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Executive Director | News | Training | Special Offers
This month, I’ll reflect on Dr. Emily Knox’s thought-provoking Feb. 7 lecture on intellectual freedom, book banning, and more that MCLS co-sponsored with Western Michigan University (WMU). Dr. Knox’s books include Book Banning In 21st Century America and Foundations of Intellectual Freedom. Her events drew a wide audience of academic, public, and school librarians and others. I’ll recap Dr. Knox’s Feb. 8 workshop in April.
Meet new Group Purchasing Coordinator, Susan Bannwart!Susan's first day with MCLS was Feb. 27. Having most recently worked at Rolling Prairie Elementary School (IN) following 15 years in various roles at La Porte County Public Library (IN), Susan brings both a strong understanding of K-12 and public library eResource needs and a commitment to innovative service in support of library users.
In her role as MCLS Group Purchasing Coordinator, Susan administers purchases for library products and services in collaboration with the Group Purchasing Team. She provides support to members and customers by answering questions, processing orders, and troubleshooting, and cultivates productive working relationships between MCLS, libraries, and vendors.
MCLS has 649 members from all library types and affiliated organizations in Indiana and Michigan. Please join us in welcoming our newest MCLS member institutions:
Interested in your library becoming an MCLS Member? For information on cost and member benefits and the link to our online Membership Application, visit our website. Questions? Contact Gwen at membership@mcls.org or 517-939-1388.
MCLS member benefit spotlight: FREE Essential Workplace Skills workshops and certificateDid you know our Essential Workplace Skills on-demand tutorials are FREE to all staff of MCLS member libraries? That is a $720 value, per person!
There is no limit to the number of staff from your library who can participate. We have already had 294 registrations for the on-demand tutorials since rolling them out in our MCLS Essential Workplace Skills Academy through Niche Academy in 2021 and 2022, and the number continues to climb. You can register for the Essential Workplace Skills tutorials in the MCLS store.
Read more and see the newest certificate recipients >>
Save-the-date for MCLS eResources meetingsSpring is coming and that means the MCLS eResources meeting is on the horizon! This year MCLS will host two virtual events: one for academic and medical libraries and another for public and K-12 libraries. Please save the date and look for registration information in April.
MCLS Academic/Medical eResources Meeting
Friday, May 5, 9am-3pm Eastern (8am-2pm Central)
MCLS Public/K-12 eResources Meeting
Friday, May 12, 9am-3pm Eastern (8am-2pm Central)
Agenda plans are in development. Both sessions include a noon-1pm Eastern lunch break.
There's still time to register for the March Virtual DialogueJoin us as we gather on Zoom with library staff from all over Indiana and Michigan on Tuesday, March 15, from 10:30am-noon Eastern (9:30-11am Central). This month we’ll discuss cultivating a flexible mindset.
The Virtual Dialogues are FREE and open to librarians and library workers at all levels and in all library types or affiliated library organizations! Because these are conversations and most learning will be done with peers in breakout rooms, sessions will not be recorded; we hope you can join us live. You can register now for one, a few, or all the 2023 Dialogues. We look forward to connecting with you!
Thank you to all who participated in the MCLS Community Conversations!We want to thank everyone who participated in one of the 12 virtual MCLS Community Conversations in February. Your input around the aspirations, concerns, and visions for the future of libraries in Indiana and Michigan is invaluable. We will be theming the information gathered from the conversations into a report that will be used to inform future possibilities as MCLS heads into a strategic planning process. We will also share the report with the library community in Indiana and Michigan.
If you weren’t able to participate but would like to share input, please contact Engagement, Consulting, and Training Manager Pam Seabolt at seaboltp@mcls.org by April 30 to set up a 30-minute one-on-one conversation.
Discover ways to boost your wellbeing with our new virtual workshop Today, more than ever, challenging and uncertain times are creating stress and threatening resiliency, and exhausted library staff struggle to find the capacity to keep serving their communities with a smile.
Join Library Strategists Jenny Kobiela-Mondor and Lissa Krull for a 3-hour interactive workshop, “Break Out of Burnout and Rebalance Your Life.” This workshop is designed to help boost wellbeing for yourself and those around you through small shifts in your thinking and practice – no matter your role at your library. It will help you learn how to combat fatigue and burnout by exploring ways to live out your values; offer a chance to practice mindfulness and self-compassion; give ideas to bring out the best in yourself and others; and help you understand the importance of rest and recovery.
Space is filling fast, but spots are still available for the workshops on Tuesday, March 21 and Thursday, April 13. To register or for more information, visit the Special Programs page.
For more information or to see all upcoming workshops, visit our workshop and event registration page. If you have any questions, please contact us at training@mcls.org.
Statista is the global number one data platform with more than 3 million statistics on over 80,000 topics across 170 industries. It includes data in 180 academic disciplines such as nursing, social sciences, and business, and grants access to academic publication rights and citation features. Simple keyword searches and full citations provide research time savings. Whether your patrons need valid data for term papers and theses, for daily tasks in research and teaching, or as a research tool in your library, Statista always provides the most relevant content.
The Consumer Insights product offers a continuously updated and immediately available set of survey data on buying behavior and media usage worldwide. It is designed to both help patrons perform market research and understand consumer behavior and interactions with brands. The eCommerce Insights product provides continuously updated and immediately available eCommerce information.
Learn more at a free informational webinar on Wednesday, March 22, 12-12:30pm Eastern (11-11:30am Central).
OverDrive has long been known for its public library eBook and audio book collections. It also serves academic libraries by both providing access to a wide range of academic titles to support curriculum and leisure reading materials to encourage lifelong reading.
An exploratory meeting was held in January for interested Indiana academic libraries. OverDrive staff shared information about both academic collections and the services they offer to build and promote collections, while MCLS staff outlined the process for building a consortium group.
If you are an Indiana academic library looking to expand your digital outreach and want to learn more about OverDrive, please reach out to Group Purchasing for additional information and a quote at 517-939-1382 or services@mcls.org.
Bloomsbury is pleased to offer MCLS members the chance to save MORE on the one-time purchase of several digital resources through May 31. Enjoy larger discounts on popular products such as the Bloomsbury Architecture Library, Bloomsbury Design Library, and Bloomsbury Fashion, plus more selections covering topics such as history, music, and philosophy.
Contact Group Purchasing for quote and product information at 517-939-1382 or services@mcls.org.
MCLS has negotiated discounts with several library supplies and equipment vendors on behalf of our members. These vendors include Brodart, Ingram, The Library Store, Kapco, Office Depot, Barcodes, Inc., and Hotel Planner (Lexyl Travel). You can find more information on discounts and how to order on each vendor’s page.
