Gather & Grow Virtual Conference | | |
The annual Gather & Grow conference takes place December 4, 2026, from 9:15 AM – 3 PM. Join colleagues from across the region for a day of virtual learning and connection brought to you by the Mid-Hudson Library System (MHLS) in partnership with several other public library systems, including Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System, Finger Lakes Library System, Four County Library System, North Country Library System, OWWL Library System, Southern Tier Library System, and Westchester Library System.
The Southern Tier Library System, who founded this online conference, hosts this annual virtual event to enable participants to receive continuing education, build professional networks, and discover new products and services for professional use.
The 2026 Gather & Grow conference keynote session will be presented by Eric Rosswood, on the topic of “The Ripple Effect: How Small, Intentional Acts of Inclusion Can Have Big, Meaningful Impacts.” Rosswood has spent most of his life trying to make the world a better place for people in the LGBTQ+ community, from starting a Gay Straight Alliance while in high school, to working on the campaign for marriage equality in California. Now he writes books to inspire young readers by showing them the possibilities he never saw available to him when he was a kid. In this keynote, Eric will discuss how he stays motivated to create positive change even when it seems like an uphill battle. He will also reflect on how libraries play a key role in inspiring people and how it doesn’t always take a big budget to create inclusive spaces. Sometimes, big impacts can be made with small, intentional actions.
The keynote session will be followed by three one-hour sessions with three program tracks to choose from:
- Track 1: Library Administration and Trustee Education
o Hiring a Library Director, Legal Issues for Libraries, and the Board President/Library Director Relationship
- Track 2: Library Programming
o Early Literacy Programming, Teen Amazing Race, and Navigating AI Hype
- Track 3: Advocacy & Access
o Accessibility Action Plan, Serving Neurodivergent Patrons, and Library Advocacy
Included in the day’s sessions is a presentation by Courtney Tsahalis, Director of the Millbrook Library, on “Serving Neurodivergent Patrons.”
Register here for Gather & Grow 2026.
| | Special Meeting of the MHLS Board of Trustees to be held directly after the MHLS Annual Membership Meeting at The Wallace Center of the FDR Presidential Library & Museum in Hyde Park, NY on Friday, October 23 at 12:30 PM. | | |
Starr Library is debuting two new clubs this October!
The Offline Club is an invitation to leave your phone at the door, make space for a quiet activity like sketching, journaling, knitting, doing a puzzle, or reading, and connect with like-minded people along the way.
The Album Club, led by Richard McKay, musician and co-organizer of Rhinebeck's Porchfest, is perfect for anyone who loves nerding out about music.
These join other staples of Starr’s calendar, including Cooking Club, Book Clubs, Scrabble and Mahjong clubs, memoir workshop, Nerds at Nite, and many other opportunities to meet people and connect over shared interests.
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REMINDER: Bridgebuilding in Libraries: Community Conversations with Humanities New York | October 27 | 2 – 3 PM | Online
Join Humanities New York (HNY) to learn about their Community Conversations and how to bring the program to your library. HNY Community Conversations are small, facilitated dialogues hosted in trusted public spaces (libraries, museums, campuses, and community centers) across New York State. Each session centers on a short text, image, or artifact that invites participants to reflect on questions of meaning, justice, belonging, and change. Each conversation lasts approximately 60–90 minutes and brings together 15–25 participants for structured, reflective dialogue.
HNY serves people across New York State, especially those seeking meaning and understanding in the society and culture where they live and work. Their programs create opportunities for New Yorkers to reflect on enduring human questions, engage unfinished ideas, and build stronger community ties grounded in mutual respect and shared recognition. Bring your questions and curiosity!
Meet the presenters from Humanities New York:
- Joe Murphy, Director of Strategic Partnerships
- Rachel Pitkin, Humanities Programs Specialist
| | Resource Sharing & Sierra | |
Introduction to OverDrive Marketplace | December 3 | 2 – 3 PM | Online
In this webinar, Nina Acosta, MHLS Data Operations Supervisor, will provide an orientation to the OverDrive Marketplace for library staff. We will review several reports to help you better understand your patrons’ usage of OverDrive/Libby, and review tools and features that make it quicker and easier to build your Advantage Plus collection.
| | MHLS Data Operations Supervisor, Nina Acosta has put together a curated collection of eBooks and audiobooks on OverDrive in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. This collection is pinned to the front page of https://mhls.overdrive.com/ and will be up throughout October. | | |
The Public Library Association (PLA) has opened its 2026 Public Library Technology Survey – a national survey looking at technology resources, training, staffing, and funding in public libraries, with new questions on artificial intelligence and digital accessibility.
