Mexican Consulate on Wheels April 28 – May 2 | | |
The Poughkeepsie Public Library District in partnership with the Mid-Hudson Library System and Revolucion Radio Online bring the Consulate on Wheels to the Mid-Hudson Library System Auditorium (105 Market Street, Poughkeepsie) April 28 – May 2.
The Consulate General of Mexico provides its Consulate on Wheels in places where it may be difficult to travel to the consular headquarters in the United States, so that they can process important documents, such as passports and consular IDs.
We encourage all member libraries to advertise this opportunity to their local communities. Access the image file to create posts or add to newsletters or print and cut out postcards to handout. All materials are in Spanish.
All sessions are by appointment only between the times of 9:00 am – 1:00 pm. Appointments can be made by calling MiConsulado 1-424-309-0009. Appointments typically open two weeks prior to the date of the Consulate on Wheels visit.
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Message from the Executive Director:
Happy National Library Week! (April 19-25) Our theme this year is "Find Your Library Joy!" to highlight how libraries strengthen communities and support lifelong learning.
When I think about how I find my "Library Joy," I just have to read a member library newsletter or scan your social media feeds. Our libraries bring joy to so many, in so many creative, unexpected, and meaningful ways.
Recently I found joy in seeing the Pawling Library host "Anything Can Happen Day!" at the Pawling Elementary School, a weekly program with different projects and activities to make healthy and creative snacks and arts & crafts with students; watching the Reed Memorial Library in Carmel bring back the legendary local history walk with Mrs. Gebhardt, Mrs. Decatur, and Mrs. Ciccone, beloved retired 4th grade teachers in their community; receiving invitations to ribbon cuttings at the Roeliff Jansen Community Library for their new pavilion and the Woodstock Library to celebrate the completion of their new facility – all of these things bring me joy.
But what I am most joyous about is the everyday success I see exhibited by library directors, library workers, library trustees and Friends. From getting the right book into someone's hands, to advocating for state aid, to defending the right to read at the federal level, to putting ourselves out there to ensure our libraries are stable, sustainable, resilient, and thriving - you are what makes me most joyous of all.
Thank you for all you do!
-Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, MHLS Executive Director
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The Pawling Free Library is one of 10 libraries in the US who have been selected to be part of a new program called the Teen Dialogue Accelerator, that empowers teens to host conversations of civic life, democracy and the future of work. It is about helping teens to strengthen their civic muscle and have a voice in the decisions that shape their lives. Their stories and insights will become part of a growing national picture, starting right here in our own community.
Young people, ages 14 through 19 years are invited to join one of these conversations around the 250th anniversary of the United States and what, if anything, it means in today's world.
Made possible through a generous grant from Cortico, MIT Center for Constructive Communication, and PBS Frontline.
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The Hudson Children’s Book Festival on May 2nd in Hudson will include tabling by the Hudson Area Library and is also sponsored by the Hudson Area Library and Friends of the Hudson Area Library, among others.
Hudson Children's Book Festival | Saturday, May 2 | 10 AM - 3 PM | Columbia-Greene Community College, 4400 NY-23, Hudson
This free, public event fosters a love of reading as families meet and greet world-class creators of books for children of all ages. Features 75 authors and illustrators, 25 community organizations, food trucks and vendors, and storybook characters available for photos. Thanks to generous donors, every child who attends will be given a coupon for a free book of their choosing from any author. For more information, visit https://hudsonchildrensbookfestival.org/.
| | Resource Sharing & Sierra | |
REMINDER: Sierra Data Entry – Items and Bibliographic Records | April 23 | 2 – 3 PM | Online
This webinar is intended for any staff who enter brief bibliographic or item records into Sierra. Nina Acosta, MHLS Data Operations Supervisor, will go over the information to include in each field, and how that information may differ depending on the type of material being cataloged.
You may also be interested in the session Sierra Data Entry: Serials and Order Records on April 30th. These sessions are independent of one another. You may sign up for one or both.
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REMINDER: Comprehensive Circulation | April 27 | 1 – 3 PM | Online
This webinar will provide a wide look at circulation policies, procedures, and workflows at the Mid-Hudson Library System. Topics will include the Resource Sharing Standards, Sierra, Vega, and other elements of the integrated library system that support circulation. We will cover the basics procedures of Sierra circulation as well as more advanced areas and functions.
This session is intended for staff who work in circulation at any experience level as well as all MHLS member library staff who are interested. This is a good chance to get your questions answered as well as brush up. Feel free to send in advance any questions or specific topics that we should be sure to cover to kbrew@midhudson.org.
Comprehensive Circulation training is presented twice yearly as a live webinar. Find more resources, instructions, and recordings on the Mid-Hudson website and Training on Demand.
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414 Meet-Up | May 26 | 2 – 3 PM | Online
At this meet-up we'll check in with MHLS member library teams going for a 414 vote this year, share best practices and ensure your team is on track to hit all of the required milestones for a successful vote. This is also an opportunity to learn from your peers also working on 414 vote campaigns this year.
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The CT State Library Division of Library Development (CTDLD) has been selected as a grant recipient of the Young Futures’ Oops!... AI Did It Again Challenge, its first dedicated funding initiative for nonprofits at the intersection of youth and AI. CTDLD is also recruiting libraries in and outside of CT to participate in this project.
What is it? GIANT Remix Stations: AI-Powered Creative Storytelling Program for Youth in New England Public Libraries. The Connecticut State Library in partnership with The GIANT Room will expand a defined set of supervised, pop-up “GIANT Remix Stations” in public libraries to provide hands-on AI literacy and creative storytelling experiences for young people ages 10-19 and their caregivers.
Participating libraries will receive librarian training, community co-design sessions, installation/operation of stations in libraries, creation/publication of youth artifacts (books/trading cards), and digital access to creations.
If you are interested in participating, please reach out to Dawn Lavalle at dawn.lavalle@ct.gov or Suzanne Kiss at Suzanne.E.Kiss@ct.gov by Friday, May 1, 2026.
For more details, please visit the Young Futures LibGuide.
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Quality over Quantity! Reimagining your Library's Program Planning | May 28 | 2 – 4 PM | Desmond-Fish Public Library, 472 NY-403, Garrison
Join us at the Desmond-Fish Public Library in Garrison for a discussion led by Programming Librarian, Justice McCray focused on Quality over Quantity with program planning. In this discussion, we'll explore some of the unique programs the Desmond-Fish Library has been able to offer and how they came to be.
Additionally, we'll discuss:
- ways to adapt to community needs as they change,
- how less can sometimes be more,
- when to sunset programs, and
- how to lean into the unique opportunities your library and area have to offer.
Bring your walking shoes! We will also take a tour of the library grounds and other spaces that the Desmond-Fish Library utilizes for programming.
About Justice:
Justice McCray (they/them) has been working in libraries for over 10 years, starting as a Teen Geek and Page at the Howland Public Library in Beacon New York. In 2019 they began working at the Desmond-Fish Library, supporting patrons with tech help, circulation, managing social media, learning as Assistant Programming Librarian, and finally stepping into their current role as head of programs. Outside of their library work, Justice organizes the Annual Beacon Juneteenth Riverfront Festival, is a former City Councilperson for the City of Beacon (2022-23) and currently helps run a free breakfast program Tuesdays-Thursdays through their nonprofit, Beacon's Backyard. In their free time, you can find them at the gym, practicing archery, baking, volunteering, or at a drag show.
| | 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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