Summer 2008
President’s Memo
By Richard Strauss, NYSALB Board President
First of all, let me bring you up to date a bit. NYSALB held an excellent Trustee Institute in Saratoga Springs. The “crowd” (attendance) was nearly 100. A lot of credit goes to Suzanne Stockman our 2nd Vice President and Margaret Malicki our association manager. Between Suzanne putting together the programs and Margaret putting together the accommodations the event really comes together. But truly the individuals who make it happen are the Trustees who attend. You take the time (and often the expense) to become better-informed trustees. Congratulations to you!!!
The visit to the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public library, a new “green” library, was a memorable part of the weekend for me. I congratulate their Board for having the courage to go back to the voters to secure funding for their new library. I’m sure you are proud of your beautiful facility and the enlarged services you are able to provide your community.
Congratulations to our most recent Velma Moore award winner, Claudia Radin. Here is an example of an individual who gives it her all to make libraries a better place to be. We all are very proud of you and your accomplishments.
I’d like to welcome Rita Reissig, a member of the Geneva Public Library Board, who joins the NYSALB Board representing the Pioneer Library System.
Speaking of the NYSALB Board, we are looking for dedicated library trustees who would like to serve libraries at the state level. The commitment in time and energy is “small.” The rewards for the library community are large. Let me know, “UNCLE SAM needs you!”
Thank you to Karen Achilles and Patty Dohrwend who are leaving the NYSALB Board, for their contributions to NYSALB. I’d like especially to thank Karen for her work chairing the Velma Moore Committee. Good Job!!!
Let me bring you up to date on our legislative initiative, i.e. mandatory trustee training.
Senator Hugh Farley and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin introduced “same as” bills (S07131 and A10277) in their respective Houses. They seem to be progressing about as far as they will go this year. The economy and the state resources being what they are, there is little chance for them to pass this year. By the time this goes to print this year’s legislative cycle will have ended.
I highly encourage you as trustees to contact your local legislators to support this legislation. We as trustees in general remain woefully uninformed as to our basic duties.
One issue has come up in relation to this legislation. The question was asked:
“Would requiring new trustees to attend mandatory training be a deterrent to them joining a library board?”
Perhaps it should be stated a different way:
“Would requiring someone to learn how to swim be a deterrent to them joining the navy?”
For me, the answer is simple. Requiring mandatory trustee training would be an incentive to prospective trustees. We really should provide training to individuals prior to them joining a library board. Once a person knows what the expectations are they may want to reconsider joining.
Regardless, we sincerely want your opinion. What is your response to this question?
“Would requiring new trustees to attend mandatory training be a deterrent to them joining a library board?”
Please email your response to NYSALB@nycap.rr.com.
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Government Leaders Read About “Revolution in the Stacks”
By State Senator Hugh T. Farley, Chair, Senate Subcommittee on Libraries, and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, Chair,
Assembly Committee on Libraries and Education Technology
The June 2008 issue of Governing magazine, a monthly publication read by 280,000 federal, state, and local government leaders, featured a story about libraries' efforts to appeal to a new generation of young, tech-savy readers.
The story describes such "Library 2.0" initiatives as multi-media programs in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, library book vending machines at commuter rail stations in California, and a newly-built event-oriented library in Salt Lake City which has become that community's second-most-visited tourist attraction.
For most in the library community, this news is not entirely new.
But, with its featured position in the national magazine and high visibility on Governing's website, www.governing.com, the story has reached tens of thousands of political leaders, public administrators, and other government workers who may not have regular contact with library planning and technology.
This creates several excellent opportunities for trustees to showcase what your library does, is planning to do, or could do with sufficient resources.
You can use the publication to open, re-open, or continue dialogues with federal, state, and local elected officials, public administrators, and other public servants. "Did you read the article in Governing?" is a fine way to start a conversation. Certainly you'll be talking with mayors, supervisors, and legislators. But think about transit administrators, tourism promoters, and other government workers whose fields are connected with libraries in the story.
You can share the national story with local editorial writers and news commentators, and show parallels to your local accomplishments or plans. When an issue receives national attention, a local angle makes a good local story.
And, you can be sure that your patrons are aware of this and other media coverage of twenty-first century library initiatives. People take very personal ownership of their local library, and often have little means to compare services with libraries in other communities. National news coverage offers a "hook" for demonstrating local successes, and for building patron support for new initiatives.
News reporters and editors are among libraries' biggest boosters, as their jobs and their personal interests in reading nd research focus on your reason for being. This is a good example of the value of a good news story.
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Digital Collection Initiative New York State Library
Digitization is the wave of the future and establishing standards and best practices is essential. The Regents Advisory Council on Libraries is working with the New York State Library, the New York State Archives and other partners across the state to transform excellent local and regional digitization projects into a statewide collaborative effort to achieve just that. The Regents Advisory Council along with project partners presented a proposal for a New York Digital Collection Initiative to the Regents Cultural Education Committee at the May Regents meeting.
