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Cheery Friday Greetings,
Our 60th annual meeting was held this past Tuesday. Many thanks to Hugh McHarg, Director of the Rakow Research Library and the entire leadership team at the Corning Museum of Glass for sponsoring us! Here are some highlights:
The slate of new Board of Trustee members was approved. Joining the Board for their first term beginning in January:
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Leah Dodd, Director of Olin & Uris Libraries, Cornell University Library
- Heidi Eckerson, Member Services Librarian, Finger Lakes Library System
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Jesse Koennecke, Senior Assistant Dean for Collections and Technology Services,
Binghamton University Libraries
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Jennifer Kronenbitter, Library Director, Memorial Library, SUNY Cortland
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Kelly McGuire, School Library System Coordinator, Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES
Returning for her second term:
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Karin Wikoff, Member. Board of Trustees, Aurora Ledyard Historical Society
Congratulations to all of our Award Winners, as well! Follow that link for more information and pictures, too!
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Excellence in Action: Hannah Benson, Reference and Access Services Librarian, Keuka College Lightner Library
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Defender of Intellectual Freedom Award. Carrie Blabac-Myers, Director for Academic, Community and Global Engagement, Binghamton University Libraries
- Prism Award for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Accessibility.
Sasha Frizzell, Catalog/Metadata Librarian, Binghamton University Libraries
(on behalf of the Cataloging and Metadata unit)
Our SCRLC Spirit Award Winners:
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Sarah Shank,Access Services Manager, Ithaca College Library
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Diane Capalongo, Administrative Services Manager, SCRLC. It was quite a challenge to pull this off without Diane finding out! As she prepares to transition into retirement after 19 years, we wanted to take this opportunity to recognize her many contributions over the years and express just how much she will be missed.
Thanks, too, to our amazing keynote speaker, Dr. Claire Wardle, Cornell University, Lauren Cardinal from the NY State Library’s Division of Library Development—and our Lightning Talk presenters: Doyin Adenuga and Jesse Sharpe, Houghton University; Maggie McNeely, Binghamton University Libraries; Jessica Magelaner, Cortland Free Library; Haleigh Mikolajczyk, Southern Tier Library System; and Lori Fuller, Rakow Research Library. It was heartening to hear about regional projects and initiatives that are having such a positive impact.
At the meeting, we also unveiled the membership versions of both our Annual Report 2025-2026 and the Plan of Service. They’re nearly ready to be posted, though we still need to make a few accessibility-related changes to both documents.
Since this was our 60th anniversary, I took a somewhat longer look back, including at our first meeting on October 19, 1967. In today’s world, I find it amazing that our early meetings were held in the evening. In fact, our inaugural meeting began at 8:00 p.m.! Can you imagine? There were 10 members and 24 participants present. The minutes from that meeting—and many others—are available on NYHeritage.org.
What concerned the Council 60 years ago? Communication and awareness of the Council and its resources, delivery, discovery, and even the possibility of a central storage and exchange facility for member libraries. These concerns are not so different from the challenges we face today, though we now have additional issues competing for our attention, including book challenges, attacks on library workers, misinformation, and AI.
Indeed, from the beginning we have worked to bridge gaps, long before terms such as digital divide and digital equity entered our vocabulary. As horrific as the pandemic was, libraries found new ways to meet community needs, expand access, and help bridge the digital divide, including curbside delivery, WiFi available in parking lots, and more telehealth capabilities.
I also provided a glimpse into some of our upcoming projects and priorities:
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Implementing our new Plan of Service. We have begun translating its goals into action, through working with our advisory committees, Board, and members to identify opportunities and priorities. The 2026-2027 Work Plan is available here.
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The Freedom Seekers Underground Railroad Traveling exhibit. We expect it to be ready to circulate at the beginning of 2027. As you know, 2027 marks the 200th anniversary of the legal abolition of slavery in New York State.
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Sullivan Clinton Expedition/Invasion exhibit. We may also develop an exhibit for 2029, which will examine this invasion of Haudenosaunee lands.
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Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI). As you may know, SCRLC enrolled in the SLI’s certification program, and we are making progress. I am not certain we’ll complete the process in 2026-2027, but we should be close if not finished. Of course, sustainability is an on-going effort and commitment not simply a certificate to achieve and box to check.
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Learning Opportunities. We’ll continue to work with ESLN on a variety of new learning opportunities, including an AI series that begins in December.
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Ask the Grant Advisor. SCRLC is one of the councils piloting Ask the Grant Advisor. As an SCRLC member, you are welcome to apply to this service.
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Field Visits. We’ll be making more field visits in the coming year to connect with members and learn more about needs and priorities.
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AI Policy.We’re developing an AI policy that we hope to bring to the Board for approval at its December meeting. I expect it will provide a broad framework to guide our use of AI, rather than attempt to address every possible application or scenario.
- And, of course, we'll continue providing our core services, including digitization, learning opportunities, DEIJA initiatives and information, Bibliographic & Referral Center (BARC), electronic resources, and collaborative support—while looking for new ways to respond to emerging needs.
SCRLC’s Board of Trustees also held a brief, but important meeting that day. Trustees approved a budget amendment now that we have a clearer picture of our state aid and health insurance costs are known. As part of that adjustment, we were able to free up funds to support additional digitization projects. If you had applied for a digitization grant but haven’t yet received funding, Claire will be reaching out soon!
It looks like we’re in for a sunny and moderately warm weekend! I hope you get to enjoy it in whatever way makes you happiest.
Yours in partnership,
Mary-Carol
Mary-Carol Lindbloom
Executive Director
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