Two state capital area libraries have been paired up for the MCLS pilot project “Library Match”. The Brownsburg Public Library in Brownsburg, Indiana and the Delta Township District Library in Lansing, Michigan have been paired up for the MCLS pilot project “Library Match.”  For the next six months, they will participate in activities together using video-conferencing equipment generously underwritten by the H.W. Wilson Foundation.

What makes them a match?

Brownsburg Public Library

The Brownsburg Public Library, led by Director Denise Robinson, is located approximately 16 miles northeast of the Indiana state capital Indianapolis and serves a population of 40,258. They have an operating budget of $1,586,330 and have a staff of 38.

Brownsburg Public Library

Delta Township District Library

The Delta Township District Library, led by Director Cherry Hamrick, is located in the Michigan state capital of Lansing. They serve approximately 33,000 residents with a staff of 30. They have an operating budget of $1,619,500.

What initiatives do they have to share with their peer library?

The Brownsburg Public Library plans on sharing information about their Creative Media Lab, in which they recently added 3D printers. The space also has a video capture, slide converter, picture to digital scanner and other memory creators. They also recently began circulating Rokus with Netflix, Amazon Prime and Vudu accounts. Lastly, they have experience in re-organizing the materials in their children’s collection. According to Denise Robinson, “In 2013 we started the process of rethinking how to organize the children’s collection. We came up with our own categories and criteria for each category, and assigned every item individually. We retained the Dewey number in some categories, but it’s secondary to the grouping, like “Animals” or “USA.” The biggest impact and circulation has been in the picture books and leveled readers. We hope to expand the concept to the Adult collection in 2016.

The Delta Township District Library plans to share information about the many  things that their Friends group does. According to Assistant Director, Mary Rzepczynski, “Our Friends group does a lot of interesting things beyond their bookstore, including a jewelry and accessory sale, and selling plants for Mother’s Day.”  They will also share information about their own non-Dewey arrangement for their non-fiction collection, as well as their circulation of non-traditional items, such as cake pans and energy meters.

Delta Township District Library

What do they hope to learn from their peer library?

The Brownsburg Public Library is interested in learning about Delta Township District Library’s fundraising mechanisms, how they market to non-users, any streamlining efforts they have undertaken, programming ideas, staffing techniques and challenges, technology offerings, collection development methodology, cost-saving and maintenance ideas for the building, and what their biggest challenges are.

The Delta Township District Library is also interested in the Brownsburg Public Library’s Friends group activities.  They are interested in learning about any “Library of things” type collections they do or are considering, as well as how they handle their auto-renewals, online card registration and Roku circulation.

Watch for updates from these libraries as they connect and learn from each other over the next several months.  For more information about the MCLS “Library Match” pilot project, read our Library Match blog post.