Services | Southeastern NY Library Resources Council

Southeastern NY Library Resources Council provides members with resources and services that benefit institutions and individuals. If you are new to Southeastern and interested in learning more about what we do for libraries, archives, museums, and cultural heritage organizations, then check out the videos in the Southeastern Services Series.

Find quick links to our programs here:

Other services we offer are:

Advocacy
Southeastern is involved in advocacy by making local visits to state legislators, meeting with state legislators during the New York Library Association’s Advocacy Day in Albany, and staff’s attendance at relevant meetings and events. Southeastern works closely with the New York Library Association (NYLA) in promoting statewide legislative goals for libraries of all type

Ask the Archivist
This service is available to provide answers to basic questions regarding archives and special collections. Members of one of the nine library councils in NYS are eligible to use this service.

Ask the Lawyer!
Through the services of an attorney, Southeastern offers members timely input on intellectual property, digital rights management, vendor contracts, and other legal issues that can impact library operations. Questions sent to Ask the Lawyer will be reviewed by Southeastern staff and sent to counsel for responses.

Coordinated Collection Development Aid Program
The Coordinated Collection Development Aid (CCDA) Program aims to enhance academic library collections, thereby strengthening regional collections available via resource sharing. The CCDA program provides annual grants to academic libraries at public and not-for-profit colleges, universities, and community colleges.

Digital Navigators of the Hudson Valley
Digital Navigators are trained, trusted guides who help with various technology needs. Navigators work in libraries and other community organizations. They assist anyone in need with a device, secure free or low-cost internet service, and much more.

Digitization Service & Hudson River Valley Heritage
Southeastern coordinates the Hudson River Valley Heritage (HRVH) service, which provides online access to digitized historical items housed in libraries and cultural heritage organizations throughout the region. Digitization services include hosting digital collections and online exhibits, training on digitization, in-depth consultations, a digital lab at Southeastern, Finding Aids, a digital dark archive, and equipment loans.

Events
Southeastern offers a variety of professional development programs, workshops, training, and conferences. Programs are announced on the Upcoming Events page. If you want to keep up with our professional development events by email, please subscribe to our mailing list.

Medical Information Funding Programs
Southeastern administers two funding programs that connect New Yorkers with medical information. The Medical Information Services Program (MISP) makes consumer health and medical information available at no cost to New Yorkers by paying inter-library loan fees for medical or health resources. The Hospital Library Services Program (HLSP) supports access to medical information for hospital librarians and medical staff by subsidizing the purchase of medical resources for hospital libraries. Southeastern maintains the Medical Information Gateway to help New Yorkers discover, access, and use accurate medical information.

Special Interest Groups (SIGs)
Southeastern sponsors Special Interest Groups (SIGs) where members can join with others in the library community to exchange ideas and keep themselves informed about their professional specialties. Visit the Upcoming Events page to register for SIG meetings.

Resource Sharing
Southeastern supports several resource-sharing services for member libraries and their patrons. We will place loan requests in OCLC on behalf of members that do not participate in the OCLC interlibrary loan system. We also place loan requests on behalf of members for health and medical books and articles, which are subsidized by the Medical Information Services Program (MISP). We provide a virtual union catalog called Southeastern Access to Libraries (SEAL), including catalogs from over one hundred public, school, college, special and hospital libraries. SEAL also incorporates a web-based interlibrary loan management system.

Special Library Catalog
Southeastern supports integrated library systems for special libraries. The system we use is Koha, an open-source cataloging platform that is a robust and low-cost alternative to traditional integrated library systems.

Tech-Talk
Southeastern members have access to Tech-Talk, a service designed to help individuals use computers at work. Tech-Talk answers general questions and includes tips and tricks for using ordinary software. Southeastern provides a weekly Tech-talk newsletter to members.

Traveling Exhibits
Southeastern has three exhibits available for member organizations to host at their location. They are companions to virtual exhibits on the New York Heritage website.

The exhibits are free to borrow for a period of four weeks. Borrowers must make arrangements to pick up and drop off the exhibit at the Southeastern office in Highland, NY. The exhibits have either 4 or 5 banners that collapse into their stands, making them easy to transport and setup.