2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the Michigan eLibrary Catalog (MeLCat)! Over the past 20 years, MeLCat grew from 12 participating libraries to more than 435 public, school, academic, and special libraries, amassing over 34 million items.  In honor of MeLCat’s 20th anniversary, we’re asking Michigan residents to share their MeLCat stories. To highlight their …Read more »

Join the Linked Data Users Group (LDUG) of MCLS from April 7-11 for a free, semi-synchronous, Wikidata Edit-a-thon focused on adding people. No prior experience is necessary! Project staff will provide you with everything you need to create and edit Wikidata entities including instructions, tools, data sources, and a Slack channel to chat with fellow …Read more »

This month, I’ll feature video of a recent conversation I had with Rima Zalghout, librarian at the Russell J. Abaid Library and Resource Center at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, MI. I encourage you to visit the Museum and its library and learn more about the Arab world and Arab Americans’ experiences. The …Read more »

If you are part of the academic library community in Michigan or Indiana and you’d like to learn more about a consortial approach to providing fiction and nonfiction eBook and audiobook titles to your patrons via OverDrive, we encourage you to attend the Consortium Connect webinar hosted by OverDrive on April 17 at 1 p.m. …Read more »

Our popular Virtual Dialogue series continues in 2025! We’ll bring together specific groups of library staff from across our two-state region every other month to give space and time for those with similar challenges and opportunities to meet for dialogue on topics of interest to them. Our next Virtual Dialogue will be on Thursday, March …Read more »

         MCLS is pleased to welcome the following new libraries and organizations to our member community: Liberty Fund, Inc., Indiana Oakland City-Columbia Township Public Library, Indiana Odon Winkelpleck Public Library, Indiana Princeton Public Library, Indiana Are you interested in becoming a member of MCLS? You can view our member benefits and access …Read more »

The MCLS eLicensing & Collection Resources Team (eLCR) has begun planning for the spring eResource meeting. More information is coming soon, including a save the date announcement. In the meantime, we’d like to hear from you! What issues and topics would you like to discuss? Email us your suggestions by Feb. 28, 2025.

This month, I’d like to introduce the 2025 MCLS Board of Directors and what they do for you, our members who own MCLS. At their fall retreat this past November, I observed the MCLS Board come away with new energy and a sense of purpose for their upcoming plans in 2025. As we continue through …Read more »

MCLS has spent 2024 changing and planning so we can empower libraries to achieve the extraordinary in 2025 and beyond. As we move from one busy year to another, read on for some changes this year and some of what we plan for the future.  I thank the many stakeholders who participated in our 2024 …Read more »

At MCLS, we like to see and hear what our member libraries are doing and stay connected with what is happening in the community we serve. Meeting with our members in person on-site gives us the opportunity to see first hand the amazing work you’re doing, listen to your insights, and fully understand the context …Read more »