Congratulations to the Indiana Library Federation for hosting another excellent conference. We were thrilled to attend and catch up with a number of MCLS member librarians face-to-face. There was lots of other activity, too, and we have a new Facebook album to prove it. If you weren’t able to attend this time, mark your calendar …Read more »

EDIT: This position has been filled. The Midwest Collaborative for Library Services (MCLS) is searching for a dedicated and creative problem-solver to join the team that supports and develops the Michigan eLibrary (MeL). We are looking for someone who is knowledgeable about web technology and interested in furthering the goal of seamless access to the …Read more »

The MCLS Board of Directors has accepted the Nominating Committee’s proposed slate of candidates for the five seats whose terms expire at the end of December 2012. The following slate is presented to the membership for approval: Indiana/Research: Diane Parr Walker, Edward H. Arnold University Librarian, Hesburgh Libraries, University of Notre Dame Indiana/At-Large: Rev. Robert …Read more »

New services from OCLC provide opportunities to create and share at Webscale. Built on the OCLC WorldShare™ Platform, OCLC WorldShare™ Interlibrary Loan will replace WorldCat® Resource Sharing and help library staff and users quickly and easily obtain the resources they need from libraries worldwide. Plus, new discovery features in WorldCat.org and WorldCat® Local give staff …Read more »

Many academic libraries are struggling with two separate yet related problems: continuing the transition from print to digital and handling legacy print collections that receive less and less use. As more and more resources are available electronically and contention for space in the library is increasing, academic libraries no longer have the luxury to retain …Read more »

See the full August edition If you aren’t already on our email newsletter list, click here to sign up Products & Services LibraryAware – an awesome new tool for promoting your library. Sign up for a guided, online demo! Special offer from Wiley-Blackwell, just for community colleges Webinars to learn about ProQuest Statistical Abstract, the …Read more »

The July edition is out. Some highlights include: •  Lower minimum order quantities on 3M RFID tags •  Plunkett and MarketLine business databases •  Free MeL Database classes focused on kids’ information needs •  MeLCat Reports webinar, as well as MeLCat Do-It-Yourself Data Analysis •  July–December 2012 training calendar, featuring our 6-part eBooks and Libraries series •  New group rate for …Read more »

The MCLS Nominating & Leadership Development Committee seeks nominations from the membership for the following openings on the MCLS Board of Directors: Public Library Representative (Michigan) Research Library Representative (Indiana) School Library Representative (Indiana) At-Large Library Representative (Michigan) At-Large Library Representative (Indiana) Deadline for submission of names is 5:00 p.m. on July 13, 2012. For …Read more »

The OCLC Research report Seeking Synchronicity found that one of the biggest obstacles to a successful virtual reference service was getting users to simply know the service existed.  Virtual customer service has become increasingly familiar for commercial business however odds are that most users won’t even know what “Ask a Librarian” means. Many users of …Read more »

MCLS extends its best wishes to Anne Donohue as she departs to take on her next adventure. Anne joined then-MLC in 2001 as OCLC Network Support Librarian and went on to perform a number of sales and service roles. In her most recent position as MeL Catalog Librarian, Anne assisted with planning for new MeL …Read more »