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Vol. 13-26                                                                                                                      6.25.13
Fundraising Idea Exchange
The popular, annual event, the MHLS Fundraising Idea Exchange will be held on Wednesday, July 17th in the MHLS Auditorium from 4:30-6:30pm.  

Join together with others to hear which fundraising events and ideas are working well! Fine tune your own thinking on your fundraising efforts and learn from the "collective mind" of MHLS area Friends Groups and others involved in fundraising at area libraries!

This meeting is an instance of the Friends Support Group, a forum for member library Friends to come together and share information. Issues, problems and solutions will be on the table for all to learn from each other. This group meets multiple times per year.
  • Get ideas
  • Hear from those who have done it
  • Discuss and share challenges and solutions
Workshop Fee:
  • MHLS member library staff, directors, trustees and Friends: No charge
  • All others: $25.
    When registering choose 'Non-MHLS library' from the 'Select Your Library' drop-down list. Send checks, made out to MHLS, to the MHLS Business Office, 103 Market Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601. Mark Friends Support Group Workshop on the check. You will be officially registered when your check is received. 
Please register online at http://calendar.midhudson.org
MHLS Announcements
MHLS will be closed on Thursday, July 4th. There will be no deliveries on this day.
Professional Development
New Librarianship Master Class MOOC: The School of Information Studies (iSchool) has opened registration for its second massive open online course (MOOC), the New Librarianship Master Class. "The vision for a new librarianship must go beyond finding library-related uses for information technology and the Internet," explains Professor R. David Lankes, course architect and instructor. "It must provide a durable foundation for the field." The MOOC will examine librarianship and library practice using the fundamental concept that knowledge is created through conversation.

"New librarians approach their work as facilitators of conversation," says Lankes. "Through this course, they will learn how to better capture, store, and disseminate the conversations of their communities." Lankes' book, The Atlas of New Librarianship, will serve as the text for the course, which will feature Lankes and three other iSchool faculty members (Jill Hurst-Wahl, Megan Oakleaf and Jian Qin) as instructors and moderators. MIT Press will provide participants in the course with a 20% discount on the book.

The course is available for free online, and begins on July 8. Participation in the course can also lead to Continuing Education Units (CEU's) for an additional fee, or graduate academic credit with additional work and tuition. To register for the MOOC, visit the New Librarian Master Class web page: http://bit.ly/12g6RbS

In May over 45 staff from MHLS member libraries attended the Reaching Readers: Establishing and Sustaining Reader Relationships workshop at MHLS presented by Duncan Smith, Vice President and founding partner of NoveList. He was inspired to develop the NoveList readers' advisory database (which is the new enhancement in the MHLS online catalog) based on research he conducted on why readers read what they read.

Duncan is passionate about the power of libraries, and readers' advisory (sometimes called RA), to transform lives. He noted that patrons bring questions to libraries for answers that will help them have a better life, and they know library staff will help them find the answers that are right for them. Sometimes that question is "what is a good book to read?" In his quest for tactics to hone RA skills and tools, as a way to strengthen the relationship between the readers and the library, he studied research that found there are over 40 different strategies for readers to discover new books. The most common two used in the library are:
  • Browsing (which alphabetical shelving doesn't inspire)
  • 'Known-Item Strategy': readers come into the library with 5-6 favorite authors in their heads and 3 great hopes: 1. One of my favorite authors has written a new book. 2. The library has bought it. 3. It is on the shelf.
Most readers know less than a handful of 40+ strategies that can lead to a richer, more dynamic reading life, and when the strategies they know fail to find them a book to enjoy, it is a value added service when library staff can provide support.

Duncan suggested that the perfect question to ask the patron is: "Tell me about a book you have read and enjoyed." The patron will talk about characters, setting, subject and other appeal factors, and how the book made them feel. This gives library staff a definition of what 'good' means to that patron, to develop a 'template' to use to connect them to other books. He reminded attendees that you don't want your library to only be in the book delivery business, you want it to be in the book discovery business, and RA is a great way to do this. It adds value to reading - if reading gets devalued libraries get devalued, and that there are no right answers or wrong answers in readers advisory, there are just possibilities.

Duncan Smith is the author of several articles on RA services, his latest article "Books: An Essential Part of Essential Libraries" (available at http://tinyurl.com/pfzdh44) appeared in the December 2011 issue of Public Library Quarterly. Additionally he recommended the book Readers' Advisory Service in the Public Library by Joyce Saricks for further information.
-Reaching Readers article written by
Merribeth Advocate, MHLS Assistant Director
Job Openings
The Saugerties Public Library is seeking a Library Director I who is an experienced leader in team building as well as a committed professional well aware of current trends and best practices in public library services. The mission of Saugerties Public Library is to serve as a multi-cultural, inclusive Library dedicated to enhancing the life of every member of the Saugerties Community. The library is housed in a building that was expanded and renovated through a capital project completed in January of 2011. It is operated with an annual budget of $600,000. The Library Director will work with a committed Board of Trustees to achieve this mission with the support of the community as well as an active and engaged Friends organization. Masters Degree in Library Science (MLS) from an accredited institution and two (2) years of professional full-time, or its part-time equivalent, experience in a library of recognized standing. Special Requirement: Possession of a NYS Public Librarian's Certificate at the time of appointment. Preferred: At least one year experience in an administrative capacity; and demonstrated ability in budget management, community outreach, progressive programming, library technology and equipment and facilities maintenance. Compensation:  Salary $55,000 and up, depending upon qualifications and experience; with medical benefits, vacation, personal time and health benefits. Interested candidates should send a resume and cover letter via e-mail to: spldirectorsearch@gmail.com. Applications will be accepted through July 31, 2013, or until the position is filled. To view the full job ad please visit http://saugertiespubliclibrary.org/jobs-2/

MHLS recommends that the minimum starting salary of a full or part-time librarian with an MLS degree be at least equal to that of a teacher with a master's degree in the same community.

 

Member Libraries are welcome to submit items of interest and job openings to the MHLS Bulletin: bulletin@midhudson.org. 

The MHLS Bulletin is available on line at http://midhudson.org/bulletins/main.htm.