1

Trustee FYI

Spring Serving Public Libraries in Orange, Rockland, Sullivan and southern Ulster Counties since 1959 2013

Ramapo Catskill Library System

NYLA Library Advocacy Day

Library Trustees, volunteers, Friends, Champions, and staff are asked to attend

New York Library Association (NYLA) Library Advocacy Day on Tuesday,

March 5 in Albany, NY. This advocacy event is planned and coordinated each year

by NYLA and supported by library systems and libraries statewide.

We ask for your help in reaching out to our legislators for the restoration of State

Aid to library systems. We need to make the case for the value of library systems in

helping member libraries meet local needs while reducing local expenditures through

collaborative, consolidated and cooperative services. Library systems in New York

State have received flat-line funding for over two decades. They have experienced

cuts in State Aid in each of the last five years. In 2012 the cut was about 20%.

By restoring Library Aid to $102 million, the Legislature will help libraries main-

tain New York State’s critical information infrastructure.

RCLS staff prepares information packets, which provide attendees with back-

ground materials and talking points to help them make the case for libraries when

meeting with their legislators. Scheduled appointments are made with each of the

State legislators that repre-

sent the RCLS area.

In addition, RCLS along

with the Mid-Hudson Li-

brary System provides bus

transportation to Albany

leaving from five area loca-

tions – West Nyack, New-

burgh, New Paltz, Kingston

and Catskill. See the en-

closed flyer for details. To

register for the bus, use the

RCLS online calendar

(http://calendar.rcls.org/) and

click on the event. Mail your

check, $12 per person, paya-

ble to “RCLS” to Ruth

Daubenspeck at RCLS. The

registration deadline for the

bus is Monday, February 25.

Visit the RCLS Web site

for more information at

http://bit.ly/VReRhn.

What’s

Inside

2 Mark Your

Calendar

2 Public Library

Trustee to Take

an Oath of

Office

2 System

Orientation

3 Meet Roslyn

Applebaum

Huriwitz

4 Library Trustee

Advocacy

5 RCLS Board

News

6 Focus on

Trustees –

Using the

Political

Postcard

Format for

Rural Library

Marketing

7 2013 LTA

Trustee

Institute

7 New York

Library

Trustees

Online

Pictured left to right, Daniel B. Hulse (RCLS Development Officer), Martha Anderson (RCLS Trustee), Kathy Rose (Pearl River Public Library Director), Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, Christina Ryan-Linder (Pearl River Public Library Youth Services Librarian) and Samuel L. Simon, (former RCLS Trustee) NYLA Library Advocacy Day 2012

2

Trustee FYI

Mark Your Calendar

Monday, February 18 Presidents Day– RCLS CLOSED

Tuesday, February 19 RCLS Board Meeting, RCLS 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, March 5

NYLA Library Advocacy Day

Sunday, March 10—Saturday, 16 Teen Tech Week

Saturday, March 16

Freedom of Information Day

Monday, March 18 RCLS Board Meeting, RCLS 7:00 p.m.

Friday, March 29

Orange/Ulster BOCES Spring Recess Day—RCLS CLOSED

Sunday, April 7

Library Snapshot Day

Wednesday, April 10 RCLS Orientation RCLS 10:00 a.m.

Sunday, April 14—Saturday, 20

National Library Week

Monday, April 15 RCLS Board Meeting, RCLS 7:00 p.m.

Public Library Trustee to Take an

Oath of Office

Many library trustee terms began on January 1. This is an

important reminder that New York State Public Officer's Law

§10 requires all public library trustees (but not association li-

brary trustees) to take an oath of office within 30 days of begin-

ning their term of office. Public library trustees are public offic-

ers and the oath of office is required to officially undertake and

perform the duties of a public library trustee.

If a public library trustee does not properly complete and

file an oath of office, the trustee’s position may be deemed va-

cant. See Public Officer's Law §30(1)(h).

For more information about how and why the oath of office

is administered, and where to properly file an oath of office,

please see the Oaths of Office FAQ on the New York State Li-

brary Web site.

Not sure whether your library is legally a public library or

an association library? Library type information is listed for

every public and association library in New York State on the

“Find Your Public Library” Web page.

Questions about the legal requirement for oaths of office or

about library types should be directed to Brenda Adams (e-mail

or ext. 223) or Robert Hubsher (e-mail or ext. 242 at RCLS).

