Nominate Someone Special - Deadline March 11, 2013

Nominate someone for “Outstanding Paralibrarian of the Year” or “Paralibrarian Advocate of the Year”.

Honor that outstanding paralibrarian you’ve worked with over the past year who consistently provides excellent service to everyone and goes above and beyond the call of duty each and every day.  Give them the opportunity to be recognized by their peers at this year’s annual MLA conference in Cambridge.

What better way to provide a meaningful tribute to that person who brings more to the job than what’s written in their job description!  How often has your paralibrarian colleague:
·        Assisted you in endless ways
·        Represented the library at a community or statewide event
·        Thought quickly on her/his feet to solve a problem
·        Taken initiative to begin a new service
·        Shown flexibility and adaptability with a difficult situation
·        Been an inspiration to others
·        Gone beyond the call of duty
If you work with or know someone who has demonstrated some of these immeasurable qualities, nominate him or her for “Paralibrarian of the Year”.

AND THERE’S MORE!!

Equally as important is the “Paralibrarian Advocate of the Year”.  Do you know a director, trustee, supervisor, colleague or paralibrarian who has demonstrated their knowledge of the value of paralibrarians?  Former award winners were honored because they worked hard to increase the visibility of non-MLS staff.  These winners looked beyond the tasks of the job description and created new and exciting opportunities for paralibrarians while they demonstrated outstanding support for their valued colleagues.

You have the ability to say thank you in a very special and public way.  Submit your nomination for that exceptional coworker, assistant, collaborator at http://mla.memberlodge.org/  Click on the dark brown box on MLA’s homepage that says:  “Nominate an Outstanding Paralibrarian or Paralibrarian Advocate today”.

Submission deadline is Monday, March 11, 2013! 

Don’t miss this opportunity to say “thanks”!!

 

2013 Berkshire Legislative Breakfast

On Friday, January 25, 2013, more than 50 Berkshire librarians, trustees, elected officials and library supporters attended the 15^th breakfast at the Mason Library in Great Barrington.  Senator Benjamin Downing, Representatives Gailanne Cariddi, Paul Mark, and Smitty Pignatelli attended and shared their observations and advice. 

·         The Governor’s budget has been released; the House budget will be released April 10. 

·         Representatives will be submitting their budget priorities in February and March. 

·         Start now - make sure your representatives know what is important to your library and your users. 

·         Contact your friends, relatives and colleagues in the eastern districts of the Commonwealth and ask them to write, call, email their legislators supporting the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners’ 2014 Legislative Agenda.

·         Attend Library Legislative Day at the State House March 26.  (The Western Mass Library Advocates will be sending information on the bus very shortly.)

·         Debate on the House budget will begin in earnest the last week of April.

If you haven’t attended a legislative breakfast yet, check the Massachusetts LibraryAssociation website for opportunities in your area.  Join your colleagues and let your representatives and senator know what your library needs.  Bring your trustees and elected officials.  Advocate.  It’s good for you.

Wine & Cheese Tasting to benefit South Hadley Building Project

Wine & Cheese Tasting
Saturday, February 9^th

To benefit the New South Hadley Public Library Project 

from 6:30—9:00pm @Fellowship Hall,
Falls Congregational Church, 11 North Main Street, South Hadley

Eight Wines! Artisanal Cheeses! Door Prizes & More!

Wine Selected & Served by Provisions of Northampton

Tickets $25 each

Sponsored by the Friends of the Library

Available at the South Hadley Public Library’s Main Desk; call 413-538-5045 or email friendsofshpl@yahoo.com to request tickets

Library Legislative Breakfast Season Begins

Friday morning, January 11, 2013, over 70 library advocates and legislators met at the stunning new Nahman-Watson Library at Greenfield Community College (GCC) to promote library funding and discuss legislative strategies and options.  Colrain library user Cynthia McLaughlin eloquently explained how important her library is to her and her family and how crucial access to network resources and electronic data bases is to their educational and informational needs.  As an addition to his comments, Student trustee (of GCC) Michael Lewis offered a very poignant and illustrative poem on the value and comfort of a student’s library.

Our legislators Senator Stan Rosenberg, Representatives Steve Kulik and Paul Mark as well as aides Brian Eno (Andrews), Dana Muller (Scibak), Rebecca Fricke (Story), Paul Dunphy (Kulik), and Diana Szynal (Kocot) offered strategic as well as tactical advice and listened carefully to our library issues.   

Their most critical advice:  contact your friends, relatives and colleagues living in eastern Mass. communities and encourage them to contact their legislators.  Western Mass Legislators are on board with library issues.  They, like us, need more support from the more heavily populated Eastern portions of the Commonwealth to influence priorities for funding.  Also, keep the Governor in  your communications loop.

If you did not attend the GCC breakfast, there are several more on the schedule (the next are 1/25/13 Canderas – Wilbraham and Downing – Great Barrington).  Sign up and support your library.  For a full schedule of western Massachusetts events, see the Advocates website.  For the statewide schedule, see the Massachusetts Library Association Website.

WMLA Priorities Survey by January 15

Dear Library Directors and Staff:

Happy New Year!

On behalf of the Western Massachusetts Library Advocates (WMLA), which proudly advocates on behalf of the libraries in Western Mass., I am asking you and your library staff to please participate in a brief survey in order for us to determine your needs so that we can better serve you.

Please click on the following link, respond to each of the ten (10) questions included in the survey, and then click 'Done' when you have finished:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JGZN3CZ.

The survey should take no more than 10 – 12 minutes to complete. Your responses are completely confidential. Please note that the deadline is Tuesday, January 15 at 5:00 p.m.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to complete the survey and for letting us know how you would like us to focus our energies on your behalf with local and state officials, including those at the Massachusetts Library System (MLS) and at the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC), as we begin the new year. We will share the results of the survey with you by the end of January on the WMLA One Blog.

Best wishes for a prosperous and joyous 2013 from all of us at WMLA,

Chris

Christopher J. Lindquist

President

Western Massachusetts Library Advocates (WMLA)

MLS Whately

4 Sandy Lane

Whately, MA 01093  

WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS LIBRARY ADVOCATES - SURVEY COMING SOON

The Western Massachusetts Library Advocates (WMLA) are setting their priorities for the coming year.  Notice and links to an online survey will be distributed through email in the next few days.  The survey deadline is January 15.  Please take a few moments to share your thoughts.  We'll be working hard on your behalf.  We want to be sure we are focused in the appropriate areas.

Nancy Hahn, Sheffield, Retires

The Friends and Trustees of the Bushnell-Sage Library in Sheffield honored retiring librarian Nancy Hahn at a reception at the library on Friday, December 15, 2012.  The festivities and remarks were warm and informal led by Patrick Burns of the Friends.  Approximately 150 people attended the reception including several librarians from throughout the region:  John Campbell (Nancy’s predecessor), Kate Deviny (Gt. Barrington), Sharon Hawkes (Lenox), Anne Just (formerly Gt. Barrington), Chris Lindquist (Westfield), Shirley Keech (formerly WMRLS), Mary King (Massachusetts Library System - MLS), Mary Kronholm (Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners - MBLC),  Mark Makuc (Monterey), Georgia Massucco (formerly of Lee), Katie O’Neil (Stockbridge), Dan Paquette (Lee), John Ramsay (Springfield), Jan Resnick (MBLC), and Rosie Schneyer (formerly Stockbridge.)  Representative Smitty Pignatelli commended Nancy’s service as did Sheffield officials, Friends, library users and Trustees.  Chris Lindquist, President of the Western Massachusetts Library Advocates (WMLA), presented Nancy with a bouquet of flowers and a certificate thanking her for her contributions to the library community.  It was an evening of good company, great food, and an opportunity to honor Nancy’s 11 years of dedicated service to the town of Sheffield.