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Cheery Friday Greetings!
As you read this—well, if it is Friday!—we've reached the final day of July, and I'm on the road for field visits in Cooperstown, Norwich, Binghamton, and Vestal, with a few traveling exhibits in tow.
Speaking of exhibits, this is a good reminder that SCRLC's traveling exhibits are available for members to borrow. If you're looking for a ready-made display, we'd love to help. Visit our exhibits page to learn more and reserve one today!
Annual Meeting Update. Be sure to reserve Tuesday, October 20 on your calendar for SCRLC's 60th Annual Meeting at the Corning Museum of Glass! We are excited to announce that our keynote speaker is Dr. Claire Wardle, an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, Cornell University. Dr. Wardle's work focuses on trust, information ecosystems, and the ways misinformation shapes public discourse—making her an ideal keynote for this year's theme,Through Fire: Libraries, Trust, and Transformation. We have two opportunities to participate: the call for Lightning Round proposals and the nomination form for our annual awards, both of which are now open. We hope you'll join us for what promises to be an engaging and thought-provoking day!
Annual Membership Survey. Yes, I’m mentioning it again! Like last time, I can't resist giving our annual membership survey another plug!
If you work for an SCRLC member organization—a library, library system, historical society, museum, or other member institution—we hope you'll take a few minutes to complete the survey. It's not limited to one response per organization; in fact, we encourage as many staff members as possible to participate (unless you're the only person who works there—in which case, one response is probably enough!).
Your feedback helps shape SCRLC's programs, services, and learning opportunities, and we truly appreciate the time you take to share your experiences and ideas.
Because it's summer and vacations happen, we've extended the deadline to Friday, September 4.
Please also share the survey with colleagues who may not receive the News or other announcements. If you're wondering why someone might not have received it, see the discussion of our mailing lists in the July 17 edition of the newsletter.
Board Meeting Recap. The July Board meeting focused on many of the Council's regular responsibilities: setting the 2027 (yes, 2027!) Board meeting dates; discussing the preliminary 2026–2027 work plan; plus reviewing my report, advisory committee minutes, and the financials. A few agenda items may be of particular interest:
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Welcome to our newest Board member. The Board appointed Jennifer Kronenbitter, Director of SUNY Cortland's Memorial Library, to serve as an interim Board member in an academic library seat, following the departure of Brian Sullivan. Welcome, Jennifer!
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BARC is here to stay...for now. After a successful year as a pilot, the Board approved the Bibliographic and Referral Center (BARC) as an ongoing SCRLC service, now operating in-house. Of course, no service is permanent if it no longer meets member needs, but we're delighted that BARC has demonstrated its value and is now part of our regular service portfolio. If you are eligible to use BARC and haven’t signed up for it yet, we hope you'll consider using it. More information is here, or, schedule a time to chat or Zoom with Christine Brown.
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Board minutes. A reminder that approved Board minutes are posted on our website. The May minutes will be available next week. (We're a small staff, and yes, we occasionally take vacations!)
Disability Pride Month. As Disability Pride Month comes to a close, we'd like to take a moment to recognize and celebrate the many people with disabilities who visit, work in, and enrich our libraries, museums, historical societies, communities. We are reminded that accessibility is about more than meeting ADA Title II or III standards or checking boxes—it's about creating environments where everyone can fully participate and belong. Whether you're improving the accessibility of your website, making programs more inclusive, or simply listening to and learning from the experiences of people with disabilities, every step helps build stronger and more welcoming organizations. Thank you to everyone who is engaged in this important work throughout the year.
SUNY Undergraduate Internship Opportunity – Seeking Expressions of Interest.
A quick update on the paid undergraduate internship opportunity mentioned in the July 17 newsletter. As you may know, the Empire State Library Network (ESLN) directors were approached regarding placing paid undergraduate interns from SUNY campuses in member organizations including libraries, museums, and archives. All intern wages and eligible related costs would be reimbursed by this program.
I've learned a bit more since our last update. If you're part of a SUNY institution, you may already have access to internship funding and support on your campus. If you haven't explored those opportunities before, reach out to me--our SUNY contact can connect you with your on-campus career center, which controls those funds and initiatives. You can build an internship opportunity together that meets your needs. For our members outside of SUNY, I'd still love to hear from you if you're interested. We appear to have enough interest both within SCRLC members and across the Councils to recommend that SUNY move forward with a request for proposals (RFP) process for the ESLN councils, but it would be helpful to know who else might participate. If you'd like to learn more or express your interest, please get in touch!
Enjoy the fleeting days of summer!
Yours in partnership,
Mary-Carol
Mary-Carol Lindbloom
Executive Director
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