Mid-Hudson Library System (MHLS) Executive Director, Rebekkah Smith Aldrich has been selected for a 2026 Columbia County Saint Francis Award.

The Parish of Our Lady of Hope in Copake Falls announced the establishment of the Columbia County Saint Francis of Assisi Awards this year, modeled after the Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal recently established by Villanova University.

The Saint Francis award is given to Columbia County residents whose work demonstrates a holistic vision of sustainability, integrating care for the environment, social justice, concern for vulnerable populations, and responsible stewardship of economic and natural resources. The Award will be presented at Our Lady of Hope on Saturday, October 3.

The Howland Public Library hosted a Spirit Week as they counted down to Spirit of Beacon Day. On the theme of superheroes, the staff showed up in style. “They’re the superheroes who make the library a welcoming place every day!”

REMINDER: New Director Forum | October 8 | 10 AM – 12 PM | Online

You are not alone! Join us for an informal gathering of New Directors (in your role for 3 years or less) to discuss relevant topics related to finding your path as a new director. 

Topic: An administrator's introduction to Sierra with Laurie Shedrick, MHLS Assistant Director and Technology Operations Manager:

Each library has some control over the settings in Sierra that manage the day-to-day operations of staff and set rules in place for transactions. In the New Director Forum, we will review some of the areas that can be customized to your library and logins.

• Staff Logins
• Circulation Parameters
• Settings
• Templates and Display
• Sierra application add-on products and licenses

Submit your questions here: https://forms.gle/GVVDxvEGmprPXTfWA

As of September 24th, the Patron Record address fields in Sierra have been re-labeled to provide staff a better understanding of how the fields are used and improve the accuracy of system-wide data entry overall. 

Address has become Mailing Address. It is the field that Sierra uses for notifications and record display. This field is required.

Address2 has become Street Address (if different from Mailing Address). This field is used to document the patron's residential address if different from the mailing address, for example, if the mailing address is a P.O. Box. This field is required only when the Mailing Address is not the actual residence of the patron.

While the labels are changing, the fields have always been used this way – or at least that was the intention. In reviewing patron records, we see this has been interpreted otherwise. The Resource Sharing Advisory Committee advocated for new labels to help promote accuracy and understanding. The change has been made, but it will take us a little bit longer to update MHLS documentation to align with the new labels.

A new Tutorial for Patron Name, Mailing address and Street Address is now available in Training on demand. It reviews the field uses for different scenarios and also good formatting, based on the USPS standards for format. 

From October 18-24th, celebrate National Friends of Libraries Week with the New York Library Association (NYLA)! The Friends are invaluable to keeping libraries and their communities connected, and NYLA would love to recognize those who bridge those connections. That’s where you come in.

NYLA is asking that you fill out this Google Form to showcase any displays, events, or just to recognize a Friend who has made a big difference for your library!

The focus of this event is to highlight what NYLA members are doing, and they ask that you include a photo or video in your submission, along with a caption. Please ensure that you have permission to upload the likeness of individuals in your submission(s)! Alternatively, you can tag NYLA in your social media posts about the event, and they will reshare them.

REMINDER: MHLS Trustee Education Series: Multi-Year Financial Planning | October 5 | 5:30 – 7:30 PM | Town of Esopus Library, 128 Canal Street, Port Ewen

Multiyear financial planning is a vital tool for library boards and directors, particularly those struggling with difficult financial conditions. It can aid decision-makers to set long-term priorities and work toward goals, rather than making choices based only on what funds are available today. This is important when resources are limited and can also be beneficial to avoiding future stress. Join Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, MHLS Executive Director & Co-Author of the Handbook for Library Trustees in New York State to review the Office of the State Comptroller’s multi-year financial planning process and helpful data sources to help strengthen your library’s financial position and ability to meet community needs.

This workshop is part of the MHLS Sustainable Funding & Trustee Education Series and registration is limited to MHLS member library trustees and directors and all members of the Ulster County Library Association. Attendance at this event can be applied toward the NYS Trustee Education Requirements.