With 78% of the vote the Grinnell Library Association Library successfully passed a measure on April 3rd to create a special district public library, fund the new district at $638,271 and publicly elect the board of trustees. Along the way, the library also corrected a formerly double taxed area in the Village of Wappingers.

MHLS applauds Jessica Gonzalez, director of the library, and the library board and staff, for putting this decision up to the voters to stabilize and secure the library's financial future.

As defined by the New York State Education Department, a public library district is a public library which has a process that requires: (a) public election of its trustees; (b) the library to secure 60 percent or more of its operating revenue through a public budget vote; and (c) the library to ensure financial accountability by presenting annually to appropriate funding agencies, and the public, a written budget which would enable the library to meet or exceed the minimum standards and to carry out its long-range plan of service.

The Public Library District Model is the recommended model for public libraries in New York State. The Regents Advisory Council on Libraries, noted in their most recent report, "Creating the Future: A 2020 Vision and Plan for Library Service in New York State" that their #1 recommendation for public libraries is "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."

Interested in learning more about this funding model for your library? Contact MHLS Coordinator for Library Sustainability, Rebekkah Smith Aldrich at x239 or rsmith@midhudson.org  

Countdown to Sierra! Think "initials"! With just two weeks to go until we migrate from Millennium to Sierra MHLS Automation Coordinator Eric McCarthy is reminding all directors that there is work to be done by each library: "Each and every Sierra user (i.e. those with initials) will need some individual preferences related to their login configured prior to circulating materials on April 24th. Some of these configurations will make the transitions smoother (making sure that your new record "wizards" are set correctly) others are absolutely essential to running the circulation desk.  The best approach is to allow 15 or 20 minutes for each employee to configure their initials on April 24th prior to circulating materials signed in under their initials. Checking current settings should be done prior to migration so you can follow those same configurations when you set up Sierra."
Sierra Initials - Migration Checklist:

¨  Configure Print Templates

¨  Configure Printer Settings

¨  Configure New Records

¨  Configure Macros

For information on how to do this: http://bit.ly/16INEwK 

The annual Construction Needs Update memo has been sent to all member library directors. All libraries are asked to fill out this memo as it is used to help the state advocate for public library construction funds. If you are planning to apply for a construction grant this year, response to this memo is mandatory. Questions should be directed to Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, MHLS Coordinator for Library Sustainability: rsmith@midhudson.org 

• Resources for Regents, AP and SAT Exams
• Old Newspapers in New York
• Resources for Grant Writing
• RUSA Best Free Reference Websites
• Reverse Image Search
• Interactive Map - Census Website

As seen in Consumer Reports magazine: 101 Secrets From Our Experts - The Insiders Guide to Practically Everything: "The public library is a resource many people overlook. Libraries subscribe to databases you undoubtedly don't, and librarians can find information not easily available with a Google search or to a person without library-science training."

990 Due Date Reminder: For those libraries and Friends Groups with 501(c)3 (federal) tax exempt status, don't forget that form 990 is due on the 15th day of the 5th month following the end of the organization's taxable year. For organizations on a calendar year, the Form 990 is due on May 15th of the following year.