Hudson Valley Library Association

Thank you so much to those who stepped up in the board search! As we move forward as the Hudson Valley Library Association, the Board of Directors is here to help. Learn a little about us them below.

Amy Chow, President

Amy Chow (she/her) is a librarian at The Brearley School serving kindergarten through twelfth grade students. Amy was born in Taiwan and grew up in Canada. She has a Bachelor of Music from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, and obtained her M.L.I.S. from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She has been a young adult and children’s librarian at The Toronto Public Library and The New York Public Library. Her interests include dragons, camping and, of course, books. When she’s not reading fantasy novels, she enjoys playing with her dog and two guinea pigs. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, NY. 

Ayana Mbaye, Co-Vice President

Ayana Mbaye is a 6-12th grade librarian at Professional Children’s School. She obtained her MLIS with a specialization in school librarianship from Pratt Institute. She began her library career at the NYPL for the Performing Arts library at the age of 17. Since then, she has worked in an academic library and various independent schools in NYC. She has even taken her librarianship skills abroad to teach students and collaborate with educators in the Samburu region of Kenya. She loves the Wizarding World, wildlife, visiting museums, traveling and her 12 year old mainecoon Brooke.

Ragan O’Malley, Co-Vice President

Ragan O’Malley has been Head Librarian at Saint Ann’s School longer than she cares to admit. The likely reason for her long tenure is that it’s the perfect job–spending her days surrounded by children and books in a school with no grades is hard to beat. She first obtained a Masters in Comparative Literature from Rutgers University and then followed up with a MLIS from Pratt Institute. She is the mother of three grown children (the last time she served on the board of HVLA she had three young children). She is an avid reader and crafter and has been known to do both at the same time (yay audiobooks!).

Elaine Levia, Secretary

Elaine Levia is a High School Librarian and House Advisor at The Dalton School. A native Californian, Elaine majored in Feminist Studies at UC Santa Cruz and completed her MSLIS at UCLA. While interning at the Windward School, she became enamored with ~*the teens*~ in all their joyful, determined glory and decided to pursue a career in progressive education. Out of the stacks and classroom, Elaine enjoys biking, baking, Pilates, and keeps up a sporadic writing practice. She’s getting into hiking and backpacking, and will most likely take a memoir, chapbook, and novel out with her wherever she ventures.

Gwen Kaplan, Membership & Financial Coordinator

Gwen Kaplan is a Lower Division Librarian at the Horace Mann School. As an undergrad at the University of Pennsylvania, she was interested in so many different topics that she realized the library was the place to be! Since completing her MSLIS and School Library Certification at Drexel University, she has served as a librarian at Abington Friends School and Saint David’s School. She loves it when children ask “why?” and she is usually reading at least a couple of nonfiction books and mystery novels. A graduate school repeat offender, she is currently indulging her curiosity by working on a M.A. in American History, which means she has deep empathy for every student up against a deadline. In between parenting, teaching, and studying, she uses a time turner to make opportunities for quilting and baking.

Mallory Weber, Communications Coordinator

Mallory Weber is a Lower School Librarian at Packer Collegiate Institute.  She has a BA in Sociology & Philosophy from Smith College and an MLIS from CUNY Queens College.  She is also a Summer Immersion Program Instructor for Girls Who Code, a member of the NEIT organizing committee, and a reviewer for School Library Journal.  In her free time she really enjoys NYT crossword puzzles, playing basketball, running, biking, and hanging out with her cat.

by Melissa Kazan, Upper Division Head Librarian at Horace Mann

Every year, the Horace Mann Parents’ Association hosts a used-book book fair for the Upper and Middle divisions. This annual tradition generates tons of excitement throughout the community for many reasons, mainly because families and employees can donate books that have been sitting around their homes forever and because people can buy books on the cheap. Prices this year were $2 for paperbacks, $3 for hardcovers, and $5 for textbooks/test prep books. During the final hours of the three-day event, there’s a “bag sale” – no, not a sale on bags – but $8 for all the books one can stuff into a bag we provide. To say that people get creative is an understatement.

The book fair also features a raffle for students and teachers (prizes are gift cards or items like AirPods, all donated by parents), as well as a flea market for previously-loved games, toys, clothes, etc. And one of the best aspects of the book fair is that we send leftover books in good condition to community partners, such as Riverdale Neighborhood House, Housing Works, local public school libraries, and educational programs for incarcerated people.

Arranging the book fair requires a decent amount of organization, communication, and (literally) some heavy lifting, so it’s essential to coordinate with your maintenance or buildings department. It’s also critical to have energetic and dependable parent volunteers to set up, break down, and staff the fair. As such, this event is a good collaborative moment between the library and parents, as we not only work side-by-side organizing the fair, but proceeds from the fair help fund various non-essential library needs. Last year, we used the money raised to replace the library’s worn soft seating, and this year we plan to purchase group study tables to replace some study carrels.

And last but not least, the used-book fair is a perfect destination for your library’s weeded books. It’s really a win-win situation!

by Maria Falgoust and Amy Ribakove

Have you ever considered how many works in translation are included in your collection? Are you interested in adding more? If so, we hope this blog post will get you started and provide some inspiration.

Why is it important to include translated books in your library? 

• It honors linguistic and cultural diversity and helps preserve uniqueness of cultures
• It relates to our diversity, equity and inclusion work
• It builds audiences for literature in translation
• It opens cultural borders

Groundwood publisher Karen Li wrote “Part of growing up is learning how to be in the world, and translated titles show us that there are so many different ways to be- none more or less valid than the other!” and this really strikes a chord with us.

Reading translated literature can build empathy, show the universality of emotions and  experiences, spark curiosity and build new connections. What’s not to love??

Where to start when building your collection:

HVLA Winter meeting 2023

Book challenges – something most (probably all) of us dread thinking about. However, many HVLA members braved the topic and came out last week to hear the fascinating and valuable perspectives of a panel of experts. The discussion was eye opening and supportive, and we have some takeaways to share!

Moderator Christine Nassar and audience members got a chance to ask questions of five people with direct professional experience in this arena. They were: