Mark Your Calendar ...

Friday, February 8 - "Microsoft Access: Intermediate Level" will be held from 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at the NNYLN in Potsdam. The cost is $15.00 for library staff, and $59.95 for all others. Lunch will be included.

Monday, February 18 - The NNY Library Network will be closed in observance of Presidents’ Day.

Wednesday, February 20 - The Winter Webinar "RSS and Libraries" will be broadcast from your computer from 2:15-3:45 p.m. There is no cost to participate, but registration is required.

To sign up for a class or Webinar, or for more information, call the NNYLN at 315-265-1119 or 877-833-1674, or sign up on-line at www.nnyln.org and click on "Training & Workshops."

"Safe Haven" Oral Histories Are Available Online

The "Oral Histories: Emergency Refugee Shelter at Fort Ontario (Safe Haven)" are now available online through SUNY Oswego’s Penfield Library.

"For the first time, we are able to make available to people the oral history tapes from the Safe Haven project that have been stored for the past several years in Special Collections," Library Director Mary Beth Bell reported. "These tapes include oral histories of Safe Haven by individuals who lived there and/or played some role in bringing refugees to Oswego, and providing shelter and a place to live without fear. I am proud to have the tapes on our website."

A segment from the site notes, "In August of 1944, close to 1,000 refugees from war torn Europe were placed in an internment camp at Fort Ontario to await the outcome of the Second World War. The majority of these refugees were Jewish and had recently been liberated from the persecutions of Nazism in central Europe. Their stay in Oswego was to become an emotional event for the community of Oswego and a political conundrum for the nation. It was not until January of 1946 that the gates of the War Refugee Center were opened and the refugees allowed to become truly free." The tapes are available at www.oswego.edu/library/archives/safe_haven.html.

Training On Demand Program Is Available

CE Assist - Training on Demand, a program to help members meet the need for customized staff training, is available to NNYLN members.

Through CE Assist, member libraries may apply to receive financial assistance to provide on-site staff training or consultations for their library employees. If, for example, a library wanted to train its entire staff in the application of a new program or policy, the library could make arrangements for a trainer to come to the library for staff training, and the library could apply for up to $1,000 in assistance for that training.

Who is eligible: NNYLN member libraries and systems.

What is eligible: On-site staff training and professional education, arranged and hosted by the member library. Funds from NNYLN would cover: consultant/speaker’s fees and travel expenses.

How much: Libraries may request reimbursement for 50 percent of a speaker’s/presenter’s costs for an event, or $1,000, whichever is less.

For more information, please contact the NNYLN.