September 2009

Personnel of NNYLN member libraries recently took advantage of the Professional Development Grants to attend events outside the area.

Sarah Sachs, Youth Services Librarian at Potsdam Public Library, and three instructors from SUNY Potsdam’s Department of Literacy, Dr. Lynn Hall, Dr. Deborah Conrad and Ms. Carolyn Stone, presented the workshop, Talking about Texts: Evaluating Children's Literature to Engage Scientific Inquiry in the Elementary Classroom, at the May 3-7, 2009 International Reading Association Convention in Minneapolis, MN.

"The workshop, which requires 50-75 children’s texts to present, was supported by the generous book donations from many publishers also attending the conference. The team returned to Potsdam with 150 books that now reside in the Rebecca V. Sheard Literacy Center at SUNY Potsdam," Ms. Sachs noted.

"An unusual addition to the workshop was a visit by author and publisher Bruce Lansky, who performed a poem published by his company, Meadowbrook Publishing," Ms. Sachs said. "Other highlights of the convention included speeches by authors Khaled Hosseini, Sharon Creech, and Laurie Halse Anderson and many workshops by experts in the reading field."

Jefferson Community College’s Melvil Dewey Library Automation Coordinator Kenyon Wells attended the New York State Library Assistants’ Association Annual Conference on June 10-12, 2009 at Russell Sage College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

His first workshop was Artists’ Books: A Discussion with Selection from the Women’s Studio Workshop presented by Fran Scott, Art and Architecture Librarian at RPI.

"Fran explained that artists’ books are books created by artists using their works as content. Discussion ranged from how to recognize artist’s books to acquisition, collection management, presentation and preservation," Mr. Wells noted.

He also attended Copyright & Intellectual Property Laws: Libraries in the Digital Age, presented by Irving Stephens, Manager of Public Services for the RPI libraries.

"Copyright is often a dreaded topic among library staff, and a two hour session describing its relationship to the digital age of libraries might seem as welcoming as a root canal. However, Mr. Stephens PowerPoint presentation outlining the relationships of copyright and intellectual property laws with library print and digital services, including the legal basis of copyright, the effects of copyright on course reserves, interlibrary loan and photocopying, was an interesting and eye opening experience," Mr. Wells said. "Mr. Stephens left ample time at the end of his program to answer questions that dealt with specific instances and questions of copyright law and procedure of which there were many!!"

Monday, Sept. 7 - The NNYLN office will be closed in observance of Labor Day.

Thursday, Sept. 10 - The NNYLN Board of Trustees will meet at 10:00 a.m. at the Network office in Potsdam.

Monday, Sept. 14 - "Mail Merge with Microsoft Office 2007" will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the CEF Library System in Plattsburgh. The cost is $10.00 for library staff members, free to Blue Line library staff, and $29.95 for all others.

Wednesday, Sept. 16 - The NNYLN’s Automation Committee will meet at 10:30 a.m. at the Network office in Potsdam.

By Tracey Labarge, CEFLS NYSLAA’s 31st Annual Conference was held June 10-12, 2009, at Russell Sage College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. Library assistants from all across New York came together to attend workshops, network, exchange ideas, and have some fun. Workshops on topics such as creating a website, copyright laws, social networking, and personal growth were offered, as well as many others. A dinner and dancing cruise on the Hudson River gave the group some time to sit back and relax.

(L to R) Sue Lefebvre, Michele Bintz, Christina Coryea, Tracey LaBarge, Karen Hulbert and Karen Ricketson

(Tracey’s attendance to the conference was made possible with a Professional Development Grant from the Northern New York Library Network.)

The North Country’s Marcia Eggleston has been elected as the NYLA Council President Elect for 2010, and President for 2011. Upon running for the office, Mrs. Eggleston said, "In order to show NYLA members that I am ready and willing to work for you, let me share some of my experiences with you. Northern Area School Library Media Specialists is my local affiliate and I’ve been an active member since 1983, serving as secretary twice, vice president and president twice. "While working for NASLMS, Sara Kelly Johns asked me to run for Region IV representative on the SLMS Board. That was 1990 and I’ve been actively involved with SLMS ever since, serving as the region rep twice, secretary twice and president. I currently serve as the Educational Leadership Chair and archivist, which means I have custody of Melvil Dewey!," she added.

"At Norwood-Norfolk, I’ve served on my union negotiations committee for the past 19 years, as well as serving as an officer of the union for 11 years, as well as numerous other committees and interview teams.  I believe these experiences have prepared me for the job of NYLA president elect, working to keep NYLA a vibrant, professional and fun organization," she commented.