MHLS has received federal Library Services Technology Act (LSTA) funds, through the New York State Division of Library Development for "Summer Reading at New York Libraries" which will be used locally to expand the programs and services in member libraries during the summer.

2013 funds will be mini-granted to libraries for programs collaboratively-planned with schools that will:

Increase the number of children and families involved in local summer reading programs.   

AND

Foster school/library partnerships in support of "Summer Reading at New York Libraries."  

Libraries who submit applications that are rated successful by MHLS will each receive $300-$700. A total of $8,500 is available through this mini-grant program. The application is available at http://midhudson.org/program/SRP/2013application.doc 

Applications must be received by April 11, 2013. Libraries will be notified by April 18.

MHLS libraries served a record number of digital eBooks and audiobooks to patrons this holiday season. The collection was ready with 1,782 eBooks and 948 audiobooks available for checkout on Christmas Eve thanks to member library funds, Central Library Development Aid funds, extra funds provided by Ulster County Library Association, Greene County Library Association, Highland Library, Kingston Library, and 164 eBooks gifted to us from OverDrive. There are a total of over 2,700 eBooks and 1,300 audiobooks in the MHLS Digital Download Collection at http://mhls.lib.overdrive.com.

In 2012:

• Patrons:
  7,153 MHLS library patrons started checking out MHLS Digital Download Collection digital materials (374 just between Christmas and New Years alone!). A total of over 16,000 MHLS patrons are now registered on our OverDrive site.
   
• eBook Checkouts:
  62,966 OverDrive eBooks and 4,619 Gutenberg Project eBooks were checked out through the MHLS Digital Download Collection, for a total of 67,585 eBook checkouts in 2012.
   
• Audiobook Checkouts: 20,265 in 2012.

View the chart at http://bit.ly/VZUolJ to see how digital downloads have increased since the MHLS Digital Download Collection was started in February 2010. Look at the spikes during the 2011 and 2012 holiday season (an all time high), and the surprising spike this year in October as patrons loaded up their devices with reading material before the power outages expected with Storm Sandy.

Returning Digital Downloads: Here is some information that will be helpful for patrons wanting to return items early. Patrons may want to do this because it frees up space on their card to download more!

• At the end of the loan period all items will expire automatically and will return to the collection automatically.
• Audiobooks can now be returned before the loan period is over on some devices.
• eBooks can be returned before the loan period is over:

How to return an EPUB or PDF eBook early through Adobe Digital Editions:http://bit.ly/W3yHAd

How to return a Kindle eBook early: an eBook checked out on the Kindle is returned through Amazon  

1. Go to amazon.com and from the Kindle menu on right select 'Manage Your Kindle'

2. Sign into your Amazon account

3. Select 'Actions' dropdown menu next to the book you want to return.

4. From the menu, select 'Return' this book

5. Select 'Yes' to return the book

6. After the book is returned, the title can be removed from your list by selecting the "Actions" dropdown again and selecting 'Delete' from library.

Key Recommendations for Public Libraries: The Regents Advisory Council on Libraries presented a program at the 2012 NYLA Conference centered on the implementation of Creating the Future: A 2020 Vision and Plan for Library Service in New York State http://bit.ly/NzmK5I (also the topic of the 2012 MHLS Annual Meeting). Over 120 members of the library community attended the NYLA discussion, including the vocal MHLS staff Mike Nyerges & Merribeth Advocate, with attendees separated into groups by library type to discuss the plan's 60 recommendations. They determined the following key recommendations for public libraries to be given priority in implementation:

a. Recommendation 23 - The further proliferation of the Regents' Public Library District Model to enable all public libraries to become fully funded and governed through citizen participation and public vote.

b. Recommendation 27 - The provision of robust early childhood education programs and the provision of homework assistance as a core service; the alignment of outreach services with societal priorities, such as teen services and gang prevention.

c. Recommendation 29 - Investment in public library facilities in order to be able to respond to the changing needs of communities -- rewiring of older buildings, creation of larger meeting spaces and small meeting rooms, flexible storage solutions so that libraries can adjust as print to e-format ratios change and energy efficiency improvements to keep operating costs down.

-Merribeth Advocate, MHLS Assistant Director
 

Reminder: State law requires every public library trustee to take an Oath of Office. Many library trustee terms began on January 1. This is an important reminder that New York State Public Officer's Law §10 requires all public library trustees (but not association library trustees) to take an oath of office within 30 days of beginning their term of office. Public library trustees are public officers and the oath of office is required to officially undertake and perform the duties of a public library trustee.

If a public library trustee does not properly complete and file an oath of office, the trustee's position may be deemed vacant. For more information about how and why the oath of office is administered, and where to properly file an oath of office, please see the Oaths of Office FAQ on the New York State Library website: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/pltrust/oath.htm