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Cheery Friday Greetings,
There are several items to share in our first newsletter of the summer!
Welcome to Our Newest Members! We are delighted to welcome two new members to SCRLC: Guernsey Memorial Library in Norwich and the Howland Stone Store Museum in Aurora. Both have joined primarily to contribute materials and objects to New York Heritage Digital Collections.
Congratulations to Curtis Kendrick! Congratulations to Curtis on his retirement from academia, most recently at Binghamton University. Curtis is a former SCRLC Board member and has been an active participant on numerous committees, including the recent Plan of Service 2026–2031 Design Team. He will be greatly missed and we wish him all the best!
Binghamton University will host a reception in Curtis’s honor on July 16 from 2:00–3:30 p.m. in the South Study Lounge at Bartle Library. No RSVP is necessary.
Annual Membership Survey. As part of our new Plan of Service, SCRLC will conduct annual membership surveys. This year’s survey is launching a bit later than it will in future years, but we have built in an extended response period to accommodate summer vacations and library workers who have 9- or 10-month contracts. We hope you will participate!
Membership Dues. Danna is in the process of emailing annual membership dues invoices to each library, library system, or organization’s designated SCRLC contact—usually, though not always, the director. Please keep an eye out, as these messages occasionally end up in spam folders.
An important reminder regarding dues: although the membership voted to authorize the Board of Trustees to increase dues by up to 3% annually for the next three years beginning this year, the Board voted to keep dues at 2025–2026 levels in recognition of inflationary pressures and the many uncertainties our members are facing.
Most members pay their dues promptly. As outlined in our Membership Expectations:
“Non-payment of dues without good cause shown within four months after the beginning of the fiscal year (July 1) may result in loss of membership benefits. Dues must be current for a member to receive grant funds from SCRLC.”
Annual Meeting. Save the Date! SCRLC’s 60th (!!) Annual Meeting will take place on Tuesday, October 20 in the auditorium of the Corning Museum of Glass.
This year, we’re excited to introduce two new elements: Lightning Talks and a Time Capsule.
Here are a few ideas for Lightning Talks (5–10 minutes each):
- The best (or favorite!) innovation your institution has tried (remember: innovation means something new to your library—not necessarily new to the world!)
- The biggest community need you see emerging
- Unexpected partnerships and what happened
- Anything else you would like to share with the library and cultural education community
A Google Form for submitting proposals will be available soon.
The second new feature will be a Time Capsule, which will be sealed at this year’s annual meeting and opened at SCRLC’s 100th Annual Meeting in 2066.
There will also be an optional tour of the museum afterward, including the new exhibit, Tough Stuff: Women in the American Glass Studio.
Special thanks to Hugh McHarg, Director of the Rakow Research Library, and the Corning Museum of Glass for sponsoring the space and helping make this possible.
Much more to follow!
Field Visits. In the last couple of weeks I've visited Alfred University, the Greater Oneonta Historical Society, Hartwick College, Houghton University, Huntington Memorial Library, SUNY Cortland, and SUNY Oneonta. We're trying to combine visits in a very sustainable way (SCRLC is 10,045 square miles), but if there is a particular day and time that you'd be up for a visit, please email me--or, fill out our special field visit form. I look forward to seeing you!
Have safe and happy 4th of July/250th!
Yours in partnership,
Mary-Carol
Mary-Carol Lindbloom
Executive Director
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