MHLS Board Receives 2024 Velma K. Moore Award from NYLA

The Mid-Hudson Library System (MHLS) Board has been awarded the 2024 Velma K. Moore Award from the New York Library Association (NYLA). This fifteen-member board, made up of volunteers from around the Hudson Valley, was chosen for the award due to their leadership in supporting MHLS to become the first public library system in the country to be certified under the Sustainable Library Initiative’s Sustainable Library Certification Program.

The board’s work to achieve this certification included creating new policies, procedures, and facility plans to ensure the organization is making strong decisions for the future that respect not only the finances of the organization but also result in strong environmental stewardship and respect for social equity and public health.

“It is wonderful to see our board, a group of committed, diligent, and good-humored trustees, recognized for setting a wonderful model for the 6,000+ trustees of the state, and thousands of library trustees across the country” said Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, MHLS Executive Director.

Actions taken as part of the certification resulted in the development of The Library of Local program with a new partner, the Partners for Climate Action Hudson Valley. This program funded community resilience hubs at fifteen member libraries which feature specialized collections on climate solutions with a special emphasis on food security; seed libraries; tool lending libraries; and targeted programs designed to help bring community members together to solve issues in their communities that are exacerbated by climate change.

The Board also engaged in facility operational decisions related to purchasing, hospitality, landscaping, renewable energy, and material management. Each has been optimized to ensure the organization is prioritizing human health and the responsible use of natural resources in decision making while ensuring funds are spent wisely on behalf of our stakeholders. The most recent example of this effort is the new solar panel system on the MHLS office building which will generate 75% of electrical needs from the sun thanks to a subsidy from Central Hudson leveraged with funds from the State Aid for Library Construction Program.

This award was established to honor the memory of Velma Moore, one of the charter members of The New York State Association of Library Boards (NYSALB), now the Library Trustees Association Section (LTAS) of NYLA. Mrs. Moore worked actively for the improvement of library services in New York State from 1947 until her death in 1961. She served two terms as president and was a member of the NYSALB Board from its establishment and, for 33 years, she was also a Trustee of the Kenmore Public Library near Buffalo, New York. The Award was originally established in 1962 with a gift from the Moore family and carries a $1,500 prize.

While MHLS was the first public library system certified, they are not the last! Both the Suffolk Cooperative Library System and the Ramapo Catskill Library System have followed suit and become certified, and three others are pursuing certification: Clinton-Essex Franklin Library System, North Country Library System, and the Southern Tier Library System. There are more than 200 public, academic and school libraries across North America now involved in this certification program with 45 having completed the program including the Highland Public Library and Kinderhook Memorial Library in the Hudson Valley.

About Us

Mid-Hudson Library System (MHLS) is a cooperative public library system chartered by the New York State Board of Regents and overseen by the New York State Education Department via the Division of Library Development (DLD). MHLS is dedicated to working together with sixty-six (66) member libraries in the Mid-Hudson region to strengthen local library services while saving local tax dollars. For more information, visit www.midhudson.org or follow the library system on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.