MHLS was well represented in Albany last week with 40 area library advocates marching through the halls of the Legislative Office Building and Capitol, delivering the message to legislators to restore library aid to full formula funding!

The MHLS delegation met with Assemblywoman Didi Barrett on the floor of the Assembly Chambers in the Capitol on Library Advocacy Day!

Senator Kathy Marchione hosted a standing-room-only meeting with delegates from the Mid-Hudson Library System. Claverack Library Director Sally Alderdice and Claverack trustee Wendy Wilde presented the Senator with 170+ letters from her constituents urging full restoration of library aid.

Legislators expressed a lot of support for libraries,they were keen to hear how people are seeking assistance with job searches, how children benefit from library services and many shared they think libraries are the hub of local communities!

Linda Deubert (left), director of the Heermance Memorial Library in Coxsackie speaks with Assemblyman Peter Lopez (right) about a patron who found a job thanks to the assistance of their library's staff and resources.

Senator Terry Gipson listens attentively to MHLS Executive Director Tom Sloan (not pictured).

The new chair of the Assembly Committee on Libraries & Education Technology, Fred Thiele, addressed hundreds of library supporters during the Library Advocacy Day Rally, expressing his support of library aid restoration.

Advocates from the Kinderhook Memorial Library (l-r): Gary Spielmann, Dot Balko and a very passionate Mark Wilson (who is also on the MHLS Board) make the case for library aid in Assemblyman McLaughlin's office during Advocacy Day.

What we learned last week:

• We heard positive messages about the chance of a restoration of the Governor's cut. Nothing is in writing yet though so we've got to keep up our efforts!       

• The two house budget bills are due to be introduced on MARCH 12

We've still got time to influence the Senate and Assembly's budget bills, so keep up the communications! Every point of contact counts!

Give your Senator and Assemblyperson a call . Here's what we need them to do:

• We need Senators to contact Senator Skelos, the Temporary President and Majority Coalition Leader and share their support for full formula funding for libraries.         

• We need Assemblymembers to contact Assemblyman Fred Thiele to sign on to his letter that has gone to Speaker Silver to express their support for full formula funding for library aid.

MHLS would like to thank the MHLS area Friends Groups and the Foundation for Hudson Valley Libraries who generously donated to underwrite the bus to Albany, we couldn't do this without their support!

• Friends of the Howland Public Library (Beacon)
• Friends of the Beekman Library
• Friends of the Chatham Public Library
• Friends of Butterfield (Julia L. Butterfield Memorial Library)
• Friends of the Blodgett Memorial Library (Fishkill)
• Friends of the Greenville Public Library
• Friends of the Haines Falls Free Library
• Friends of the Hyde Park Free Library
• Friends of the Kent Public Library
• Friends of the Kinderhook Memorial Library
• Friends of the Kingston Library
• Friends of the Mahopac Public Library
• Friends of the Phoenicia Library
• Friends of the Red Hook Public Library
• Friends of the Saugerties Public Library
• Friends of the Staatsburg Library

"The Big Read" is coming to Dutchess, Columbia, and Ulster Counties through a unique partnership between Bard College and the Germantown, Kingston, Red Hook, Rhinecliff and Tivoli libraries.

Beginning in March, "The Big Read" will include activities, performances and discussions exploring Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marilyn Robinson's "Housekeeping." The event will run from March 15 to May 2.

"The Big Read" is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts. Its mission is to create an enthusiastic community book discussion that spans ages, ethnicities, education and geography through community events, performances, talks and book groups. Events are planned throughout the Hudson Valley at businesses, libraries, schools and homes. Book clubs are encouraged to participate. For more information: http://bard.edu/hannaharendtcenter/bigread/  

Expect More: Demanding Better Libraries For Today's Complex World Now FREE to Download: "Libraries have existed for millennia, but today many question their necessity. In an ever more digital and connected world, do we still need places of books in our towns, colleges, or schools? If libraries aren't about books, what are they about?

In Expect More: Demanding Better Libraries For Today's Complex World, David Lankes, winner of the 2012 ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Award for the Best Book in Library Literature, walks you through what to expect out of your library. Lankes argues that, to thrive, communities need libraries that go beyond bricks and mortar, and beyond books and literature. We need to expect more out of our libraries. They should be places of learning and advocates for our communities in terms of privacy, intellectual property, and economic development.

