Vol.26-40 | 10.6.26

Mid-Hudson Library System (MHLS) is pleased to share that three member libraries and four MHLS staff will be celebrated at the MHLS Annual Membership Meeting scheduled for Friday, October 23rd at The Wallace Center of the FDR Presidential Library & Museum in Hyde Park!

Outstanding Accomplishment Award Winners:

• Marlboro Library - Grand Opening of their newly expanded and renovated library facility
• Olive Free Library - Completion of the Sustainable Library Certification Program
• Rosendale Library - Success of their recent Building Referendum to fund the expansion and renovation of their library facility 



Staff Service Milestone Awards:

• John Barath, Delivery Operations Clerk - 15 years
• Kathryn Brew, ILS and Technology Operations Specialist - 5 years
• Kerstin Cruger, Outreach and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Specialist - 25 years
• Gerry Formby, IT Operations Supervisor - 20 years

We hope you will join us at the Annual Membership Meeting to help cheer on our colleagues listed above! 

In addition to our business meeting we will host keynote speaker Jennie Rose Halperin, Executive Director of Library Futures. Jennie will be presenting on the topic of The Internet of Licenses: Contracts, copyright, AI, and the future of libraries.  

Libraries account for an enormous amount of digital content purchasing, spending millions of dollars every year to provide their users with the best materials possible. These digital materials now make up half of all patron lends in many parts of the country, even as they spend up to 75% of their collections budget on digital materials. Despite spending so much money, libraries do not own these materials — they are sold and controlled by a handful of entrenched market intermediaries and publishers through contracts where the terms are determined by the stronger party. As major publishers and archives seek to license their digital catalogs to AI companies, the digital services that have transitioned from tools to infrastructure are exerting even more power over our lives as patrons and consumers. We've been signing away our rights one click at a time, at the expense of democracy, civil rights, informed consent, and the well-being of a digital generation. If we want to take them back, libraries are the most powerful place we can start.

Jennie Rose Halperin (she/her/hers) is a digital strategist, community builder, and librarian who serves as Director of Library Futures. She is focused on growing the organization and its reach and fostering a culture of open, inclusive leadership to support equitable library policy, technology, and advocacy. Jennie joins Library Futures from Harvard Law School Library, where she served as the Assistant Director for Outreach and Community Engagement. Previously, she managed communications for Creative Commons and worked on growth and community at O’Reilly Media and Mozilla. A committed civic leader, in 2018, she was chosen for Boston Mayor Marty Walsh’s SPARK Cohort for Millennial Leaders and received a New Urban Mechanics Public Space Invitational Grant in 2019. In 2021, she was named a visionary by Public Knowledge – a “future leader who will drive tech policy in the public interest for the next 20 years.”

After the meeting, attendees are invited to visit the Presidential Museum for free. Just be sure to pick up a museum button when you check-in at the MHLS registration table that morning. 

Library directors, workers, trustees, and Friends are welcome to attend!

REGISTRATION INFORMATION 

• Registration Fee: $45
• Registration Deadline: Friday, October 16th at 5 PM 
• Register Here

With attendance, 1 hour of Trustee Education credit will apply toward the NYS Trustee Education Requirements.

Questions about this event can be directed to swerskey@midhudson.org. Please include MHLS Annual Membership Meeting in the subject line. 

Introduction to Sierra Create Lists | November 12 | 10 AM – 12 PM | Online

This session introduces one of the most powerful tools in the Sierra ILS – Create Lists

After attending this session, you should be able to retrieve basic lists of records into a group for reporting, editing or extracting.

• Functions & workflows
• Creating the search
• Basic lists

REMINDER: Please clear your holdshelf every day the library is open. Clearing the holdshelf purges the holds table of more than the items on your physical holdshelf, it also removes cancelled and expired holds. Please do your part in keeping this very critical process running smoothly by making this a priority task every morning. 

You can find instructions and a video tutorial in the Resources for Member Libraries section on the MHLS website.

Part-time Children’s/Youth Services and Programming Associate – Roeliff Jansen Community Library, Copake

The Roeliff Jansen Community Library in Copake is seeking an energetic and creative Children’s/Youth Services and Programming Associate to develop and oversee the Library’s children’s and young adult collections and programs. The Associate, who reports to the Director of the Library, also assists with adult programs, circulation and reference duties, materials processing, and community outreach. Hourly rate will be $24-26/hour, depending on qualifications and experience. A full job description can be found at roejanlibrary.org.

MHLS recommends that the minimum starting salary of a full or part-time librarian with an MLS degree be at least equal to that of a teacher with a master’s degree in the same community.