I will be reviewing Mona’s Eyes by Thomas Schlesser April 14
ITEM, from here: Albany voters will select three trustees for the APL Board of Trustees in the Tuesday, May 19, election. Two positions carry full five-year terms, while the third (partial) term is for one year.
Albany residents interested in running for a seat on the board need to complete and submit nominating petitions. The petitions, eligibility information, and instructions are posted on the Library Budget page, and paper copies are available at all seven APL branches.
Trustee nominating petitions, with at least 65 signatures of qualified voters, are due to the Clerk of the City School District of Albany (1 Academy Park) by 5 pm on Wednesday, April 29. Trustee candidate names are announced after the school district validates the submitted nominating petitions.
The library’s trustee election and budget vote share a ballot with the city school district vote, which also takes place on May 19. Note that the locations may differ from the primary and general election sites.
The library is hosting a second Trustee Candidate Information Session (the first was on March 12):
At the information session, current trustees will be on hand to answer questions about how to get on the ballot, tips for a successful campaign, and what it’s like to serve as a library trustee.
You can also view an informational presentation online.
APL Budget Vote
“Albany city residents will also vote on the library’s 2026-2027 operating budget tax levy… The budget plan was approved by the library’s Board of Trustees at its March 10 meeting.
“The proposed 2026-2027 operating tax levy of $9,661,856 would result in an increase of $42.58 for the owner of a home assessed at $250,000. The spending plan represents a 17% increase in the annual total operating budget tax levy.
“’Our main goal is securing adequate funding for the library and everything that it provides to our community,’ said Board President Sarah Macinski. ‘This increase addresses the impact of some expenses that have spiked in recent years, like health benefits and utilities, while ensuring we have enough reserve funds to maintain branch facilities and be grant-eligible for future renovations.'”
Honestly, I believe part of the cause of the larger-than-usual request this year was that, during more than one year in the 2010s, the trustees chose not to ask for an increase. This meant the previous year’s budget was automatically passed even as expenses went up.
Diverse viewpoints
ITEM: From the Times Union (likely behind a paywall)
NY Regents to vote on library rules, including support for ‘diverse viewpoints.’
“All public libraries need to set specific policies on how new materials are selected and how people can object, the state librarian told the Board of Regents Monday [3/9]…
“State librarian Lauren Moore emphasized that each library Board of Trustees can write its own policies. But they must support the concept of selecting ‘diverse viewpoints,’ she said.
“Library directors should take care to buy materials on viewpoints they themselves disagree with, rather than only choosing materials with ideas they support, she added.
“They must also set rules for public use of meeting rooms, which must also be available to groups from a diverse set of viewpoints, she said.”
The Regents did indeed pass the new rules. (Thanks to TU reporter Kathleen Moore for helping me find this.) Most larger libraries likely have such policies in place, but it may be an issue at smaller ones.
Indeed, Albany Public Library does have both a Materials Selection Policy and a Material Reconsideration Request Form. The reconsideration request form includes an option to object to a library program.
Book reviews and author talks (including me!)
Albany Public Library, 161 Washington Avenue, Tuesdays at 2 pm in the large auditorium
April 7 | Author Interview | David Sylvestor, local writer & instructor, will be asked about his 2024 Erie Canal crime novel, Hung Be the Heavens with Scarlet, by poet Therese L. Broderick, MFA.
April 14 | Book Review | Mona’s Eyes, a novel by the French art historian Thomas Schlesser. Reviewer: Roger Green, MLS, business librarian retired from the NY Small Business Development Center.
April 21 | Book Review | The Big One: How We Must Prepare for Future Deadly Pandemics by Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH, & Mark Olshaker. Reviewer: Bryon Backenson, Director, Bureau of Communicable Disease Control, NYS Dept. of Health.
April 28 | Author Talk | David Ricci, from the Berkshires, discusses & reads from his book of photographs, Hunter Gatherer: Salvaged Stories of American Culture, with text by Cheryl Finley.
As I noted, the trick with the library trustee vote for Albany Public Library on May 19 was that I found at least six of the candidates to be credible choices.
First, I should make it crystal clear that I am NOT planning to run for office. I found this question on Quora asking people to show the Presidential electoral college map based on the states they had visited.