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Contact Us
The MHLS Bulletin welcomes submissions from member libraries.
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The past week has brought both certainty and uncertainty
as we are all doing our best to adjust to the Governor's almost daily Executive Orders in the face of the COVID-19 emergency. Some orders have made things very clear, others not as clear as we'd like.
While the importance of social distancing has become crystal clear, how we best do that has resulted in many questions for library stakeholders on topics ranging from staffing patterns to service provision to library votes.
The MHLS Staff and Board have been working hard to help our libraries through this challenging time
. MHLS staff are contending with a large increase in requests for technical assistance on Sierra, websites, management and governance issues, outreach and service design challenges while working to design new resources to aid library leaders during this time, some of which you can read about in this issue of the MHLS Bulletin.
In response to the Governor's work-from-home mandate we have extended the temporary suspension of the MHLS Delivery & ILL service as well as the provision of in-person workshops and consultations through April 19th.
What hasn't changed?
- Your library is an essential asset to your community.
- MHLS is here to support your library.
- We are all in this together.
Be well,
Rebekkah Smith Aldrich
Executive Director, Mid-Hudson Library System
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MHLS Announcements
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COVID-19 Briefing for Trustees: Join MHLS Executive Director, Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, for this custom online event designed for member library trustees on
Wednesday, April 1st from 3:00-4:00pm. Rebekkah will cover the latest info about the Governor's Executive Orders as they relate to the work-from-home mandate and Open Meetings Law as well as share answers to frequently asked questions. Please register online for this event at:
https://bit.ly/3dzzdpd
If you are placed on the wait list for this event you will receive a recording of the session.
Our next MHLS Director Briefing will be held on Thursday, April 2nd from 3:00-4:00pm. Join MHLS Executive Director, Rebekkah Smith Aldrich; MHLS Assistant Director / Technology Operations Manager, Laurie Shedrick; and MHLS Library Sustainability Coordinator, Casey Conlin for the latest announcements and updates related to the COVID-19 Emergency.
The Board of Trustees of the Mid-Hudson Library System met on Saturday, March 21st and took a number of actions to ensure their good financial stewardship of the organization and continuity of MHLS business operations including:
- Setting the funding priorities for the 2020-2021 State Aid for Library Construction Program;
- Approval of variance requests for three libraries;
- Approval of the MHLS 2019 Annual Report to the State;
- Renewal of both their authorization for systemwide restrictions for Union Vale cardholders in response to the lack of a contract with the town and the development of an implementation plan for the restrictions that is sensitive to local conditions;
- Approval of a MHLS Pandemic Policy; and
- Review of the scope of services for a 2019 financial audit.
"Pandemic Policy of the MHLS Directors Association" Approved: Last week the Directors Association (DA) passed a policy to allow for business continuity in the face of the declared pandemic. This policy allows for the DA to meet online for their regularly scheduled meeting on April 7th as well as enables special meetings and online voting as necessary. Directors will need to register online for the April 7th DA meeting, instructions will be provided on the MHLS Directors list.
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 Kinderhook Memorial Library
used their Facebook page to share an at home scavenger hunt specifically for teens. For one-week teens 12-18 could submit photos or videos of the 20 clues given by the library.
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Professional Development
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The MHLS Leadership Circle webinar will take place on Tuesday, April 7th from 12:30-2:30pm
. The topic will be Project Management 101 presented by Ron Kirsop, Executive Director of the Pioneer Library System. This event is open to all MHLS member Library staff.
Project management is the practice of initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing the work of a team to achieve a specific goal. During this workshop, we will explore how integrating project management practices into your library's culture can increase efficiency, improve communication, and lead to improved project execution
at every level.
Register here
for this event.
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Resource Sharing & Sierra
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Thomas O'Connell, MHLS ILP Operations Supervisor will be offering three online events next week:
This workshop will be
beneficial to any library staff responsible for generating reports. Mobile Worklists is a new Sierra application that allows staff to take a mobile device out into the stacks to create new lists or to make edits to existing lists, even importing them into the Create Lists function to work with them. With Mobile Worklists, your library can minimize material handling and transporting items to workstations, going to where the items are to access the materials.
This workshop will be beneficial to any library staff responsible for gathering statistics, running reports on usage, and making collection development decisions for their library. Decision Center is a Comprehensive collection management and analytics solution that provides library staff with dynamic tools to report, analyze, and make action-oriented decisions and recommendations regarding collection management. Decision Center helps libraries match supply and demand to deliver optimized service. By using current and complete data - about circulation, holds, transits, patrons, and acquisitions - Decision Center provides you with actionable insights to help your library improve patron-driven acquisitions while streamlining collection management workflows.
You can register for any of these sessions through the MHLS online calendar.
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Census Day is April 1st
, but many people have already completed their Census
online
or by phone using their Census ID number or street address. As we practice social distancing, the most important thing we can do right now is let people know how important it is for them to complete their Census.
Social media and email newsletters
are a good way to do this while our buildings are closed. Census responses mean funding for schools, roads, health care, emergency services, businesses, and more. Visit
www.2020Census.gov
if you haven't completed yours yet.
Check Out Your Community's Response Rate
Do you know how many households in your community have completed their Census?
This map
is updated each day with self-response rates to give you a quick look at how many people have responded to the Census. Many towns in our area are near a 20% response rate currently. If you want to push your community's response rates up, try using some social media messages like
these
or
these
.
Census Overview Webinar Available
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Reference & Collection Development
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The Talking Book and Braille Library is temporarily closed until further notice
. Patrons of a regional library from the National Library Service for the Blind can sign up for BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) membership. BARD is a web-based, password-protected service that provides access to thousands of audio and braille books, magazines, and music scores available from the NLS. The service is available to registered users of the braille and talking book program through their local braille and talking book library. Patrons need to be registered with a local or regional NLS library to access BARD. For more information, visit
https://bit.ly/2UoFcG3
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Join MHLS Outreach & Engagement Specialist Courtney Wimmers for a
Virtual Program Discussion on Thursday, April 2nd from 10:00-11:00am.
The goal of this meeting is to talk about virtual programming while library facilities are closed. Library staff can share how they have held virtual programs and ask questions they may have about getting started with programming in a different environment. MHLS member library staff who work on programming for all ages are invited
.
Register here
for this event.
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Administration & Management
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Deadlines for the State Aid for Library Construction Program currently remain unchanged
. Libraries interested in applying for funds through this program should attend the upcoming webinar Applying for Funds Through the State Aid for Library Construction Program on April 23rd for an introduction to the Grant Program and an orientation for how to take the first step to apply in the new grant cycle - the submission of the MHLS Action Memo reporting a library's construction needs and intent to apply for a grant. The MHLS Action Memo for Construction funding will be released in April, and all libraries must respond to this action memo.
Register here
for
the April 23rd webinar. If you have any questions about the State Aid for Library Construction Program, contact Library Sustainability Coordinator, Casey Conlin,
[email protected]
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