The survey’s goals are to better understand how libraries bridge the digital divide and highlight challenges that demand attention from policymakers, funders, and decisionmakers.
Learn more about how to participate here.
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REMINDER: MHLS Trustee Education Series: Board Development - Recruitment, Orientation, Education and Evaluation | October 27 | 5:30 – 7:30 PM | Cairo Public Library, 15 Railroad Avenue, Cairo
Successful library board take deliberate steps to actively recruit members; ensures that new trustees go through an onboarding/orientation process that gives them a solid basis for participating on the board; providing access to continuing education that helps them fulfill their role and responsibilities; and engage in a self-evaluation process that helps the board identify areas for improvement that helps elevate the experience for all trustees.
Join Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, MHLS Executive Director and co-author of the Handbook for Library Trustees of New York State to learn about best practices on this topic.
Attendance at this event can be applied toward the NYS Trustee Education Requirements.
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REMINDER: Trustee Handbook Book Club: Duties & Responsibilities of Key Officer Roles | October 29 | 5:00 – 6:30 PM | Online
Join co-author of the Handbook For Library Trustees of New York State Rebekkah Smith Aldrich and friends for this fun and informative series! At each session, trustees will take a deeper dive on a topic relevant to their role and responsibilities as a library trustee.
In this session, the team discusses Duties & Responsibilities of Key Officer Roles. Panelists TBD.
Have questions for the panelists? Submit them here.
This event qualifies as trustee education and may be applied towards the NYS Trustee Education Requirements.
| | Administration & Management | |
Incarcerated Individual Reference Request Procedure: A reminder to all MHLS member libraries that should you receive - by mail - a reference request directly from an incarcerated individual in a correctional facility you should not respond to them.
Please send the letter including the envelope to MHLS, ATTN: Kerstin Cruger, to forward to the senior librarian at their correctional facility. This will legitimize and facilitate their access to information as the NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision has a mechanism and procedure for information sent to the incarcerated, and it must involve the facility library. Keep in mind that there is seemingly innocent information that certain incarcerated individuals are not allowed to have, due to their history of criminal actions, and when the requests come to you unmediated by a facility librarian it is not possible to determine what those specific parameters are.
The best way to serve this patron, if they contact your library directly, is to send the request to Kerstin Cruger, Outreach & EDI Specialist at MHLS through the delivery.
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Recordings from the webinar series offered over the past several months have now been captioned and added to a new playlist on the New York State Library YouTube channel.
This series came about following the NYS Board of Regents’ approval of an amendment to paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) of section 90.2 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education relating to New York Public and Association Library Minimum Standard #4 Board-approved written policies, which was updated to include specific policies which must be reviewed and updated at least once every five years or earlier if required by law:
- The selection of library materials and reconsideration of such selection
- Public usage of library space and meeting rooms
- Codes of conduct
- Confidentiality of library records
- Internal library policies related to:
o Personnel policies that ensure consistent staff management and fair employment practices
o Disaster preparedness
o Financial control policies that fulfill the legal and fiduciary responsibilities of the governing body and promote fiscal oversight, accountability, and sustainable management
In addition, the Public Library System Directors Organization (PULISDO) and the New York State Library recently updated the Helpful Information for Meeting Minimum Public Library Standards webpage to support libraries in developing or reconsidering these policies.
If you have any questions regarding these updates or suggestions for future programs and resources, please reach out to Tor Loney at tor.loney@nysed.gov.
| | Green Haven Correctional Facility has an opening for a Full-Time Senior Librarian. Librarians 1 & 2 may also submit their applications for consideration. Salary Range: $73,755 - $93,682. The application period closes on November 8, 2026. View the full job description. | | | | |
