Points North - April

April 1, 2015

NNYLN Hosting ASK US 24/7 Class On May 6

This class is focused on providing service updates and advanced training for current ASKUS 24/7 participants, but is open to all who might be interested in becoming an ASKUS 24/7 participant. Participation in ASKUS 24/7 is subsidized by the Northern New York Library Network.

ASKUS 24/7 is a service that allows libraries to receive and provide virtual reference services, allowing patrons to access needed librarian services at any time.

The instructor is Jaclyn McKewan, the Emerging Technologies Librarian at Western New York Library Resources Council. The class will be taught at NNYLN on May 6th from 10am - 2pm, free of charge. Lunch will be provided.

10th Annual Northern New York Library Network Award for Outstanding Student Workers in NNYLN Member Libraries

The staff of participating NNYLN libraries are invited to elect students to receive this award. These students exemplify the standards of service and professionalism that make them role models for all student workers in libraries.

Full and part-time students are eligible to be awarded by supervisory personnel from the participating libraries. Only one student worker can be awarded per library.

Awardees will exhibit these characteristics:

* Excellent Attendance Record
* Outstanding Patron Service Skills and Colleague Interaction
* Strong Leadership Among Peers
* Responsibility
* Interest and Initiative

Awardees will be presented with a token gift, as well as a certificate suitable for mention on resumes.

Selections for awardees are due by Friday, April 10th and should be emailed to John Hammond.

50 Volume Set of Harvard Classics Available

Audrey and James Autenrith are looking to give away to a library the 50 volume set of Harvard Classics. The library would need to pick up the books.

Libraries that are interested in this set may contact Audrey and James at 315-265-8345.

New York State Budget Approved - Library Aid Increase

The New York State budget was approved by the State Legislature earlier this week. After much hard work by library advocates, lobbyists, Friends, users, and librarians, we made one of our best showings in many years:

We received a $5 million increase in library aid over the Governor's proposal of $86.6M, bringing us to $91.6M
$1.3M MTA tax reimbursement was approved
A permanent MTA tax exemption for public library systems and public/association libraries was put into place
$14M in library construction aid was approved

The $5 million increase represents the biggest single-year increase in library aid in 7 years, and library advocates have been trying to get the MTA tax exemption since 2011.

Congratulations to all who put time and effort in telling the library story!

NNYLN Annual Archives and Special Collections Conference

NNYLN's 5th Annual Archives and Special Collections conference will be on May 1st and will take place at the Crowne Plaza Resort in Lake Placid.

Erica Burke, the Archivist and Special Collections Librarian at the Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library will be speaking about the reference interactions between members of the public researching genealogy and archivists and special librarians. In addition, there will be a presentation about the new features and additions to the New York State Historic Newspapers web site, and the New York Heritage website.

This conference is free to attend and will start at 9am and end at 2:30pm. Lunch will be provided to attendees.

To register for this conference please fill out the registration form.

NNYLN 50th Annual Conference

NNYLN's 50th Annual Meeting will be on May 21st and will take place at the Riveredge Resort in Alexandria Bay. Join with colleagues from across the North Country for a day of networking, education, and fun.

Further information about this conference will be coming soon.

In Memoriam

Marcia Eggleston passed away on March 30, 2015 at Canton-Potsdam Hospital surrounded by her loving family.

Among her many professional accomplishments Marcia served as Director of the St. Lawrence-Lewis School Library System.

To read the obituary, courtesy of North Country Now, please click the picture above.

She will be missed.

NNYLN Award for Excellence in Library Service

The Northern New York Library Network will present its 25th Annual Award for Excellence in Library Service at the 2015 Annual Meeting on May 21 at the Riveredge Resort in Alexandria Bay. The Network would like to encourage nominations for this prestigious award at this time.

Recommendations will be held in confidence, and the winner will receive a framed certificate, recognition at the annual meeting and in Network publications, and $1,000.

More can be learned about this award by going to the Excellence Award Nominations web page. Nominations are due on May 4, 2015.

NY 3Rs Association, Inc. Webinar: Collections Security

Providing access to collections and mounting exhibits are great ways to expand the reach and impact of collections, but also come with inherent security risks.

This live, two hour webinar will explore the nature of these security risks; provide guidance for assessing building, reading room, and storage spaces; and cover basic policies that help protect collections from theft and vandalism.

This webinar will take place April 16, from 2-4pm. Registration is free and can be done on the NY 3Rs Association, Inc. web page.

New Lynda.com Courses Available

NNYLN has purchased a subscription from lynda.com to provide online technical training to library staff in the region free of charge.

Here are some recently added courses:

iPads in Education: Deploying Shared iPads

Wordpress Workflows

Excel 2011 for the Mac: Managing and Analyzing Data

Staff members can sign up for Lynda.com access in one month or two-week increments.

Learn more about this service on NNYLN's website.