This advanced-level course is for trustees who have been on the board for at least a year. It is recommended that trustees have already attended the Trustee Essentials workshop prior to this event.

Learning Objectives:

Attendees will be able to recognize the habits of effective boards and appreciate the importance of putting the best interests of the library and community at the heart of decision making. Trustees interested in contributing to a dynamic, high performing board experience will enjoy this workshop.

Dinner will be provided.

This trustee education workshop was organized in partnership with the Putnam County Library Association. Attendance at this event can be applied toward the NYS Trustee Education Requirements.

Presenter: Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, MHLS Executive Director
Rebekkah is the Executive Director of the Mid-Hudson Library System, where she has worked for over 20 years as a public library consultant prior to becoming the executive director in 2018. Rebekkah is the co-author of the Handbook for Library Trustees of New York State, the co-founder and president of the Sustainable Libraries Initiative, and an adjunct professor at Long Island University where she teaches a post-graduate course on public library administration. In addition to three books for ALA Editions, Rebekkah is the author of the Handbook for New Directors in New York State; the Public Library District Toolkit: Strategies to Assure your Library’s Legal and Financial Stability for the New York State Library; and the National Climate Action Strategy for Libraries, a joint project of the American Library Association and the Sustainable Libraries Initiative.