The New York Digital Collection Initiative promotes the digitization efforts of New York’s libraries, archives, historical societies, museums, public broadcasting stations and other organizations. It would help them to effectively digitize, preserve and share culturally important documents and other significant artifacts within a flexible and collaborative framework supporting multiple formats such as text, graphics and video. The Digital Collection would also incorporate commercial digital resources, such as those currently provided by NOVELNY, the pilot project for a Statewide Internet Library.
The initiative would make the digital collections of major research institutions as well as those of local cultural institutions and other smaller organizations accessible to all New Yorkers through a user-friendly Web portal. The Initiative would also support the long-term preservation of New York’s unique digital collections for future generations.
Librarians, archivists, local historians and others will benefit from high-quality consultation services, training, standards, best practices, and in a later phase, State grants for adding new digital content. The Initiative is a collaborative venture of the Regents Advisory Council on Libraries, the Association of Public Broadcasting Stations of New York (ABPSNY), the Museum Association of New York (MANY), and the State Historical Records Advisory Board (SHRAB).
More information on The New York Digital Collection Initiative can be found online at http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/adviscns/rac/index.html.
Digital Collections Available
The American Library Association has designated the digital resource of The Sir William Johnson Papers as a "Notable Government Document." The Papers represent just one of the over 65,000 documents that the New York State Library has in digital format. Johnson served from 1755 to 1774 as the British Superintendent of Indian Affairs for New York and was also a military leader during the French and Indian War. These papers focus on intercultural relations and diplomatic endeavors among the British, French and Iroquois nations that Johnson was involved with.
The digitized version recreates a 14-volume set of papers that were originally published from 1921-1965. With the addition of these Papers the New York State Library has over two million pages worth of digitized documents relating to New York State. For more information go to http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/library/ann/johnson.htm.
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NYSALB reaches record high in library and system membership.
459 libraries and systems have joined in 2008.
Membership automatically enrolls their trustees which has also reached a new high of 3,950!
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From the Editor’s Desk
Sam Patton, TRUSTEE Editor
All of us in the New York Library world will miss Janet Welch as she retires. Commissioner Mills has announced the appointment of Jeffrey W. Cannell, Deputy Commissioner for Cultural Education, as Acting State Librarian and Assistant Commissioner for Libraries. He has served as Deputy Commissioner for Cultural Education since his appointment in March 2007.
Libraries are getting creative in their effort to gain more public awareness of their activities. For example, the Westchester Library System coordinates seasonal reading initiatives and featured author events for the local community. Their African American Writers & Readers Literary Tea, held annually on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, celebrated its tenth year in 2008, and garnered 47 placements in print and online media.
If your library is doing something special in publicity or fund raising, please let me know.
We are pleased that NYSALB membership has reached 3,950. We hope that many of these new Trustees were among the nearly 100 attendees at the annual Trustee Institute in Saratoga. Look for more about the Institute in this issue.
I hope to see many of you at the NYLA meeting, also in Saratoga this fall.
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Distinguished Service Award given to Tina Thompson
The NYSALB DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD was presented this year at the Trustee Institute in Saratoga Springs. No one has accomplished more for libraries in New York State than Tina Thompson. She is generous with her time and talents and made a genuine commitment to the Henrietta Public Library, the Monroe County Library System, and the New York State Association of Library Boards. She is the epitome of what every Trustee should be.
Tina has been a Board Trustee for the Henrietta Public Library for 26 years. She was honored as the Henrietta, New York Woman of the Year. She has been a staunch supporter of the importance of the public library from a user’s point of view as well as that of a Trustee. As a young mother she brought her own children to the library for story hours and programs. Later, as a Trustee and as the caretaker of others’ children, she was, and continues to be, a steady and popular patron of the library.
As a library trustee, Tina quickly made herself a part of the library community by her thorough understanding of the workings of our town library, the Monroe County Library System, and the Trustee Council of the Monroe County Library System. She has served terms in every office on the Henrietta Board, multiple times as President, and has been a regular on the Minerva Campbell Writing Contest Committee. The latter is so named in honor of Henrietta’s first Board President; and is a community wide juried writing contest for junior high and high school students that has grown from several entries to over 100 currently. Tina continues to enrich her understanding of library operation and educate herself in the duties and responsibilities of a Trustee. She attends every MCLS Trustee Workshop and has taken extended training on leadership, financial issues, and strategic planning.
Tina was an early charter member and President of the MCLS Trustee Council, an organization that sought to bring together Trustees from all the member libraries of the Monroe County Library System. This Council served as a meeting place for member Library Boards to discuss events, tackle problems, and gain expertise in their roles as Trustees. She has been a member of advocacy groups and MCLS Member Contract committees. She is the voice of experience in many discussions and at many meetings. In 1995, she won the Service Beyond Measure Award from the Monroe County Library System in recognition of excellence for her service to the System
Most recently, she has completed 3 terms of service as a dedicated and valuable member of the New York State Association of Library Boards. She was active and involved serving as Secretary of the NYSALB Board and planned a very successful NYSALB Conference in the spring of 2005. Her work ethic and conscientious attention to detail and duty were major assets to this organization. She continues to be the liaison between NYSALB and NYLA.
