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MEMBER LIBRARY WEEKLY BULLETIN

No.11-48                                                                                                                                        December 22, 2011

 FLLS will be closed on Friday, December 23 and Monday, December 26.

Happy Holidays to all!

 Table of Contents (listed in the order they appear)

Coburn Library Receives NYLA Disaster Relief Funds

Last week, representatives of NYLA, including President Matt Bollerman, Past-President Marcia Eggleston, Deputy Director Jeremy Johannesen and Michael Borges, visited nine libraries to hand deliver $1,000 checks to help them with their recovery efforts, including Coburn Library in Owego.  

Visit http://www.nyla.org/page/library-disaster-relief-details-494.html to see list of all libraries that received financial assistance and to see a photo of Karen accepting her check!

South Route Delivery News

Starting January 3, 2012 the South Route delivery will be managed by FLLS in lieu of being contracted to an outside courier service. We have been very pleased with the service provided by the Express Courier and George Watkins. This measure is being implemented in response to reduced state and county funding as a cost saving measure.   

On January 3 -- please welcome John Leonard and Lou Pacelli as the South Route delivery drivers. John will be handling delivery on Tuesday and Thursday and Lou on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The drivers will be following the same schedule as Express Courier. John currently sorts delivery materials for our South and North runs and will be increasing hours with the driver position. Lou is a substitute driver for our North Route delivery. Tom Smith, the North Route driver will be training Lou and John on the South Route for the first week of January. Please welcome John and Lou to the FLLS delivery team.     

Property Tax Cap and Libraries with Votes

Kim and Elaine attended a workshop held at the Southern Tier Library System regarding the Property Tax Cap and libraries. The following points were noted:  

 

  1. If your library has funding that is the result of a levy  that the library placed on a ballot-- the library is required by law to file a form with the Comptroller’s office to calculate the property tax cap levy amount. This form is required each year regardless of whether the library has asked or plans on asking for a vote increase. Libraries should have received a login and password from the Comptroller’s office to access the required e-form that must be filed. Many libraries have reported that they did not receive an email. If your library has not received a login and password please visit the following link for additional information - www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/realprop/index.htm - and contact the Comptroller’s office at (518) 473-0006 for your library’s username and pin.

  2. If your library plans to place a measure on the ballot in 2012 that would exceed the property tax cap you are required to pass a resolution prior to adoption of the library’s 2012 budget. The resolution must be passed by a 60% majority of the library’s seated Board. A resolution to exceed the cap must be passed each year by a majority of the seated Board if the library plans on exceeding the tax cap via a levy. It was also noted that the formula used to calculate the property tax cap by the Comptroller has many factors and is not calculated by just adding 2% to the existing levy.

  3. The Property tax cap legislation has steps that are required by libraries placing levies on the ballot from the time the law was enacted and going forward. According to the new law, libraries with levies must file information for calculating the tax levy limit with the Comptroller’s Office before the library adopts its budget.  Libraries planning to increase their ballot amounts to exceed the cap must also pass a resolution to exceed the tax cap prior to adopting the budget.

Additional info about the cap can be found at the following sites along with sample resolutions on the NYLA site.

 http://www.nyla.org/page/tax-cap-information-for-libraries-535.html

 www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/realprop/index.htm

Michael Borges to Visit

Finger Lakes Library System in collaboration with Tompkins County Library & Tompkins County Library Foundation are very happy to present a special program for Elected Officials, Trustees, and Library Leaders featuring Michael Borges, Executive Director, New York Library Association.

 

Mr. Borges will be visiting two locations within the Finger Lakes Library System:

January 12, 2012 at the Seneca Falls Library – 47 Cayuga Street, Seneca Falls, NY.

January 13, 2012 at the Tompkins County Public Library, Borg Warner Room – 101 E. Green St., Ithaca, NY

Both visits will have the following schedule:

8:30 – 9:00 am – Breakfast & Registration

9:00 – 10:00 am – “The Future of Libraries: Funding, Collections & Services”

10:15 – noon – Roles & Responsibilities for Trustees and Volunteer Leadership as Library Advocates.

Please RSVP by January 10, 2012 to Michelle Taber: mtaber@flls.org; 607-273-4074, ext. 221.

 Library List of Closed Dates

The following libraries have not submitted a list of closed dates for 2012: Marathon, Moravia and Newark Valley.

These libraries now have items due on days when it is likely that you will be closed, such as January 2 or 16, 2012.

Please send your closed dates to Jan Aguirre – jaguirre@flls.org - as soon as you possible.

Thank you!

Community Demographics

The Census Bureau released American Community Survey Estimates of socio-economic statistics for every community in the nation for the years 2006 to 2010.

http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml

ILL Update

Let your patrons know that in January 2012 we will begin processing requests for items published in 2011; however it may be difficult to find lenders for these relatively new books.

Database Update

FLLS will be discontinuing its subscriptions to Land and Peoples and the New Book of Popular Science at the end of February 2012.  Although we will lose the special features of those resources, Grolier Online (provided through NOVELNY) does have encyclopedic articles in New Book of Knowledge, Encyclopedia Americana and Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia that cover most of the geographic and scientific content of Lands and People and the New Book of Popular Science.

 Caroline Kennedy to Librarians: “Your Work Is Truly Life Changing”

“Caroline Kennedy was the keynote speaker at the Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award Ceremony in New York City. The program is administered by the American Library Association's Campaign for America's Libraries.

The event honored ten librarians who were recognized for service to their communities, schools and campuses. More than 1,700 library patrons nominated a librarian. The event also was part of Carnegie Corporation's Centennial Celebration.”

