Contents:
News | Training | Special Offers | MeL | RIDES
The Library of Michigan and the Midwest Collaborative for Library Services (MCLS) have partnered with Zepheira Technologies to transform the 16 million bibliographic records in MeLCat, Michigan’s statewide resource sharing system, into linked data. Once complete, the books, CDs, DVDs, and other items in the Michigan libraries using MeLCat will be easily discoverable by web search engines such as Google and Bing.
By an overwhelming majority vote, our member representatives elected the proposed slate of new and returning board members.
The elected slate:
Maxine Bleiweis of Maxine Bleiweis and Associates will be the morning keynote, presenting on her experiences with innovation as director of the Westport Public Library in Connecticut. Our afternoon keynote speaker will be Barbara I. Dewey, Dean, University Libraries and Scholarly Communications at Penn State University, who will present on new innovative projects happening at her university. The State Librarians from the Michigan and Indiana State Libraries will give “state of libraries” presentations, and there will be a business meeting during lunch, as well as round-table discussions with current MCLS board members. This year, the meeting will be held (and simulcast) in three locations in hopes that members from throughout our region will be able to attend.
We would like to invite you to submit a proposal for a Linked Data Summit to be held on March 16, 2017. This day-long, multi-state event will take place both in Lansing, Michigan and Indianapolis, Indiana. Speakers and participants will interact both in-person and remotely. The summit will feature a BIBFRAME overview and update from Beacher Wiggins (Director for Acquisitions and Bibliographic Access, Library of Congress) and a presentation from Linked Data industry leader Zepheira on the implications for libraries.
Join us and our special guest Beka Lemons, Director of the Huntington City Township Public Library (IN) for a Twitter chat on Thursday, November 17 at 2pm Eastern (1pm Central) using the hashtag #mclschat. Beka will be chatting with us on building great teams at your library.
If you missed October's Twitter chat on "Small libraries can do big things," and you want to read the archive, or if you need directions for participating in the upcoming chat, Read more>>
The Indiana Library Federation (ILF) annual conference is in Indianapolis, Nov. 8-10. Stop by booth #61 and say "Hi" to the MCLS staff. During the conference we will present as part of a panel on holding "spirited" events at your library, as well as a panel on libraries transforming communities. We look forward to seeing you there!
MCLS will be hosting a roundtable discussion at the Bristol Public Library (IN) on Dec. 1, for anyone who is interested in discussing ways to engage with the community. Bristol is located near the state line, and we invite staff from both Indiana and Michigan to attend and share ideas. Can't make the December meeting? We have more roundtables scheduled for March in both Indiana and Michigan.
MCLS is seeking librarians from all types of libraries who would like to help shape future group purchases. Our vision for the Product Advisory Librarians (PALs) is to test and trial products and provide feedback. This information will help us determine the direction for product offerings in a more thoughtful manner.
Why are we doing this?
Please join us in congratulating Kalamazoo Valley Community College! MCLS and Infobase Learning partnered to offer one MCLS member library the chance to win 40% off an Infobase Learning product. KVCC was randomly selected as the raffle winner from the libraries who requested quotes for Infobase Learning products before October 15, 2016.
Keep an eye out for future raffles and prizes!
Are you interested in utilizing current and emerging technology to improve the experiences of your patrons? In this two-hour webinar you will gain insight into the latest trends including tablet apps, augmented reality, and robotics that will keep patrons of all ages engaged.
This course will provide an overview of the developing BIBFRAME project, intended to replace the MARC21 standard.
Topics will include:
For more information or for more workshops through December, visit our upcoming workshops and events page. If you have any questions, please contact training@mcls.org.
We'll be mailing out the brochure of our January - June 2017 training workshop opportunities in early December. Watch for that in the mail, or visit our website then!
Looking to bolster your science collection but struggling to find a cost-effective option? The ACS Science Essentials Pack provides the affordability and flexibility that libraries need to equip students, educators, and researchers with critical information spanning the sciences.
Subscribe to the ACS Science Essentials Pack and select the five ACS online journals most important to your academic institution. Focus on a specific area like materials science, medicinal chemistry, or environmental engineering, or build a multidisciplinary collection to serve a broad range of departments. The ACS Science Essentials Pack provides the flexibility libraries need to equip students, educators, and researchers with critical information.
Contact Chrystal Babbitt at services@mcls.org or 800-530-9019 ext 401 for more information or a quote.
MCLS and Duke University Press are pleased to offer a 20% discount on any new subscriptions to the 2017 e-Duke Journals expanded collection. The e-Duke Journals expanded collection provides online access to Duke University Press journals in the humanities and social sciences. The 2017 collection includes 47 titles, including two new titles, Archives of Asian Art and Qui Parle.
Morningstar Investment Research Center is a comprehensive financial database designed specifically for libraries. It helps patrons with all their investing needs by providing:
Wiley is now offering community colleges discounted pricing on the 2017 Full Collection, which contains approximately 1,400 journal titles. While subscribed, you will receive archival access from 1997 onward. Additional benefits include multiple site access, unlimited concurrent usage, inter-library loan rights, and more. For additional information, check out the Wiley Value Story, visit Wiley’s resource site for MCLS members, or contact Chrystal Babbitt at services@mcls.org or 800-530-9019 ext 401 for your price quote and additional details.
Every year we review the numbers to give us a snapshot of MeLCat usage.
In the last year:
The most active MeLCat lenders and borrowers, Ann Arbor District Library and Capital Area District Library, both loaned and borrowed over 41,000 items.
Michigan State University is the top 'net lender', loaning over 41,000 items - far more than the number of items borrowed.
A year ago it was promised that the server migration would improve IP submissions and changes to lessen the down time for libraries. At that time 67% of the changes took 7 days or more to be completed. We are pleased to announce that currently 76% of all MeLCat IP changes are resolved in 2 days or less.
MeLCat questions should be sent to melcathelp@mcls.org.
The MeL project is funded by the Federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) via the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) through the Library of Michigan, part of the Michigan Department of Education. Additional funding is provided by the State of Michigan.
This past summer many RIDES Advisory Committee members toured the RIDES courier hub warehouses in each of their regions. At some locations, staff from nearby libraries were also invited to attend. At each site we met with the hub warehouse manager who explained the process and answered lots of questions.
An overview presentation of the tours at mcls.org/ridesadventures will give you a better understanding of the entire delivery process.
RIDES questions and comments should be sent to the RIDES Assistance form: https://www.mcls.org/rideshelp.
