Contents:
News | Executive Director | Training | Special Offers | MeL
The MCLS membership year runs July through June, and renewals for July 2019 have begun. An email was sent to the billing contacts, primary contacts, and directors of all of our K-12 member libraries on April 4, reminding them of the renewal invoices, which will be sent to all K-12 member libraries on May 1. All other member libraries should expect to receive the reminder emails around June 3, and the invoices July 1.
With our multistate reach, MCLS is a valuable resource for our nearly 700 members in Indiana and Michigan. With your very affordable membership investment, you can save hundreds to thousands of dollars on subscriptions, training, and much more. You have access to group licensing and discounts on eJournals, eBooks, databases, and library supplies, training in current library topics and methodologies, professional networking opportunities, and support and consultation on a number of topics. MCLS members even have free access to some special benefits, including our Soft Skills webinars!
We value our member libraries, and hope that we'll be able to continue to serve you into the next year and beyond. If you have any questions about your membership, or would like more information on ways your membership could be of greater value to your library, simply email us at membership@mcls.org.
If your library is in Indiana or Michigan and is not currently a member of MCLS, the annual renewal period is a great time to join and begin to take advantage of all the member benefits! Find out more or start the application today!
Facilitation training for Michigan library staffDue to the success of last year's workshops and back by popular demand, MCLS, in partnership with the Library of Michigan, will be offering six more trainings on facilitation presented by We Can Work It Out, LLC.
Two dates in July will be offered for the Basic Facilitation workshop (repeats of the courses offered last year) and are available to new participants. Two Advanced Facilitation workshops, on the topics of, "Dealing with Conflict" and "Coming to Agreement," will be offered in Fall 2019.
Registration for all six workshops will be announced soon.
Academic librarians from across Michigan convened at the MCLS office on Thursday, March 28, for the 2019 Spring eResources Meeting. Held annually, this face-to-face meeting offers librarians subscribing to eResources via MCLS the opportunity to discuss issues and concerns related to eResource subscriptions, and to hear from vendors whose resources are up for renewal. During the meeting, vendor representatives from the American Chemical Society, Elsevier, and Oxford University Press shared information about their resources. Multiple questions were raised by librarians, reflecting the changing eResources environment. Questions about pricing and pricing structures topped the list. Libraries are seeking transparency from vendors about price increases, including more explanation regarding what price increases cover. License agreements, open access options, accessibility requirements, and eResource management were among the other questions. After lunch, Randy Dykhuis, former MCLS Executive Director, led a facilitated World Café-style discussion, asking for feedback on how member libraries can work together more effectively when it comes to group purchasing and licensing. Members were also asked to share how MCLS can support libraries with eResources purchases and what new services are needed. Feedback received was that libraries are looking to MCLS to provide increased communication, to negotiate more firmly with vendors, and to continue helping libraries obtain license agreements that put users first, providing access to resources.
We are pleased to announce that Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library in Zionsville, IN has selected Midwest Collaborative for Library Services (MCLS) to provide consulting services for strategic planning. Our work with Hussey-Mayfield will commence late this summer.
Is your library interested in learning more about our consulting services? Visit our webpage to read more or contact us to request a quote.
Save the date! MCLS and Library of Michigan to bring NCDD to Michigan for three Conversation Café trainingsWe are pleased to announce that MCLS, in partnership with the Library of Michigan, will be bringing facilitators from the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) to Michigan this August. We will be forming three cohorts of Michigan library staff who would like to learn a new method of engaging their communities, and be part of a cohort of peer support and coaching calls. The one-day trainings will take place in three locations around the state on the week of Aug. 5, 2019. Continuing support will take place via six months of monthly coaching conference calls and ongoing online peer support. Registration will be opening soon!
My second month on the job at MCLS has been an exhilarating blend of building and strengthening connections with our skilled and talented staff and management team, a variety of members, and representatives from other library consortia around the world, as well as working on strategy and reporting.
Featured upcoming workshop: Creating Marketing and Instructional Videos on a DimeVideo content can be a great way to get your message out and provide quick instruction, but it can be more expensive than your library budget can handle for equipment and software. In this brand-new MCLS workshop coming up in June, participants will be introduced to a variety of freely-available options, learn to identify which product works best for which types of projects, and analyze best practices for different messages. Developed and taught by this month's featured trainer, Christina Wray, this workshop is ideal for librarians responsible for social media, instruction, and marketing.
Christina Wray is currently the Digital Learning and Engagement Librarian at the University of Central Florida. Previously, she was the librarian at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, where she had the opportunity to explore the ways in which libraries positively impact the lives of people with disabilities every day.
Read more, including fun facts, about Christina>>
For more information or to see all upcoming workshops, visit our upcoming workshops and events page. If you have any questions, please contact us at training@mcls.org.
Oxford University Press is, once again, offering a special spring promotion for new subscription orders. Starting today, institutions can add new online subscription products (excluding law products) to their collection of OUP online resources for July 2019 – June 2020 with access starting as soon as the order is entered. Libraries will get 15-, 14-, or 13-month subscriptions for the price of 12, depending on when the order is placed (subscriptions will run through June 30, 2020.)
For more information or a quote, contact Chrystal Pickell at services@mcls.org or (800) 530-9019 ext 401.
Third Iron, the creators of BrowZine, have released LibKey Discovery, an API-based service that enables users of discovery environments (e.g. Primo, Summon, EDS) to more efficiently connect to the library’s most valuable content. Studies show link resolvers confuse patrons, and publisher data indicates there are more than five times as many unresolved full-text requests than resolved. LibKey Discovery provides single-click access to PDFs, making access to your most expensive eJournals far more user-friendly.
LibKey Discovery also provides 25,000+ journal cover images and one-click access to the issues from which articles come, providing critical context and long-lost serendipitous discovery. In addition, LibKey Link provides one-click access to PDFs through PubMed searches, again bypassing confusing link resolvers.
For a free trial or quote, contact Chrystal Pickell at services@mcls.org or (800) 530-9019 ext 401.
Credo Reference is continuing to expand their instruction offerings by announcing the launch of Instruct: Health Science. As part of Credo’s Learning Tools family, this new content package enables librarians to teach and assess foundational skills within the context of one of the country’s fastest-growing fields.
Instruct: Health Science includes ACRL-aligned videos, tutorials, and assessment instruments specific to the health sciences. A limited one-time-only discount is available.
To learn more, contact Chrystal Pickell at services@mcls.org or (800) 530-9019 ext 401.
We’ve all heard them... now it’s time to share them! We are collecting stories of how MeLCat has made a difference in the lives of Michigan residents. Perhaps MeLCat was able to provide the perfect materials for a user’s dissertation. Maybe MeLCat could find that long sought-after middle book from a series, and now the patron can continue reading in perfect chronological order. Perhaps someone has told you about finding that most-cherished children’s book and the excitement of being able to share it with a new generation.
We want to hear your stories and those of your patrons! Send them to MeLCat staff at melcathelp@mcls.org so we can share them across the state!
The MeL project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Additional funding is provided by the State of Michigan and the Library of Michigan Foundation.
