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Contact Us
The MHLS Bulletin welcomes submissions from member libraries.
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Public libraries within the Mid-Hudson Library System received a resounding "Yes!" from their community members in support of their continued financial contribution. Twenty-seven communities within the MHLS service region voted on tax levies for their public libraries in 2019 with a 96% success rate. You can review the full results of this year's votes in the MHLS Public Library Vote Toolbox:
http://bit.ly/2Bbx1Ew
 MHLS applauds all libraries that went to the polls this year and would like to give a special shout out to the Kent Public Library for winning their first ever 414 vote! This vote has secured sustainable funding for the library for the first time in its history! Careful financial planning in the Property Tax Cap era is essential to the viability of libraries for the future. Routine budget votes are a critical component of a healthy financial strategy for all types of libraries. If your library board would like to discuss sustainable funding plans please feel free to contact MHLS Executive Director, Rebekkah Smith Aldrich at
[email protected]
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MHLS Announcements
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OverDrive will be introducing a new hold redelivery feature in early 2020
. This will replace the current auto-checkout feature, and give patrons the following options once a hold becomes available:
- Borrow the title within 3 days.
- Suspend their hold, making the copy available to the next patron, while retaining their place on the waitlist.
- Cancel the hold.
If no action is taken, OverDrive will automatically suspend the hold for 7 days. If still no action is taken after the second attempt, OverDrive will cancel the hold.
The update should move waitlist queues along more efficiently, while providing better service to our patrons by allowing them to borrow items when convenient for them.
Messages will appear on the OverDrive website and Libby app starting in early December, informing users of the upcoming change. For more information, please visit
http://bit.ly/2QXk48y
or contact Nina Acosta, MHLS Assistant ILP Operations Supervisor at
[email protected]
REMINDER: MHLS Member Library Mileage Equalization Grant Program deadline is December 15th. This is the last deadline to take advantage of the 2019 MHLS Member Library Mileage Equalization Grant Program. For more information and to access the claim form please visit
http://da.midhudson.org/
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 The Hudson Area Library received a $50,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services
to collaborate with Oral History Summer School and allied community organizations to improve access to and engage community members in oral history. The project will provide integrated online access to audio, images, video clips, and transcripts from four oral history collections. The project team will create opportunities for dialogue around central themes in these oral histories through workshops designed to involve the community in tagging, writing summaries, and annotating oral histories, while bringing the oral histories into public space through listening events, public art, an audio walking club, and a radio show. The program runs from September 2019 through August 2021.
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Professional Development
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Join Nina Acosta, MHLS Assistant ILP Operations Supervisor for the final Local History & Special Collections Roundtable on Thursday, January 16th from 10:00-11:00am. The topic will be Building a Library of Things. A Library of Things is a collection of non-traditional library items such as tools or cake pans that patrons can borrow for short periods of time instead of purchasing. This interactive discussion group brings together experienced staff with those wanting to learn more about:
- Types of items
- Storage & display
- Circulation
- Promoting collections
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 The MHLS Turning Outward Program is a year-long guided opportunity to help your library's stakeholders gather community input
using tools and techniques from the American Library Association (ALA) Libraries Transforming Communities program. These tools help you focus on "public knowledge" to gather intel on the community's aspirations that your library staff and board can use to define strategic goals and to design library services, programs and partnerships.
The MHLS Turning Outward cohort program provides libraries and their teams with training on Turning Outward tools, which help staff and trustees put the community's interests at the center of library services and strategic planning and decisions. Library teams will get support from other libraries in the cohort as well as MHLS staff, trained in Turning Outward tools, for planning and facilitating conversations which help people articulate their aspirations for their community. The program also includes support for developing those conversations and aspirations into a strong strategic plan for those libraries looking to update or create a new plan as well.
Seventeen MHLS member libraries have now gone through this program. To learn more please visit
https://midhudson.org/turning-outward/
Libraries interested in participating in the 2020 MHLS Turning Outward Cohort should register by December 15th.
If you have questions, please contact Casey Conlin, MHLS Library Sustainability Coordinator at
[email protected]
 Courtney Wimmers
, MHLS Outreach & Engagement Specialist recently finished the three-day training,
Harwood Public Innovators Lab
on which the
Libraries Transforming Communities program
is based.
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Reference & Collection Development
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It is time once again to share your suggestions for the Explore New York reading lists for Summer Reading at New York Libraries. The slogan for all ages for 2020 is "Imagine Your Story" and the theme relates to folklore, fairy tales, and mythology. The current lists can be viewed at
http://bit.ly/33r3nou
The purpose of the Explore New York reading lists is to highlight great reads that are connected in some way to the history, culture or geography of New York State. The State Library is looking to add more diverse titles to the Explore NY lists, please keep this in mind as you consider and submit titles for the updated lists for 2020. If you have recommendations for either adding to or weeding this list, please send them to Katy Kukulich,
[email protected]
and Laura Pierson
[email protected]
Please indicate Explore NY in the subject line of your email. Deadline for submission is December 20th.
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Part-time Library Clerk 2, Downstate Correctional Facility (Fishkill)
Downstate Correctional Facility located in Fishkill, NY is seeking applicants for a part-time Library Clerk 2 position.
Minimum Qualifications: Must have graduated from High School or be in possession of a High School Equivalency Diploma or one year of library clerical experience; or 30 semester credit hours, of which at least nine college semester credit hours are in any combination of the following: Library/Information Science, Computer Application or Information Studies.
Duties Description: As a part-time Library Clerk 2, coverage would be required in one of four libraries and law libraries in the correctional facility. The part-time Library Clerk 2 would also be expected to fill in for staff out on vacation or sick leave. Responsible for maintaining stock in the general and law libraries.
Some positions may require additional credentials or a background check to verify your identity.
For more information or to apply for the position please visit
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.
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