IN THIS ISSUE
Access the
Contact Us
The MHLS Bulletin welcomes submissions from member libraries.
Top
Volume 20-06 | 2.11.20
MHLS Board Meets
The MHLS Board of Trustees held a meeting on Saturday, February 1st in the MHLS Auditorium and:
  • Received a detailed presentation from Executive Director Aldrich on the new and expanded 2020 Action Plan initiatives for System services, as prioritized in the System's 5-year Plan of Service. The board unanimously approved the Action Plan for 2020.
  • Took action to amend MHLS Personnel Policies: (1) Approved an amendment related to the System's "Leave Related to Victims of Domestic Violence" policy; and (2) Approved adoption of a "Discrimination Based on Reproductive Health Decision" policy.
  • Reviewed the System's Conflict of Interest Policy, and were requested to sign and return the "MHLS Conflict of Interest Policy Disclosure Statement".
  • Reviewed "key talking points" and issues to discuss with legislators at local office visits and during NYLA Library Advocacy Day, Tuesday, February 25, 2020, in Albany, NY.
  • Were presented an update on the status of System efforts to "Get the Word Out" about the 2020 Census and help to prepare member library staff to assist patrons with completing the online survey.
All MHLS Board documents available at   https://board.midhudson.org/
 
The next meeting of the Board is Saturday, March 21, 2020 at 10:00am in the MHLS Auditorium.
MHLS Announcements
man smiling
Ric Swierat, MHLS Board President

WHAT IS A LIBRARY?
The MHLS Board started their February 1st board meeting with a discussion of this question to guide our advocacy work.
 
While we may understand the importance of our libraries and the Mid-Hudson Library System,  we must not take it for granted that our state legislators realize how important and necessary we are to the well-being and civic engagement in our local communities . The legislature has many constituencies and issues, but libraries and library systems are one of the few institutions that impact all constituencies in our communities.
 
So, what is a library? The MHLS Board started a list... from a space for education and accessing critical information to guide our lives; programs for youth, seniors, and families; career and employment counselling; tax preparation; social engagement, internet access and much more. In many communities, if there were no library, there would be social and community isolation.
 
The MHLS Board will be represented on February 25th at the annual Library Advocacy Day in Albany to inform our legislators about the impact of libraries and our system in their districts. Please help us by sharing your stories: https://midhudson.org/real-people-real-dollars/ 
________________________________________________________________

MHLS will be closed on Monday February 17th  in observance of Presidents' Day. There will be no deliveries and the MHLS ticket system will not be monitored

REMINDER:  All member library Annual Reports are due by Friday, February 14th.

MHLS Libraries
Woman Standing 
Welcome to Evelyn Rogers, the new director of the Saugerties Public Library!
Evelyn was previously the director of a library in Sullivan County, and is ready to accept the challenge of working with a larger community and larger staff. She has a long history of volunteering with several different types of non-profits. Evelyn says that "Volunteering and being of service to others has given me the opportunity to have many new experiences."
Resource Sharing & Sierra
OverDrive has introduced push notifications to the Libby app . Users are now able to select Manage Notifications from within the Libby menu, where they can set notification preferences for any of the following account activity:
  • A loan nearing its due date
  • A title was automatically returned at the end of its loan period
  • A hold is available to borrow
  • A hold is nearing the end of its checkout window
  • A hold was not checked out in time and is no longer available to borrow
Patrons will also have the option to receive notices when new tutorials are available. Libby notifications will help guide users through the new options. For more information please visit the  Libby Help   page: https://help.libbyapp.com/index.htm 

Overdrive is also introducing Hold Redelivery which will go live on the week of March 2nd. Hold redelivery will give patrons more flexibility to manage their holds and allow them to suspend a hold even after it's made available to them, while maintaining their place on the wait list. By enabling users to pass books they don't have time to read on to the next person in line, hold redelivery will help your library connect more readers to the right book, at the right time.
Logo  
MHLS has created marketing materials that can be used to promote these new features on social media or in your newsletter. To access these materials, go to: https://midhudson.org/topics/sustainable-libraries/marketing-pr/libby-marketing-materials/
Sustainable Libraries
Join us on Friday, March 27th from 10:00-11:30am for the next MHLS Social Media Roundtable. In this session we will be discussing:
  • How to respond to difficult social media comments
  • The importance of a social media policy
  • What should (and shouldn't) be posted on library social media pages
This roundtable is for all member library staff and trustees to discuss how libraries use social media, ask questions, share their current practices, and learn about upcoming trends in the marketing world that will affect libraries.
 
Please register for this workshop through the MHLS online calendar http://calendar.midhudson.org/
In the News
Local
National