Rensselaer County Historical Society in Troy has joined New York Heritage.  The Historical Society's first digitized collection is the Edgar Holloway (1914-2008) Watercolor and Etchings Collection which consists of the artist's commissioned works to paint and document Troy and the surrounding area's architectural and industrial heritage.  The Reverend Thomas Phelan brought Holloway to the US from England for three summers of painting that resulted in over 70 watercolors and a number of etchings of buildings and sites at a time when many were threatened by demolition during Urban Renewal of the early 1970's. The whole collection of Holloway's art was acquired by an anonymous donor from Rev. Phelan's estate and donated to the historical society in 2006.  View Rensselaer County Historical Society's material. 

Speaking of the Rensselaer County Historical Society, they are currently featured in a display at Albany International Airport, giving credit to CDLC and the Documentary Heritage Program. Thanks for the mention!

Schenectady County Historical Society is hosting Finding Your Ancestors in Immigration and Naturalization Records on Sat., Feb. 7^th at 2:00 p.m. Presented by Keren Weiner, admission is $5.00, or free for Society members. Following Weiner's presentation, Melissa Tacke, Librarian/Archivist at the Schenectady County Historical Society, will present "Researching Your Immigrant Ancestors: Resources in the Grems-Doolittle Library."

The Westerlo Public Library has received a Preserve New York grant from The Preservation League of New York State to complete a Historic Structure Report. "This is truly an honor, and I don't say that lightly," said Sue Hoadley, director of the Westerlo Public Library. "In the past decade, only two public libraries have received Preserve New York grants. The Historic Structure Report that we produce with this grant will allow us to document the historic development of our building, assess its current condition, and plan for the challenge of meeting modern needs in a historic facility."

Scott Jarzombek, Executive Director, Albany Public Library, has a new blog in the Times Union, with a goal to "remind everyone how essential libraries are to the Capital Region."

Siena College announces its 2nd Annual Leadership Institute for Academic Library Managers for 2015.  It is an intensive immersion experience of the general principles and best practices of management and leadership applied to academic library settings through readings, discussion, group work, and exercises. Taking place Sunday July 26 through Friday July 31, there is a limit of 16-18 people.  Go here for information, an FAQ, and the registration form. 

 The NY3Rs and NELLCO (the New England Law Library Consortium) are co-sponsoring the International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) Spring meeting, taking place at The Desmond Hotel in Albany April 26th-29th, 2015. ICOLC, in existence since 1996, is an informal, self-organized group currently comprising approximately 200 library consortia in North and South America, Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa. The member consortia serve all types and sizes of libraries. Twice per year (once in North America, and once elsewhere in the world), ICOLC conducts meetings dedicated to keeping participating consortia informed about new electronic information resources, pricing practices of electronic information providers and vendors, and other issues of importance to directors, governing boards, and libraries of consortia. Although ICOLC is geared primarily toward library consortia, this international conference, held right in our back yard, may be of interest to our members.