Calendar

Meeting of the Dutchess County Directors Association.

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At this meetup we’ll check in with MHLS member library teams going for a 414 vote this year, share best practices and ensure your team is on track to hit all of the required milestones for a successful vote. This is also an opportunity to learn from your peers also working on 414 vote campaigns this year.

This is the workshop for MHLS member libraries participating in the Early Literacy Cohort program. Login information will be sent directly to cohort members.

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Join NYLA this April in Albany for a full day of educational programming focused on advocacy, which is vital in every season! There will be a wide array of presentations and something for everyone – even our most experienced advocates. Lunch will be served, and there will be plenty of opportunities for professional networking during this one-day mini-conference. Don’t miss the chance to develop your advocacy skills and help to strengthen the library profession’s grassroots efforts.

Meeting of the Putnam County Library Association.

The monthly Youth Services Rendezvous is open to all Mid-Hudson Library System member library youth services staff who work with birth to teen. Find out what others are doing for programming, outreach, collection development, ask questions of your peers and share things that have worked for you.

For more information about this event please email Christine Pacuk, cpacuk@saugertiespubliclibrary.org or call 845-246-4317 ext. 5.

This event is organized by member library staff.

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This webinar is designed for Mid-Hudson Library System member library directors and trustees who would like an introduction to the New York State Aid for Public Library Construction Grant Program and an orientation for how to take the first step to apply in the new grant cycle – the submission of the MHLS Action Memo reporting a library’s construction needs and intent to apply for a grant. During this webinar we will cover:

• An introduction to the grant program
• A review of the MHLS Board’s priorities for funding
• Orientation to the MHLS Action Memo which serves as the first step to applying

The Summer Reading Program was originally created to promote literacy and education but now can be a source of stress and burnout. How can we ensure this program makes a meaningful impact on our communities? This presentation will provide an overview of summer reading research and trends and help library staff re-focus on how to set kids up for future success using real-world examples. There will be a discussion session for participants following the presentation.

Presented by Millbrook Library Director, Courtney Tsahalis

This event is open to all MHLS member library staff who plan, program or promote their library’s Summer Reading Program.

In an increasingly complex and less welcoming world, libraries are special. We actively promote inclusion, train in trauma-informed approaches, and continually adapt to meet the changing needs of our communities, but according to the American Psychological Association, the stress and mental health statistics of the U.S. are worsening. Challenging times can make for trying encounters and many staff members are now reporting increasing levels of stress, dissatisfaction and burnout. What our libraries and communities need most right now is compassion. Compassion has been identified as a key component of individual, organizational and societal well-being. Employees in compassionate organizations not only are more resilient to stress and burnout but have reduced anxiety, increased motivation, and are more engaged and collaborative. By cultivating our personal capacity for compassion and developing compassionate work cultures, we can better sustain ourselves, support our coworkers and transform our libraries and our communities for the better.

Join us for a half day in-person workshop as guest lecturer Jennifer Bollerman addresses:

●  Why compassion is vitally important for individuals and our communities

●  What compassion is and how it differs from empathy

●  How to apply compassion in our workplaces to minimize suffering

●  How to cultivate compassion through mindful self-awareness

Participants will be invited to attend four follow-up online mini sessions designed to help put into practice principals learned during the workshop. These will be held on:

●  Tues 5/14 10:00 am – 10:45 am via Zoom

●  Wed 5/29 1:00 pm – 1:45 pm via Zoom

●  Thurs 6/6 10:00 am – 10:45 am via Zoom

●  Thurs 6/13 1:00 pm – 1:45 pm via Zoom

Jennifer Bollerman is Assistant Director at the Patchogue-Medford Library and is certified as an Ambassador of Applied Compassion Program through Stanford University.

Seating is limited. Registration is restricted to MHLS member libraries.

This event is part of the MHLS Horizon Series where we bring you content on emerging issues that are impacting our communities and the work of libraries.

Please contact Laura Crisci, Library Sustainability Coordinator, if you have questions, lcrisci@midhudson.org.

Banned Books Symposium: Proactive, Reactive, Supportive – REGISTER HERE

This half-day conference will feature presentations in all capacities of banned and challenged books and programs.
Cost: $25, includes lunch

Schedule of events
8:30 am: Registration Opens
9:00 am: Welcome Remarks
9:15am – 10:05 am: First Session
10:00 am – 10:20 am: Break
10:20 am – 11:10 am: Second Session
11:10 am – 11:45 am: Lunch Catered by Lola’s in Poughkeepsie
11:45 am – 1:00 pm: Keynote, Q&A

Keynote Speaker: Jeff Trexler
Jeff Trexler has served since 2020 as Interim Director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting free expression and the legal rights of the comics community. He has extensive experience providing strategic advice to librarians, teachers, retailers, publishers, creators, legislators, and even law enforcement on responding to attempts to restrict access to graphic novels. An attorney himself, he is also the first CBLDF director since its founding in 1986 to provide direct legal representation in censorship cases, most notably the successful defense of Gender Queer against an unconstitutional attempt to prohibit the book’s sale or distribution in Virginia.

This Symposium is in partnership with Southeastern New York Library Resources Council, Ramapo Catskill Library System, Mid-Hudson Library System, Mount Saint Mary College, SUNY New Paltz and BOCES School Library Systems of Dutchess, Orange-Ulster, Rockland, Sullivan, and Ulster.