"State library aid is now at 1997 levels and $20 million less than state Education Law mandates. Libraries are a core piece of our state's educational system, yet in a year where education funding increased 3.8%, library funding suffered a 4.7% reduction. Merely restoring the $4 million cut by Governor Cuomo still leaves library funding drastically short of the $102 million mandated in education law, and reverses years of progress towards full funding. Despite the talents and dedication of librarians across the state, it is becoming increasingly difficult to provide 21st century libraries with 20th century funding."

-Jeremy Johannesen, Executive Director,
New York Library Association (NYLA)

NYLA is stepping up advocacy efforts in Albany - meetings with key staff in the Governor's office, Division of Budget, the Senate and Assembly are paving the way for library advocates coming up to Albany for Library Advocacy Day on Wednesday, February 26th. NYLA has gotten creative this year and has produced images that will be appearing on electronic billboards along I-787 and I-90, the highways leading into the capitol, and have taken a page from guerilla marketing techniques and have produced drink coasters that are being distributed to bars located around the Capitol building and Legislative Office Buildings.  

One of several electronic billboard images that will be shown along I-787 and I-90 on the routes legislators travel into Albany.

Drink coasters designed by NYLA to be distributed in bars around the Capitol and Legislative Office Building in Albany.

How you can help:

• Familiarize yourself with the 2014 NYLA Budget Talking Points    

   

• Please call your local NYS Senator and Assembly person and encourage them to fully fund Library Aid. Contact information for all MHLS region legislators: http://midhudson.org/funding/advocacy/legislators_adv.htm  

   

• Use the NYLA Online Advocacy Center to send a message to your legislators, house leadership and the Governor. There is a NEW letter available now so even if you've sent a letter through the OAC earlier this year, visit again to send the new letter.  

       

• Join us in Albany on Wednesday, February 26th in Albany for NYLA Library Advocacy Day! Deadline to sign-up for the bus is this Thursday! For more information: http://midhudson.org

MHLS IT Coordinator, Robert Drake, has been named to the NYS Broadband Program Office's Broadband Adoption Task Force. The mission of the NYS Broadband Adoption Task Force is to "stimulate demand for broadband services to advance New York State's broadband adoption goals by developing strategies to address affordability, awareness, digital literacy, and the utilization of broadband for commercial and institutional use." Responsibilities of the Broadband Adoption Task Forces include:

• Examining disparities in broadband adoption and identifying opportunities to address the challenges to broadband adoption;

• Developing standards and recommendations to achieve increased use, and a timeframe in which to meet these goals;

• Encouraging collaboration and obtaining commitments from broadband providers and adoption partners; and

• Leveraging educational opportunities to increase broadband use.

MHLS Evaluates Efforts to Support the NYS Public Library Construction Grant Program: MHLS Member Library Directors have been invited to participate in an evaluation of the MHLS Construction Grant Program processes. Responses to the survey are due before February 20th.  

Programming

Big Library Read, OverDrive's "global book club," is back once again for libraries to lend millions of users around the world the same eBook simultaneously for free! Food Network and Cooking Channel star Aida Mollenkamp has provided her culinary guide Keys to the Kitchen to libraries for their users to enjoy from February 17 through March 5, free for the program duration with simultaneous worldwide usage rights, without wait lists or holds. All MHLS libraries are automatically involved in this, no need to sign-up. As of Monday, February 17 the new Big Library Read book is prominently displayed on our Digital Download center at http://mhls.lib.overdrive.com. Promotional materials are available at midhudson.org!

"Keys to the Kitchen is a cookbook by definition, but it's much more than simply directions to get from page to plate. Author Aida Mollenkamp provides helpful how-to information on everything from proper knife skills and finding the right ingredients to throwing a show- stopping cocktail party. It doesn't just provide ideas on what to cook, but also walks the reader through how to cook."  

In addition to providing her book for free to Big Library Read libraries, Aida will also be doing a Facebook chat with readers on Wednesday, February 26th at 8pm. Readers will have a chance to ask Aida about everything from her passion for discovering new flavors, her studies at the Cornell Hotel School and Le Cordon Bleu Paris and much more. Be sure to follow Aida's adventures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and learn great kitchen tips and tricks from her weekly web series In the Pantry on Yahoo! Shine. 

Save the Date: The 2014 Uncommon Approaches to the Common Core conference will be held on August 12th and 13th in Albany. It will be open to all on a first- come first serve basis. Registration information coming soon!