Welcome to the Franklin-Essex-Hamilton BOCES
Established July 29, 1948

Book Review Project:

The School Library System coordinates a book review project for librarians in three School Library Systems.  Publishers of children’s and young adult books send complimentary copies of new publications to the School Library System. The books are then distributed to area school librarians for review. Twice a year each School Library System holds a book review session during which librarians look at the books and read their colleagues’ reviews. Upon completion of the review sessions the books are added to the reviewing librarian’s school library.  They are also added to the School Library System’s catalog, which makes them available for interlibrary loan throughout the region. To date, 17,255 books valued at $249,045 have been added to area school libraries participating in this project.

Liaison Meetings:

Liaison meetings are held twice a year. At the meetings librarians are kept informed of new initiatives from the State Education Department and updated on School Library System services.   Valuable networking occurs as the librarians share successful ideas and tips with each other.  At a recent meeting, member librarians Sharon Waagner and Sara Kelly Johns, shared some successful project ideas with their colleagues.

Mandarin Users’ Group:

Regular meetings are held for users of the Mandarin Library Automation System.  Library automation assists school libraries with the development of resource sharing including an online card catalog, circulation management system, and interlibrary loan.  Attendees learn about new features and how to get the most out of the system.  At a recent meeting, a Mandarin representative focused on upgrades in the new M3 version 1.6 release, reviewed inventory, explained Authority Control, and answered participants’ questions.

A NOVEL Approach to Research

NOVEL, the New York Online Virtual Electronic Library, provides free online access to a vast collection of thousands of information sources such as magazines, newspapers, encyclopedias, photos, maps, and primary source materials.  NOVEL databases are available free of charge to members of the School Library System.  They are provided through the School Library System by the New York State Library with Federal Library Services and Technology Act funds.

Librarians and teachers recently participated in two NOVEL training workshops which emphasized integrating the databases into curriculum.

Interlibrary loan in the North Country is processed electronically via the Internet through a system called ICICILL.  ICICILL allows librarians to borrow, track, receive, and return materials with a few clicks of a mouse button. 

Patron initiated interlibrary loan was recently introduced as the next step in the process.  Teachers may now request materials found in the ICEPAC online catalog at any computer connected to the Internet.  Requests will be processed as usual by the librarian through ICICILL.  Borrowers will be notified automatically when the desired item arrives in the library.

As card catalogs become obsolete, MARC (MAchine Readable Catalog) Records take on a new importance.  In addition to knowing how to catalog books in MARC format, librarians need to be skilled at using MARC for audiovisual materials.  During a recent workshop Scott Piepenburg, author of Easy MARC, reviewed the basics of MARC cataloging.  Emphasis was placed on the unique aspects of Audiovisual MARC cataloging including the specific tags and subfields most important in an audiovisual MARC record.