Expect More is a rallying call to communities to raise the bar, and their expectations, for great libraries."

Download the book  

Save the Dates! American Library Association (ALA) President Barbara Stripling's "Building Community through Making" series: Free webinars will be available in months to come through Stripling's Libraries Change Lives initiative. Please save these dates:

• Strategic Partnerships: March 24, 2014
• Literacy Innovations: April 21, 2014
• STEAM in Libraries: May 19, 2014
• Community Engagement: June 9, 2014

These webinars are part of Stripling's Libraries Change Lives 2014 Webinar Series and are limited to 100 registrants each. For more information about this series or for questions about registration, please contact the ALA Office for Library Advocacy at advocacy@ala.org. These informative, timely sessions are intended to showcase best practices, successes, and to transfer knowledge among ALA members.

Everything is New Every Minute: Full of Opportunities - the 2014 Youth Services Section Spring Conference By Terry Rabideau, Conference Chair - You may be considering whether or not to attend the 2014 NYLA YSS Spring Conference,scheduled for Friday, April 4, 2014 at the Crowne Plaza in White Plains. Well, here is another great reason to make that commitment to attend:The Westchester Author/Illustrator Garden.

This will be an opportunity to meet, greet and have books signed by popular children's and young adult authors and illustrators who have been specially invited to the conference. They include: Nora Raleigh Baskin, Judy Blundell, Alyssa Capucilli, Vicki Cobb, Tommy Greenwald, Charise Mericle Harper, James Howe, Alan Katz, Annabel Monaghan and Mary O'Keefe Young. They will be joined by keynote speaker, Roger Sutton; luncheon speaker, Steve Sheinkin; and workshop presenters, Betsy Bird and George O'Connor, who will also be signing books at the conference. Books will be available for purchase and signing from the Conference Book Vendor, The Voracious Reader, the award winning children's and young adult bookstore in Larchmont, NY.

Roger Sutton, Editor in Chief of The Horn Book, Inc., will kick off the daylong conference with the keynote presentation, "The Future of Publishing for Young People." A librarian by training, he is widely recognized as being among the country's leading experts on children's literature. He has taught at the University of Chicago, Columbia University and the University of Illinois and has served on virtually every major American children's book award committee. Currently editor of The Horn Book Magazine and second editor of its sister publication The Horn Book Guide, he blogs regularly at Read Roger and can be found on Twitter at @RogerReads.

Registration is open until Friday, March 21, 2014.To access the online conference brochure, including the registration form, please visit nyla.org/yss, click on Events, then click on "Everything is New Every Minute: Full of Opportunities." For additional information, contact Conference Chair Terry Rabideau via email at trabideau@whiteplainslibrary.org or phone 914.422.1499.

Microsoft Discontinuing Windows XP Support April 2014: Robert Drake, MHLS IT Coordinator, is reminding member libraries that in April 2014 Microsoft will officially cease support for their Windows XP operating system. If you still have Windows XP computers in service it would be advisable to deprecate them from your network as soon as possible. After April 2014, system updates will no longer be available and user software (including existing software updates) will increasingly stop supporting this operating system. "If your library needs assistance," says Robert, "MHLS is available to help you in choosing new computers. We currently advise Windows 7 Professional for both staff and public machines." If you are not sure whether Windows 7 will work on your older computer, contact techsupport@midhudson.org

Do you need to purchase Windows 7 Professional or other software?

Don't forget to check Tech Soup for deeply discounted software for public libraries: For example: Windows 7 Professional is $12 for public libraries on TechSoup.

The Millbrook Free Library is looking for a part-time library clerk to work 12 hours per week on Mondays (11:45am-6:15pm) and Saturdays (9:45am-4:15pm). Responsibilities include working at the circulation desk, assisting patrons as well as other duties related to the operation of the library. Library experience preferred, but not required. The ideal candidate will enjoy working with the public, be customer service oriented and able to multi-task. Starting hourly rate: $9.00 per hour plus paid vacation time. Please submit a letter of interest and resume to Director Erin Barnard at director@millbrooklibrary.org or P.O. Box 286 Millbrook, NY 12545. Applications will be accepted until Friday, March 14th.