WNYLRC works on behalf of more than 60 member institutions (see WNYLRC’s Member Directory) comprised of public, school, academic, hospital and special libraries in the six counties of Western New York (Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Orleans, and Genesee).
Over 1000 librarians and library staff are eligible to participate on committees and attend training and professional development activities sponsored by the Council and its partners.
WNYLRC keeps abreast of future trends and technological advances and introduces initiatives by forming pilot programs such as the Ebook DDA Pilot. These shorter-term projects enable members to form partnerships to partake of endeavors that might not be feasible for them to try alone.
WNYLRC is an advocate for libraries of all types through active participation in advocacy day in Albany and by meeting with local, state and federal legislators.
Approved Dues 2020-2022 by the Membership
Membership Benefits
Networking Opportunities — annual meeting as well as more focused events, including both multi-type library events and specific library-type events.
Professional Development — offered across a variety of methods among them:
- On-site workshops
- Webinars
- Regional Conference
- Online learning with Skillshare and Treehouse
Resource Sharing — facilitated through WNYLRC programs such as Academic Share, InfoPass, and other programs.
Vendor Discounts — offered by library supply outfits and publishers such as Encyclopedia Britannica and free trials of library-related products and services are frequently presented to members.
Digitization — WNYLRC offers consultancy expertise regarding possible collection criteria for digitization grants. WNYLRC may also fund projects through RBDB grants which can result in inclusion into the New York Heritage or New York State Historic Newspapers databases. WNYLRC collaborates with NY3Rs Association, Inc. to provide hosted sites where members’ digitized collections are accessible via the web.
Committee Participation — offered across a wide range of special interests from Regional Advisory to Resource Sharing and much in between. Committees support workshops, pilot programs as well as contribute to the bi-annual regional conference.
Regional Library News — through an online newsletter and a listserv, news is disseminated by and to the members.
WNYLRC Excellence Awards — covering several categories and presented at the annual meeting to recipients who are nominated by their peers.
Ask Us 24/7— allows participating libraries to provide virtual reference services using OCLC’s Question Point.
PEM (Preservation Environment Monitor) — devices owned by WNYLRC can be borrowed by members to assess and create a report of the environmental impact on their collections. The product and service is offered at a significantly reduced cost.
Archival Services — provided to members through on-site visits, consultant reports, workshop training and grants assistance, addressing a range of archival concerns.
Hospital Library Services Program — in addition to Circuit Librarians who provide services to contracted hospital libraries, the Committee on Health Information Access (CHIA) promotes public outreach and awareness of health information resources available in the region and online.
Tech-Talk.com — Skill building tool provided free of charge to our members via our wnylib-l listserv.