and Responsibilities:
- I expected this to be very dry & frankly a bit boring.
Not so. It was absolutely enlightening. Enjoyed it & learned a
lot. Thanks so much!
- Excellent program that
inspired action steps to introduce to my own library.
- Overall very informative, great to
hear questions from other libraries of things that haven't occurred
to me but are very helpful to know. Knowledge is empowering.
- My attitude towards the job
of trustee has been jolted to a higher level. You made me aware of
the responsibility associated with this job. I need to study this
information and try to contribute to our meetings to elevate the
level and enhance the library. Thank you so much.
- Reinforced (review) of much
information I have read but needed to hear again to help sink into
my head.
- Terrific job! Great pace! Well
worth my time. Thank you!
- Workshop is well executed as usual.
Put in a way that is easy to understand and ask questions. Thank
you very much!!
- I wish all my trustees could have come to this program as
new trustees. Hope NYS makes it mandatory.
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Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter. We know
how busy your life is and appreciate that you are taking the time
to learn more about your role as a public library trustee.
MHLS is here to help you and your library. Please don't hesitate to
call us! Check out the MHLS Problem Solving Service Directory or the
On Demand Consultation List to connect with the
MHLS staff person best able to help you. Don't see what you need?
Just ask!
Sincerely,
Rebekkah Smith Aldrich
Coordinator for Library Growth & Sustainability
Mid-Hudson Library System |
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