|
Cheery Friday Greetings,
It is sunny today and warming as well! Here are some items to pass along to you:
Advocating for Libraries. There is still time to advocate for state library funding. The quickest way to advocate is through the New York Library Association’s Advocacy Page. There, you can quickly take action by clicking on the Contact Your Elected Officials button. You can Become a Library Advocate to receive action alerts. There is a wealth of tools and information to help all of us become the most effective advocates possible. The specific action to take right now is to encourage both houses to include more state aid funding for libraries than what is in the executive budget. Thank you for being part of the effort to support libraries! Kudos to our colleagues and SCRLC Board members Sarah Glogowski (Finger Lakes Library System) and Erika Jenns (Southern Tier Library System who are in DC advocating at the federal level for libraries!
Speaking of library advocacy, we are hosting a discussion about The Librarians Documentary next Tuesday at 3pm and you can register here.
Black History Month. This past week, WSKG re-posted a conversation with then 14th Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden regarding books from 2016 that resonate today. Check it out!
WSKG also rebroadcast North to Freedom, one of their original documentaries from filmmaker Brian Frey. The documentary examines the role our area played in the Underground Railroad before and during the US Civil War. It features interviews with two of our Underground Railroad exhibit curators, Talima Aaron of the John W. Jones Museum in Elmira and Anne C. Bailey of the Harriet Tubman Center for Freedom and Equity at Binghamton University. We’ve mentioned this before, but it does remain freely available via PBS Passport or directly via the WSKG website.
Resource Sharing. The Bibliographic & Referral Center (BARC), which offers last-resort interlibrary loan, is up and running! If you were unable to attend one of the training webinars, here is link to the recording. Please watch it at your convenience and then contact Christine Brown with any questions that you have, and for your login credentials. We are excited to be bringing BARC back in-house!
Yours in partnership,
Mary-Carol
Mary-Carol Lindbloom
Executive Director
| | 2026-2027 DIGITIZATION GRANT APPLICATION NOW OPEN | | |
SCRLC is happy to offer another round of digitization grants! Applications are due April 10, 2026. For 2026-2027, applications are especially encouraged for:
● community partnership projects that increase representation of and with communities that have been historically and systematically oppressed;
● geographically underrepresented communities in the SCRLC region;
● creative approaches to availing digitized collections and making them more discoverable, e.g., holding or co-organizing a Wikipedia edit-a-thon to add links to New York Heritage collections, developing walking tours, virtual tours (e.g. participation in the 360-degree Empire State Immersive Experience project), and HistoryForge participation.
Application links: Word | PDF
| | On February 18th, a historical marker was unveiled at the downtown Ithaca residence of Toni Morrison during her graduate years at Cornell University (MA 1955). | |  | On New York Heritage, you can find a collection from Historic Ithaca of 1954 tax assessment photographs, including this view of 513 North Albany Street (the duplex on the left) - taken the very year Toni Morrison lived there while attending Cornell! | | | |
TST BOCES, Ithaca
February 17
| | |
Seneca Falls Historical Society
February 25
| | Jessica visited with TST BOCES School Library System Coordinator Ruth Stiles. | | | Claire visited Dundee Public Library to pick up the Craft Beverage Exhibit and then Seneca Falls Historical Society where the Women's Suffrage Exhibit is now on display. Pictured above is Director Jonathan Monfiletto standing in front of Elizabeth Cady Stanton's desk and Amelia Bloomer's rocking chair. | | | MEMBER SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABILITY | | |
As climate disruptions increase along with heating costs, libraries are providing much needed heat to community members, similar to libraries being cooling stations in summer.
In the March edition of the Four County Library System News, they report that the William B. Ogden Library in Walton is a designated "warming station" providing warmth, free coffee, cup-of-soup meals and other snacks. They are also offering patrons hygiene essentials including hand warmers, and donated cold-weather clothing. 🩵 ❄️
|
| Events produced by the eight other library councils in the Empire State Library Network are open for SCRLC members to attend. | | |
ICE Operations and Public Libraries (NYS Library)
March 2, 1pm
Genealogy Resources from The Daughters of the American Revolution Library (LILRC)
March 3, 1pm
Forming a More Perfect Union: Library Construction Projects and NY State Funding (NYS Library)
March 3, 2pm
Leadership Transitions of Key Employees (ESLN)
March 5, 11am
Recent Developments in Labor & Employment Law (LILRC)
March 6, 10am
Trauma-Informed Care Is A Practice (METRO)
March 10, 1pm
Should It Stay or Should It Go? (CLRC)
March 11, 10am
Speaking Off the Cuff: Not Prepared to Speak? Try This Technique! (RRLC)
March 11, 2pm
Jewish Librarians Meetup (LILRC)
March 12, 2pm
Guide to Crafting and Promulgating the Library Employee Handbook (LILRC)
March 13, 10am
Neuro-Inclusive Libraries: Rethinking Access, Engagement, and Belonging (NYS Library)
March 13, 11am
Unleashing Your Power to Improve Your Library for Everyone (iREAL / CLIR)
March 17, 1pm
We're Getting Evaluated (CLRC)
March 18, 10am
Digital Accessibility & Your Library: Practical First Steps (ESLN)
March 25, 2pm
| | | | |