She has always been an advocate for libraries. She gives hours during Library Week talking to patrons and soliciting postcards and letters to the NYS Legislature. She attends Lobby Day in Albany. She has been willing to give up holiday time with her family to do library projects. Nothing is “irrelevant” if Tina is needed.
Tina is a Trustee whose knowledge and presence is a steadfast example of the excellence and importance of Trusteeship in New York State libraries. Her creativity, passion, and enthusiasm for the Henrietta Public Library, the Monroe County Library System, and her NYSALB experience epitomize the spirit of this Distinguished Service Award.
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NYSALB Board Welcomes New Member
Rita Reissig was elected to the NYSALB Board at the annual meeting of NYSALB at the Trustee Institute at Saratoga Springs.
Her love and support of libraries has been a lifelong endeavor. Rita was raised on a farm in central Kansas. Once a week, the family car went to town for errands and essentials. A trip to the library was always included. The summertime reading program was very important to her and her parents.
Rita joined the board of trustees of the Geneva Free Library (an association library at the time) in January of 1999. She was serving as President of the library when the library opted to become a school district public library in November of 2005. As an elected trustee of the new school district library, she is currently active on the board and library activities and serves as the chairman of the internal audit committee.
From 2000 to 2005, she served as the central library representative on the Pioneer Library System board of trustees. For two of those five years, Rita served as president of the Pioneer board.
Rita is currently in her first five-year term as an elected trustee of the Geneva Public Library. The Geneva library still serves as the Central Library of the Pioneer Library System.
“I feel Pioneer has been a true leader in advocacy for libraries in New York. Finally, it seems our trips to Albany are beginning to produce results for libraries across the state. Certainly NYSALB has worked hard to make our legislative body more aware of the importance of libraries.”
“Personally, I have always felt libraries are truly one institution that is available to everyone in our communities regardless of race or economic status.”
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Claudia Radin Gets Velma Moore Award
The 2008 Velma Moore Award winner is Claudia Radin. She represents the Horseheads Free Library, but her contributions go far beyond. Claudia’s projects and endeavors have been invaluable to the area’s public libraries. This includes the Chemung County Library District, the Southern Tier Library System, and the Friends of the Horseheads Library.
Claudia has been a library trustee for over twenty years, serving on numerous committees and as president of both the Horseheads Library and Southern Tier Library System. She instituted a long-term commitment to enhancing the management skills of the Horseheads and Southern Tier Library System staff, including staff and director evaluation programs. She worked on renovation and automation of the Horseheads Library including installation of under carpet Category-5 wiring; major reconstruction to allow for patron computer terminals and a handicapped accessible restroom; upgrades to the exterior of the facility including new portico and front entryway, new sidewalks and handicapped ramp and railing. Chemung County and the Southern Tier Library System services were merged with Claudia at the helm. She served on the Task Force to create and promote the Chemung County Library District by merging Horseheads and Steele Libraries.
It is evident that Claudia is a natural leader. She challenged both Library and System Boards to rethink services. Today, as a result of Claudia’s leadership, residents in Horseheads, Chemung County and the entire Southern Tier region receive better library services. Claudia Radin speaks to the tradition of library activists honored by the Velma Moore award. Congratulations!!!
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Broadband Access – From the State Library
According to a national study funded by the American Library Association in 2007, 95 percent of public libraries in New York do not have adequate broadband access. The New York State Library, in an effort to improve connectivity in public libraries, was awarded a Universal Broadband Access Grant in the amount of $621,010 from the New York State Office for Technology (OFT) through the NYS Universal Broadband Access Grant Program. The State Library will work with the state's public library systems and the New York Library Association (NYLA) to implement a project entitled “Bringing Broadband to New York’s Libraries,” a project that targets public libraries in high need areas of the state, both rural and urban.
Many public libraries not only struggle with the high cost of broadband connectivity but also with upgrading their technology. The State Library has obtained a matching grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that will provide 421 public libraries with $5.6 million in new public access computers and peripherals.
Studies show that public libraries are already the primary place New Yorkers turn to in the local community for public access computing and digital literacy training. Many libraries sponsor regularly scheduled classes for people of all ages in how to use computers, email, computer software programs, the Internet, online library electronic resources like those offered by the NOVELNY pilot project and much more. With the increased broadband access and up to date computers from these two special grant programs, the State Library and its partners are helping New York's public libraries provide even more exciting opportunities for lifelong learning and enjoyment.
For more information on the Universal Broadband Access Grant Program go to the New York State Library website at www.nysl.nysed.gov and click on “NYSL Receives Broadband Access Grant.” For more information on
the Gates Online Opportunity Hardware Grant Program go to http://srv36.nysed.gov/libdev/gateslib/hardware/index.html.
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