March 28, 2025
Presenter: Stephanie "Cole" Adams
A review of how the law impacts use of AI at work in libraries, museums, and other cultural institutions.
January 24, 2025
Presenter: Stephanie "Cole" Adams
This is a roundup of employment-related laws going into effect in 2025, with a focus on how they will impact libraries and other 3R-member institutions. Written materials: template language to implement them in the library or cultural institution environment.
About the presenter: Stephanie “Cole” Adams is the attorney for the regional library councils’ “Ask the Lawyer” service. She evaluates and addresses questions about insurance coverage as part of her firm's work for libraries, small businesses, and cultural institutions.
December 5, 2024
Presenters: Stephanie "Cole" Adams and David Mack Hardiman
Libraries in New York State come in all shapes and sizes. A small library typically does not have a dedicated human resources professional, and it has to work with limited resources to address any personnel concerns or requests. This can lead to confusion or workplace tension, if something like an accommodation request is not handled properly. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and other laws include provisions for making reasonable accommodations for qualified employees or applicants, unless it would impose an undue hardship on the organization. It is important for library directors and managers to know how to respond to different types of accommodation requests. Employees also should know their legal rights and protections for making such requests or when disclosing disability-related information. This training session will walk library employees and directors through the legal basis for handling accommodations in the workplace, the factors involved in considering and granting an accommodation request, and more.
Supplemental Documents can be found at the bottom of this page.
November 22, 2024
Presenter: Stephanie "Cole" Adams
Libraries, museums, and other cultural organizations face many of the usual legal risks of conducting business: employment-related claims, defamation and other “personal injury” claims, and claims related to actions taken by corporate officers (both directors, and trustees). They also face unique risks related to their missions to serve the public. Because of these legal risks, trustees and directors know that having “D&O Insurance” is important, but what does it cover…and just as importantly, what DOESN’T is cover?
April 30, 2024
Panelists: Sara Goek, PhD, Project Manager, Data and Research, Association of College & Research Libraries; Martha Kyrillidou, PhD, MDe, MLS, QualityMetrics LLC; and Catherine Stollar Peters, PhD, Associate Director of Assessment and Data Analysis, SUNY Office of Library and Information Services
On March 4, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education released a Comment Request on changes to the IPEDS 2024-25 Through 2026-27 and included a statement on the planned elimination of the Academic Libraries (AL) component survey beginning with the 2025–26 administration.
Join us for a panel and discussion covering:
February 29, 2024
Presenter: Deanna McGregor, Homeschool Liaison Librarian at Liverpool Public Library
According to the US Department of Education, the homeschool population has doubled from one to two million in the last decade. For most school districts in New York State, the number of households providing home instruction has more than doubled since the start of the pandemic (NYSED). Is your library prepared to assist the growing homeschool community?
Deanna McGregor, Homeschool Liaison Librarian at the Liverpool Public Library, will explain NYS’s laws and requirements for homeschool students and why families are choosing this route. Discover ways your library can support the multiple literacy needs of K-12 students following an individualized home instruction plan (IHIP) through your collections, programs, and services.
January 24, 2024
In this webinar, produced by the Southeastern NY Library Resources Council (SENYLRC), guest speaker Sharon Mitzota discussed inclusive metadata: what it is, why it’s important, and how it can reflect your institution’s goals for diversity, equity, and inclusion. This includes the historical biases that have influenced descriptive practices. We explored best practices to audit, research, and improve your terminology to better reflect the identities and values of the people who use your collections and those represented within them. We looked at a few real world examples to help you move toward creating more inclusive and care-based metadata.
April 25, 2025
Presenter: Stephanie "Cole" Adams
This seminar was a chance to pose “What ifs” “Whys” and “Howabouts” for employment practices in the future. Stephanie “Cole” Adams answered questions about HR-related issues from participants! This was the final event in our 4-part “Ask the HR Expert” series.
February 28, 2025
Presenter: Stephanie "Cole" Adams
Exploring unconventional benefits that libraries, museums, and other cultural organizations can offer to recruit, retain, and inspire employees.
January 9, 2025
Presenters: Marianne Hanley and David Stokoe
ESLN hosted a webinar on basic book repair with Syracuse University Preservation Librarian Marianne Hanley linked below. The program sparked a lot of interest—and even more questions! This time, Marianne was joined by her colleague David Stokoe for a session entirely dedicated to answering questions on protecting and preserving library collections.
Additional Resources:
SULPreservation - YouTube Videos - Syracuse University's compilation of step-by-step videos on book repair and many other topics that relate to preservation.
David Stokoe's YouTube Channel - Videos of conservation procedures.
Box maker video - Two minute video demonstrating Syracuse University's computerized box-making machine that creates custom archival book boxes in seconds.
Restoration of Books: Florence, 1968 - This video follows the work of book conservators whose task it is to repair and restore the thousands of books damaged by the floodwaters.
Preservation Self-Assessment Collection ID Guide - The Preservation Self-Assessment Program (PSAP) is a free online tool from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign that helps collection managers prioritize efforts to improve the conditions of collections. Its Collection ID Guide aids in the identification and treatment of specific types of materials.
CoOL (Conservation OnLine) - This site compiles conservation resources from a variety of sources.
November 20, 2024
Presenter: Roma Matott
Tired of dull, uninspiring library reports? Ready to turn your data into something that grabs attention? Join us for "Reports Reimagined: Using Infographics to Showcase Library Data" and discover how to transform your statistics into visually appealing, informative infographics. This session will cover essential design principles, easy-to-use tools, and creative tips to help you craft dynamic reports that not only engage your audience but also advocate for your library program. Let your data tell a more compelling story! Learning Outcomes:
September 9, 2024
Presenter: Barbara Lilley
Join Barbara Lilley, Library Development Specialist at the Division of Library Development, for an overview of the NYS Coordinated Collection Development Aid program.
This early access session from 8/16/23 provides a tour of the soon to relaunch NYS Historic Newspapers web site. We'll look at the new searching interface including boolean searching and faceting. We'll explore the new ways to browse the collection! Presentation by Chuck Henry, IT Coordinator at Northern New York Library Network and NYSHN Project Manager.
9.13.2023 with Chuck Henry, IT Coordinator for Northern New York Library Network. What's black and white and recently launched anew? It's the NYS Historic Newspaper digitization project! Recently relaunched with deeper search tools and broader breadth of digitized collection access, the New York State Historic Newspaper website announces an hour long webinar focused on making the most of all these new search functions. Half of the time will spotlight new search features, and the other half of the time is for answering your questions.
The ESLN services series has finished but you can view recordings on YouTube or get the slides from the sessions.
Recordings available: