Bravo MHLS Libraries! 60+ library supporters from 31 MHLS member libraries
attended Library Lobby Day in Albany yesterday. Legislators' offices were
PACKED! Exactly what we were hoping for.

We heard lots of bad news - how bad the economy is, how bad revenues are for
NYS, how bad things are all over - but then we heard very promising news:
the Senate will propose restoring the 18% cut to library aid in their budget
proposal this week.

We did not hear the same from the Assembly.

Both sides should have their budget proposals out this week so we need to
keep up the pressure on the Assembly to put back library funding, to restore
the Governor's 18% cut. If you are represented by Assemblywoman Galef,
Assemblyman Gordon, Assemblyman Skartados or Assemblyman Cahill they need to
hear from you! Keep up the good work with the postcards and coloring sheets,
invite them into your library, give them a call, visit them in their local
offices...

Next week we'll start a new way to raise patron awareness about the cuts
with a bookmark that can be used on the holdshelf to advertise the
relationship between the items they are picking up, MHLS and the proposed
cut.

Big thanks to the nine MHLS Friends Groups who helped underwrite the cost of
the bus to Albany - we know how hard Friends work for their dollars and
appreciate that they thought the bus was important enough to contribute to:
Friends of the Kingston Library
Friends of the Pine Plains Free Library
Friends of the Red Hook Public Library
Friends of the Mahopac Library
Friends of the Plattekill Library
Friends of the Greenville Library
Friends of the Library of Woodstock
Friends of the Grinnell Library Association
Friends of the Town of Esopus Library

Here's a list of who was there (if I missed anyone please let me know!):

Maureen Forrester       Cairo Public Library
Debra Kamecke   Cairo Public Library
Doug Ostrander  Cairo Public Library
Dot True        Cairo Public Library
Maggie Hand-Miller      Chatham Public Library
Terry Sennett   Clinton Community Library
Carol Donick    Desmond/Fish Library (Garrison)
Gloria Goverman         East Fishkill Community Library
Walter Keady    East Fishkill Community Library
John Giralico   Elting Memorial Library (New Paltz)
Barbara Flach   Greenville Public Library
Matt Pfisterer  Grinnell Library Association (Wappingers Falls)
Linda Deubert   Heermance Memorial Library (Coxsackie)
Julie Dempsey   Highland Public Library
Marcia Frahman  Howland Public Library (Beacon)
Phyllis Keaton  Howland Public Library (Beacon)
Gregory Callahan        Hyde Park Free Library
Gillian Thorpe & Sons       Julia L. Butterfield Memorial Library (Coldspring)
P. donald Haney         Kent Public Library
Frank Rees      Kent Public Library
Dot Balko       Kinderhook Memorial Library
Julie Johnson   Kinderhook Memorial Library
Albert Ahlstrom         Kingston Library
Peter Levangia  Kingston Library
Margie Menard   Kingston Library
Paul Werbalowsky        Kingston Library
Pat Kaufman     Mahopac Library
Alice Walsh     Mahopac Library
Jim Cosgrove    Marlboro Library
Josh Cohen              MHLS
Rebekkah Smith Aldrich  MHLS
Merribeth Advocate      MHLS
Kerstin Cruger  MHLS
Margaret Keefe  MHLS
Sally Rhoads    MHLS
John Dax        New Lebanon Library
Verna Carey     Pawling Free Library
Robert Reilly   Pawling Free Library
Regina Johnson  Phoenicia Library
Debby Spivack   Phoenicia Library
Lynne Ridgeway  Plattekill Library
Willie Thompson         Pleasant Valley Library
Mary Lou Kersten        Roeliff Jansen Community Library (Hillsdale)
Carol Sacks             Roeliff Jansen Community Library (Hillsdale)
Susan Scheck    Roeliff Jansen Community Library (Hillsdale)
Lucas Pharmer   Rosendale Library
Seneca Pharmer  Rosendale Library
Ariel Dedolph   Saugerties Public Library
Myrna Sameth    Saugerties Public Library
Jessica Serrano         Saugerties Public Library
Fran Myers      Stanford Free Library
Margaret Carter         Starr Library (Rhinebeck)
Dagmar Yaddow   Starr Library (Rhinebeck)
Bonny Corrado   Tivoli Free Library
Mike Minor      Town of Esopus Library
Roxanne Pecora  Town of Esopus Library
Kelly Tomaseski         Town of Esopus Library
Ann Bergin      West Hurley Public Library
Kara Lustiber   West Hurley Public Library
Will Nixon      Woodstock Public Library District

-Rebekkah

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Coordinator of Member Information
Mid-Hudson Library System
103 Market Street
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
845.471.6060 x239
FX: 845.454.5940
http://midhudson.org