System Orientation

RCLS System Orientation will be conducted on Wednes-

day, April 10 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The System Orientation

introduces member library staff, trustees, Friends and others to

the RCLS staff and familiarizes them with available services.

Register today by using the RCLS online calendar at http://

calendar.rcls.org/ and clicking on the event.

TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013

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Trustee FYI

Meet Roslyn Applebaum Hurwitz

Daniel B. Hulse, RCLS Development Officer

New City resident Roslyn Applebaum Hurwitz is a new RCLS Trustee. She

was elected at the Annual Meeting on September 14 to fill the Rockland County

seat vacated by Samuel L. Simon.

A self-avowed library lover, the New City Library has been her home library

for over 40 years and she visits there at least twice a week. In praising this local

institution, Roslyn explains that she likes the ease at which she can find and re-

quest a book, and simply loves the professionalism of the staff. Whenever her

grandchildren are in town, they want to visit the New City Library with her. One

of her favorite offerings of the library is the Ten Favorite Authors list.

Roslyn is recently widowed after being married for over 50 years. She enjoyed

domestic and international travel with her husband during their time together. She

is the mother of three grown children and grandmother of four. Roslyn and her

husband moved to Rockland County with their two oldest children 41 years ago.

Her youngest child was born in Rockland. All her children attended Clarkstown

Schools and graduated from South High School. One daughter lives in Israel,

whom Roslyn visits yearly; another daughter in Chicago and a son in Westchester

County. Roslyn shared that learning to Skype has enabled more frequent visits

with her children and grandchildren.

Cooking large dinners for 12 or more has been a passionate hobby for Roslyn

over the years. At various times the number of guests has been as many as 30 peo-

ple.

Roslyn received her BA from Hunter College in Physiology and Public Health,

an Advanced Degree in Physical Therapy from Columbia Uni-

versity and a Master of Science Degree from Long Island Uni-

versity in Community Health. She holds licenses to practice both

Physical Therapy and Nursing Home Administration in the State

of New York.

During her career Roslyn has held numerous positions in

both Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation. She worked in two

major New York City Hospitals – Bellevue and Montefiore, as a

private contractor for the Visiting Nurse Service of New York

and for the Daughters of Jacob Geriatric Center and Kings Har-

bor Healthcare Center. For over 16 years she has been the Ad-

ministrator of Northern Manor in Nanuet.

Retiring about five years ago, Roslyn still does some private

contract physical therapy coverage at the Tolstoy Nursing Home

when needed.

Roslyn is a Life Member of Hadassah and a member and on

the Board of the Nanuet Jewish Center and treasurer of The Sis-

terhood.

Understanding the commitment required to serve on the

RCLS Board of Trustees, Roslyn is eagerly looking forward to

working with the other members in her appointed committee

roles and with the Board as a whole.

RCLS Trustee Roslyn Applebaum Hurwitz

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Trustee FYI

Library Trustee Advocacy

Who is in a better position to speak out about libraries

and library systems than library Trustees? Trustees are

volunteers who are seen as trying to make their commu-

nities better. While Directors and their staff are knowl-

edgeable, they are considered as having a vested inter-

est. Trustees, as volunteers and community leaders,

have a unique view of the library as a public service.

They are in a position to communicate to elected

officials the importance of the library in their com-

munity. By volunteering, Trustees are demonstrating

their strong belief in the value of the library, an institution

dedicated to the pursuit of uncensored intellectual freedom and a

source of information and lifelong learning.

Tips for talking to elected officials:

Be prepared before your visit. For information on the issues and support mate-

rials, visit the RCLS Web site at http://bit.ly/VReRhn and the New York

Library Association Web site at http://bit.ly/VRezXD.

Thank the legislator for being a library supporter. Most legislators are part of

the silent majority that support libraries and systems, but need to be encour-

aged to take a more active and visible role such as speaking up while in meet-

ings with their colleagues and writing letters to their legislative leadership.

When meeting with your legislators, remember, you are meeting with them to

educate them on the issues, not berate or lecture them. Express your frustra-

tion and disappointment at the lack of proper state funding and

what that means for your local public library and system (a service

fee to the library).

