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Volume 18-50 | 12.11.18 
Merribeth Advocate Retires!
After twenty years of service Merribeth Advocate, MHLS Assistant Director, has announced her retirement from the Mid-Hudson Library System. Merribeth's last day will be Friday, December 14th.

Merribeth has created a legacy to be proud of. From her leadership as interim director during the aftermath of the recession, which resulted in the financial stability of our organization to her many years serving as a mentor to Outreach Coordinators throughout the state, her work has left an indelible mark on our organization and the library profession in New York State. Merribeth's kindness, compassion and sensitivity toward system staff, our MHLS members and NYS colleagues has truly defined a platinum standard of customer service that is a big part of why MHLS staff are successful across the board.



(left)  Merribeth at the Directors Association Annual Appreciation Luncheon. (right) posing for her banned books picture at the Roeliff Jansen Community Library.
 
The entire Mid-Hudson Library System community is grateful for the 20 years Merribeth has spent working with our member libraries and mentoring dozens of system staff as well as individuals within our library community, throughout New York State. Merribeth's enthusiasm, thoughtfulness and dedication will be greatly missed but her legacy will live on! Merribeth has infused her colleagues and peers with an indomitable spirit that carries us forward and inspires us to continue her great works.

On December 8th the MHLS Board of Trustees passed a resolution recognizing Merribeth's significant contribution to MHLS as well as her impact throughout the state.

In recognition of Merribeth's legacy of kindness towards others,
MHLS staff have declared November 13th (World Kindness Day) to be  Merribeth Advocate Day  at MHLS. While kindness towards others is important every day, on this date, in particular, random acts of kindness in honor of Merribeth will be encouraged.
 
After December 14th if you have questions regarding any of the following topics please contact the staff member indicated:
  • Family & Adult Literacy Grants: Kerstin Cruger, Library Sustainability Associate & Communications Specialist | [email protected]
  • Prison Library Donations & Letters from Inmates: Tara Stohr, ILL/Cataloging Specialist | [email protected]
MHLS Announcements
MHLS Member Library Mileage Equalization Grant Program deadline: December 15th is the last deadline to take advantage of the 2018 MHLS Member Library Mileage Equalization Grant Program. Reimbursement is contingent on member libraries providing their staff reimbursement at the IRS rate for travel to attend training or to participate in meetings sponsored by and located at MHLS headquarters in Poughkeepsie. For more information and to access the claim form directors should visit http://da.midhudson.org/
Programming
The 2019 Summer Reading Manuals are now available for all member libraries. Manuals can be accessed online through the Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) site https://www.cslpreads.org/  To access the manuals you must first create a free account with CSLP. For directions please visit https://midhudson.org/summer-reading-program/  

Questions? Contact Kerstin Cruger at [email protected]
 
Looking for activities, websites, how-to videos, training, and more for the 2019 Summer Learning Theme ? Join the STAR Library Network for an overview of vetted, free resources available through NASA, the STAR Library Network, and the STEM Activity Clearinghouse. Presenters will walk you through how to find, access, and sort through these resources and offer guidance on how your library can best utilize them!
 
Resource Overview Webinar for "A Universe of Stories" Tuesday, December 18th, at 4:00 pm | R egister at   http://bit.ly/2EbWDmk

Administration & Management
New to filling out the Annual Report to the State? No worries! MHLS is here for you! The MHLS Annual Report Workshop for New Directors is designed for Directors who are new to submitting the NYS Annual Report online with Bibliostat software, but is open to all. All 2018 annual reports are due Friday, February 15th.

The workshop is hands-on so space is limited. You will actually be entering your library's data so bring data to be entered. The workshop will cover:
  • Logging in to the software
  • Entering your data
  • Dealing with "Edit Checks"
  • Writing State and Federal notes
  • Submitting your report
Register for one of the following sessions which will be held in the MHLS Conference Room (103 Market Street, Poughkeepsie) at http://calendar.midhudson.org

*Please note that if the state has not turned on the software for data entry on the original date we will reschedule to the snow date.

As discussed at the November DA meeting MHLS has arranged for an online demo of the KnowBe4.com Security Awareness training modules product (which includes a module related to the newly mandated sexual harassment prevention training for staff, cybersecurity training and more than 700 other safety, security and HR training modules).

Thanks to a cooperatively negotiated deal this product, at the "Diamond level" (the level where you can access the mandated sexual harassment prevention training module) costs $11 per employee per year for MHLS member libraries.

This live demo is scheduled for Monday, December 17th from 1:00-2:00 pm.

Please register through the MHLS Online Calendar at http://calendar.midhudson.org

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