 

To read her full speech, go to:

http://atyourlibrary.org/culture/caroline-kennedy-librarians-your-work-truly-life-changing

Annual Report Mini-Workshop

We have reached that time of year when the NYS-required Annual Reports will be due soon.  While the Bibliostat Collect site is not available yet, all libraries are encouraged to look at the print version of the report and begin filling in what you can. In addition, there are several changes to this year’s report that are worth reading over now so you can prepare.

Where to Find Copies of the Report Materials

To obtain a copy of the report, go to: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/libs/11report.pdf .

 To obtain the report instructions, go to: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/libs/11instructions.pdf .

 To obtain a list of the changes, go to: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/libs/11change.pdf .

Information Will Be Forthcoming

Instructions, statistics and other information to help you with the report will be arriving from FLLS shortly after January 1st. 

DEADLINE!!

PLEASE NOTE: THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT THE REPORT IS TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012. Please mark your calendars.

Rosen Fund

The Community Foundation has formally announced that the 2012 Rosen Fund grant guidelines and applications are now posted on Community Foundation website at:

http://www.cftompkins.org/granting/grant-opportunities/#grant-3

Please note that the application’s budget section has been simplified based on feedback. The deadline is 5pm, January 18, 2012.

Please contact Annette at annette@flls.org , if you would like to brainstorm ideas, formulate outcomes, or have other grant questions.

 Random House Author Skype “Visits”

“Helping libraries connect authors and readers is a priority at Random House and with a little help from our IT friends we can transport an author cross-country to your library via Skype faster than you can say “beam me up, Scotty.”  As you plan your programming events for 2012 remember to contact me with requests for Skype author “visits.”  For your reference, here is the list of Random House groups and imprints and the searchable page for RH Authors and their scheduled appearances.”

-From Brian Nielsen, Random House Sales Representative

Contact information:

Brian Nielsen

BOT/Listening Library/RH Large Print/Living Language

Toll free:  866-202-1672

Cell:  201-673-2004

Fax: 973-316-1124

Delivery

FLLS will be closed on 12/23, 26 & 30 and 01/02/12; there will not be any deliveries on those days.

 Please note that it may take longer to fill ILL requests through the end of the year because of the holidays, especially if the loaning library is an academic library.

Training

Government Grantwriting 101with Jane Hexter

Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 9:00 am – 12:00 noon
Tompkins County Public Library, Borg Warner Room
Fee $40; Sign up at registration@hsctc.org

A Human Services Coalition workshop co-sponsored by Tompkins County Public Library.

This information-packed and fun workshop is designed for novice grant writers. The class materials will reflect recent trends in grant-making and give you the skills that you need to start preparing proposals for your organization. 

This session will cover:

This workshop is for you if:

Registration:  Register now by emailing  registration@hsctc.org or call 607.273.8686. Mail a check made out to Human Services Coalition to 100 W. Seneca St., Suite 300, Ithaca, NY 14850.  The Coalition accepts payment from organizations after the workshop has occurred, but individuals are expected to pay no later than the beginning of the workshop.

Limited scholarships are available for non-profit board and staff members who cannot attend without one.  To request a scholarship, email registration@hsctc.org. Please notify us if you have any special needs; the Coalition wishes to make its workshops accessible to everyone. Most workshops sell out, so please register as soon as possible.

Cancellation policy: If notice of cancellation is received no later than 24-hours before the start of a workshop, no payment is due. 

Presenter:
 Jane Hexter is based in Trumansburg and teaches grant writing to people throughout the United States who are committed to taking action to win grant funding for their good cause. She has raised over $28 million for her clients and won over 50 federal, state and foundation grants. She is an enthusiastic and thorough teacher. She is currently teaching at New York University’s Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising.

 [Posted on the Human Services Coalition listserv.]

Database Training – The trainings below are all through webinars and are available for library staff as well as patrons expressing strong interest in a specific database.  

EBSCO

To register, go to:

https://ebscotraining.webex.com/mw0306ld/mywebex/default.do?siteurl=ebscotraining

EBSCOHost Basic

Thursday, 1/19 - 4 PM

EBSCOHost Train the Trainer

Friday, 1/13 – 10 AM

 

EBSCOHost My Folder

Thursday, 1/19 - 1 PM

EBSCOHost Advanced

Thursday, 1/26 -   1 PM

Auto Repair Reference Center

Thursday, 1/19 – 12 pm

Last Week’s Question of the Week: Who is Joel Roberts Poinsett?

Joel Paul Poinsett (1779-1851), born in South Carolina and educated in Europe, served the United States in many capacities. He represented his native state in the U.S. Congress from 1821-1825. As the first U.S. Minister to the Republic of Mexico he negotiated a treaty of commerce; he then served as Secretary of War in the Van Buren administration. While Secretary of War, Mr. Poinsett took a leading part in founding the National Institute which later became the Smithsonian Institute.1  It was when he was in Mexico that he came across the bright red-leafed plant, botanical name of Euphorbia pulcherrima, and sent clippings back to his home in South Carolina. The historian and gardener W. H. Prescott renamed the plant Poinsettia Pucherrima (Showy Poinsettia) to honor Poinsett and his service to his country.2

 Are poinsettias poisonous? Poinsettia

While poinsettia is not deadly as popular legend would have it, it could still cause an upset stomach if consumed. Holly and mistletoe are more toxic than poinsettias and can cause intestinal upset. Christmas tree water treated with preservatives (including fertilizers) can also cause an upset stomach. Water that is allowed to stagnate in tree stands contains bacteria that, if ingested, could lead to nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.”3

 1 http://poinsettiaday.com/joel-roberts-poinsett.html

2 http://poinsettiaday.com/history.html

3 https://ebusiness.avma.org/EBusiness50/files/productdownloads/HouseholdHazards-En.pdf

 This Week’s Question of the Week will reappear in January 2012.

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