Keep your message on track. Don’t spend too much of your

limited meeting time on pleasantries. Politely bring the conversa-

tion back to the message of wanting the legislator to take action in

supporting additional funding for libraries and systems.

As you wrap up the conversation, make sure you repeat one last

time what action you hope your legislator will take. Thank them for

meeting with you and for their past support for libraries and sys-

tems. Make sure you leave them any written material you brought that backs

up your point of view.

Thank you to the New York Library Association Web site for information in prepar-

ing this article!

Snowflakes are one of nature’s

most fragile things, but look

what they can do when they

stick together.

-Verna M. Kelly

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Trustee FYI

RCLS Board News

At its Tuesday, January 22 meeting the RCLS Board held its reorganization

meeting. The new officers for 2013 are:

Ira Simon – President

Patricia Soto – Vice President

Mark Specthrie – Secretary

Carl S. Berkowitz – Treasurer

Ira Simon has served as a trustee on the RCLS Board since 2003. He served

as Vice President of the Board of Trustees of the Ethelbert B. Crawford Public

Library (Monticello) from 1989 to 1998. In 1998 he was honored with the RCLS

Award for Meritorious Service by a Library Trustee. Ira also served as President

of the Sullivan County Public Library Association from its inception in 1998

through 2002.

Ira resides in Monticello, NY with his wife Karen. The Simons have two sons.

Ira is employed at the Yeshiva Zichron Moshe in Fallsburg, NY where he is the

Principal of the Secular Studies program. He is also the co-director of Winston

Day Camp, Sackett Lake, NY.

Martha Anderson was appointed as the RCLS Representative on the Library

Trustees Association of New York State (LTA) Board. Martha holds a Bachelor

of Arts degree from Brown University and a Master of Arts degree in Education

Computing from Iona College. She is a retired middle school educator. Martha is

active on several boards and in her church. She enjoys singing in the choir, friend-

ly bridge games, book group discussions and her Kindle. Martha resides in Air-

mont, NY. She has three children and five grandchildren.

The Library Trustees Association of New York State (LTA) is a statewide

organization that represents, assists, educates and honors public library boards

and their trustees as providers of free and universal library service.

The core activities of LTA include:

Advocating support of libraries and their programs;

Communicating with library trustees to inform them of issues affecting librar-

ies and library service;

Educating trustees about their role in the library, and;

Recognizing and celebrating the accomplishments of library trustees.

By joining LTA, each trustee of the library receives a year's subscription to

Trustee, the LTA newsletter, along with occasional updates, legislative alerts or

notices of LTA events. Most important, trustees become an active partner in the

ongoing effort to strengthen and improve library service throughout the state.

For more information on LTA, visit their Web site at http://

www.librarytrustees.org/index.php.

The Library Trustee Association sponsored an information booth and two

workshop sessions at the NYLA Conference last November. As part of the LTA

booth display, it held a drawing for a Nook Color e-reader. The Nook Color win-

ner is Patricia Soto, RCLS Vice President and Trustee of the Haverstraw King’s

Daughters Public Library.

RCLS Board President Ira Simon

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Trustee FYI

Using the Political Postcard Format for Rural Library Marketing

David Miller, Former Board President State Library of Ohio

While none of us enjoy being flooded with those oversized political campaign

postcards in the heat of the elections, few can doubt that they are effective advertising

tools. They are perfect for focusing on a single aspect of a campaign issue or candi-

date. Their photo reproduction is excellent, and they also offer the opportunity to sat-

urate a mailing area by reaching every household. I think they would be an ideal way

for libraries to reach all patrons and, maybe more importantly, non-patrons in their

geographic areas to educate the public about what the libraries have to offer.

Consider:

Businesses, service organizations,

social groups and even churches

could be approached about sponsor-

ing the mailings. Hopefully enough

sponsors could be found that the li-

braries could do the mailings on a

monthly basis.

Each month should focus on a very

specific area of the library’s services or

collection. One mailing could talk about

books on CDs, while another could

highlight the wide range of periodicals

that the library receives.

The summer reading program, an annual

Community Reads program and adult

reading groups could each be in the monthly spotlight.

Try to get attractive artwork or photos to dominate the one side of the postcard and

then offer a minimum of words. You want to grab people’s attention about

some facet of the library they might be completely unaware about.

If you are proud of your Internet-access computers, that would be perfect to fea-

ture one month.

Contact a local print shop to get an estimate of the cost involved so you can

start approaching potential sponsors. Start by asking businesses or groups that have

never helped sponsor library events before. It's a great opportunity to expand your

list of supporters. This should be a no-cost way to reach many people who have not

set foot in your library for years. — DCM

David Miller has been named to the National Advocacy Honor Roll of the

American Library Association and the Association for Library Trustees and Ad-

vocates. He is past president of the State Library of Ohio Board, the Ohio Li-

brary Trustees Association and the Wood County District Public Library Board.

Miller is editor of the Sentinel-Tribune newspaper in Bowling Green, Ohio.

Comments on columns or suggestions for future columns may be sent to him at:

dcmille@verizon.net, or by calling 419.352-4611.

Focu

s on T

rust

ees

7

Trustee FYI

2013 LTA Trustee Institute

The 17th Annual Library Trustee Association (LTA) Trustee Institute for trus-

tees, directors and staff provides workshop sessions to inform, educate and chal-

lenge participants. Sessions for all levels of experience will be offered to gain valu-

able information on roles and responsibilities.

The 2013 Trustee Institute will be held on May 3 and 4 at the Millennium Ho-

tel, Buffalo, NY.

The hosts for this year’s Institute will be the three systems from Western New

York: Buffalo/Erie System, NIOGA System, and the Cattaraugus/Chautauqua Li-

brary System.

Included in the Institute will be the presentation of LTA state-wide awards for

the Velma K. Moore Award and the Distinguished Service Award. See the call for

nominations, criteria and deadlines on the LTA Web site at http://bit.ly/X5G8aN.

A keynote speaker and special guests will bring insight and challenges to the

library community. They will bring to our attention the roles and responsibilities

faced by today’s library leaders.

New York Library Trustees Online

NYLTO

The new LSTA grant funded Web site NYLTO (New York Library Trustees

Online) was created to foster communication and sharing of information among

public library trustees and directors. Now in its fifth month, the Web site

is being used by over 600 trustees and staff from eight library systems in

New York State. The site offers several types of valuable resources for

registered users.

Here is what Lynn Skolnick, Ethelbert B. Crawford Public Library

and RCLS Trustee, had to say about NYLTO, “My home library, Ethel-

bert B. Crawford Public Library in Monticello, is going through a great

deal of change with a new director search, a huge building project and developing

a strategic plan. I can now see the Trustees have been a complacent Board. NYL-

TO offers a number of services, especially in the area of trustee training, that we

need to take advantage of and do a better job.”

If you would like to register for this resource, contact Grace Riario at

griario@rcls.org.

8

Trustee FYI

RCLS Board of Trustees

Martha Anderson

Carl S. Berkowitz

Norman R. Gallagher

Roslyn Applebaum Hurwitz

Ira Simon

Lynn Skolnick

Alfred Smiley

Patricia Soto

Mark Specthrie

Karen L. Weitzner

David Zuckerberg

Marilyn J. McIntosh (non-voting representative of

the RCLS Directors’ Association)

Executive Director

Robert Hubsher

Ramapo Catskill Library System

619 Route 17M

Middletown, NY 10940-4395

845.243.3747 · FAX 845.243.3739

www.rcls.org

Desktop Publishing Printing by Ramapo Catskill Library System

RCLS Mission

We deliver high-quality consolidated and cooperative services to support member libraries in meeting the

needs of their communities.

RCLS Goals

1. Coordinated Services – Offer a clearly defined set of cost effective coordinated or centralized and

consulting services designed to enhance local library service and maximize the return from local funds

expended.

2. Technology – Enhance and maintain existing automation services and assist member libraries in

implementing emerging technologies to improve library service and cooperation.

3. Resource Sharing – Coordinate Central Library and System services to provide a broad range of

services, library materials and online resources to support equity of access.

4. Professional Development and Continuing Education – Provide opportunities to member libraries'

staff, directors and trustees for the training and skills development needed to support excellent library

service.

5. Advocacy – Encourage and support member libraries in their efforts to increase community awareness

about public library programs, services and governance.

6. Communication – Maintain and promote effective means of communications with and among member

libraries to ensure accountability and cooperation.

7. Organizational Environment – Maintain an organizational environment that allows RCLS to be

responsive and accountable to member libraries.