February Issue
Save The Date!
Book Club
Downloadable Audio
Apps!
Hudson Valley Reads
Ulster County Cuts
 
 
 
Quick Links
 
 
Join Our Mailing List
heartnystate
 

February is Library Lovers month and we're asking you to ask our legislators to "have a heart."

Last year, libraries received national media coverage as a destination for job searchers and as a place to save on books DVDs, and Internet fees. As the saying goes, "No good deed goes unpunished." This year, even before the Governor's proposed budget cuts, library funding had been cut 4 times at the State level two years running, and Ulster County just cut last year's allocation by 25%.  "Everyone needs to feel the pain," the politicians tell us, but they seem blind to the fact that we are part of the solution. We are the poster children for consolidation and economies of scale. If you love libraries, here's what you can do to help:
 

Contact State Senator Bill Larkin and Assemblyman Frank Skartados and tell them why the Library is important to you,

or use the New York Library Association's Online Advocacy Center to send a free fax on your behalf (click on the round badge). On the County level, contact Frank Felicello and Rich Gerentine and County Executive, Mike Hein.
 

Write a letter to the editor of our local newspaper about why your library is important to the community.

Let your friends know what's going on.

Come with me to Albany on Library Lobby Day, March 2nd, and defend libraries to your State legislator in person (I have a few free roundtrip bus tickets left). 
Thank you,
 
James B. Cosgrove
Director 
 
Jim
 
Teen Alternative Fashion Show - Save the date!
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Our third annual teen alternative fashion show will take place on Friday, March 5 at 7 p.m.  As usual, teens have designed innovative, eye-catching garb utilizing reusable or recycled material. This year's theme is "Get your green on."  Snow date is, Saturday, March 6, at 7 p.m. Save the date.
2010 Book Club
 
Join us on the last Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. for lively book discussions. This year we chose some notable titles from 2008. The book club is open to all adults in the Library District. Here are our upcoming titles and the dates we will be discussing these books:
 
 
 
Feb 24 - Johnny One-Eye: a Tale of the American Revolution by Jerome Charyn.
Mar 31 - American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by John Meacham.
April 28 - The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich.
May 26 - Man in the Dark by Paul Auster.
June 30 - The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga.
New downloadable audiobook service coming
overLogo
 
 
 
 
 
The biggest complaints against the NetLibary downloadable audiobook service was the selection. Strong in classical literature, but poor in popular titles. Overdrive offers popular titles and that will increase the waiting because, unlike NetLibrary, Overdrive doesn't allow many simultaneous loans.  Overdrive's more popular titles will at least give people something to wait for. Once library staff is trained in using the product, it will be introduced to the public - sometime in mid - to late February. Stay tuned.
 
February Links - apps!
 
 
(app is short for application software)
 
Ipod Touch / iPhone
 

Are you one of the lucky ones to get an iPod Touch or iPhone for Christmas? Looking at the Apple app store can be daunting business, make no mistake! Head over to Macworld for reviews and information on the coolest apps. In addition to downloaded apps, there are also web apps on Apple's website.  

Our Website - Mobile!
 
We optimized our website  using Wordpress Mobile Edition for easier viewing on handheld devices. To access the full features of our regular site just scroll down to 'Exit the Mobile Edition'. Soon the Mid Hudson Library System Catalog "AirPAC" will also be optimized for handheld viewing.
 
Free apps for your PC
 
Want to add some great apps to your PC? One of the safest places to download free programs and utilities is over at cnet - just check them out under the top downloads section. You can find apps and trials for video editing, flash movie playing, adware and spyware monitoring, virus protection and more!
Readers Advisory
 

 

Are you looking for a good book to read or listen to? Sign up for our e-alerts and get great book suggestions by email. Look for the logo on the Library Catalog and learn how to subscribe. We'll deliver reading lists right to your inbox which will include new gems, bestsellers, and related titles. You'll also be able to check immediately whether the items are available or whether they've been checked out.

Ulster County Govt. Cuts Libraries
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
In a heartbreaking reversal, the 2010 Ulster County government cut the 2009 funding level to libraries by 25%. The 2009 Legislature's budget proposal, which would have maintained library funding close to last year's $.50 per person level, was defeated by a two-vote margin leaving the original cuts proposed by the County Executive intact. This will force the elimination of some of the information products available to cardholders of all Ulster libraries from the Ulster InfoPortal. Which do you think we should cut ? Children's educational products? Language learning software? Job searching tools? Family research products? County support for libraries now stands at 38 cents per county resident. Contact the County Executive to help us reverse this trend. Thank you.