Mid-York Library System

Headquarters:1600 Lincoln Ave., Utica NY 13502;

Telephone: (315) 735-8328

Driving Directions

Mary Lou Caskey, Director   -   mcaskey@midyork.org

The Mid-York Library System is a nonprofit cooperative library system serving 43 public libraries in Herkimer, Madison, and Oneida Counties.

The System, one of 23 public library systems in New York State, was chartered in 1960 by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York.

Population served: 369, 377

Land Area Served: 3,280 square miles

Central Library: Utica Public Library

Mid-York Library System

Service Area

(Click on a county for more info.) 

Mission

The mission of the Mid-York Library System is to improve and expand library service in the counties of Madison, Oneida, and Herkimer. The System will accomplish this mission by...

1. Lowering the cost of library service by centralizing tasks and activities common to member libraries.
2. Providing services and coordinating activities which allow libraries to cooperate and share their resources and materials easily and efficiently.
3. Providing expertise, services, and training that complement and extend the resources of the individual library.
4. Providing direct service to persons or groups who are unable to use traditional public library service.
5. Acting as a component of the global library network.
6. Providing leadership and advocacy on a regional, state, and national level.

Vision

The Mid-York Library system of the future is:

• A friendly supportive place
• Characterized by consistently excellent, responsive customer service
• Housed in a modern, efficiently designed, and well-located facility
• A leader in the provision of state of the art library service
• A regionally recognized authority on library issues
• A busy facility with constant interaction between System and member library staff
• Known as a great place to work

Board of Trustees

The System is governed by a 15 member Board of Trustees elected by the member libraries. Scheduled Trustee meetings are held the third Thursday of January, March, May, July, September, and November at 7 p.m. Please call the system to confirm the date.

Staff & Responsibilities

Mary Lou Caskey	Director	mcaskey@midyork.org
Wanda Bruchis	Assistant Director	wbruchis@midyork.org
Jeffery Wooldridge	Business Manager/Delivery	jwooldridge@midyork.org
Beverly Choltco-Devlin	Reference Consultant	myref@midyork.org
Heidi Kinne	Lending Services	hkinne@midyork.org
Linda Manfredo	Automation Systems Administrator	lmanfredo@midyork.org
Diane Berry	Automation and Lending Consultant	dberry@midyork.org
Cheryl Powers	Technical Services	cpowers@midyork.org
Cat Stern	Acquisitions	cstern@midyork.org
Jill Grundfest	Interlibrary Loan	myill@midyork.org
Diana Norton	Library Services Consultant	dnorton@midyork.org

System Services

Acquisitions, cataloging, and processing

Books, videos, recordings, and other library materials are ordered, catalogued and processed, and entered in the System's online database. Large discounts are obtained through volume purchase.

Automation services

The System operates a shared computer system and maintains a telecommunications network that provides online access to all member library collections, as well as various databases and the Internet.

Collections and audiovisual services

Collections of children's books, large print books, books on cassette, videos, story hour boxes Bi-Folkal kits, and equipment such as VCRs, television monitors, slide projectors and screens are available for member libraries and community organizations.

Consulting services

Professional advice is available to member libraries on services, programs, planning, budgeting, administration, and management.

Continuing education

Mid-York offers a regular schedule of workshops, seminars, and other training opportunities for professional development of member library staff and the advancement of library trustees.

Delivery

System delivery vans visit every member library two to five times a week, transporting books and library materials and helping libraries to share with each other.

Interlibrary loan

Mid-York Library System's Interlibrary Loan service enables customers to obtain almost any material held in a library anywhere in the United States, if the material is not available in any Mid-York System library.

Books and photocopies of journal articles can be obtained free of charge from hundreds of libraries. Audio and videocassettes, microfilm and fiches are more restricted in location but can sometimes be borrowed. The only items we are usually unable to get are genealogical material, rare and reference books, and computer software. Customers initiate Interlibrary Loan requests through their local public library.

Outreach services

For those who cannot use traditional public library services, Mid-York provides Talking Books for the blind and physically handicapped, deposit collections of large print books to nursing homes and other institutions, and service to state and county correctional facilities.

Reference services

A professional reference librarian is available to answer questions and locate resources not available at the local library, through the interlibrary loan system and various electronic databases and also provides reference training for member library staff.