Contents:
News | Executive Director | Training | Special Offers | RIDES
Join MCLS at the ILF virtual annual conferenceMCLS will have a virtual exhibit booth at this year's Indiana Library Federation Virtual Annual Conference, Everyone Counts, Nov. 17-18. We look forward to all the ways technology will allow us to safely engage with you, our members and friends in Indiana - perhaps more of you than ever!
Whether your library is a current member of MCLS or not, we'd love to see you and tell you more about how we can support you, supporting your community. Stop by our virtual booth to meet some of our staff and enter for lots of AMAZING giveaways. We look forward to connecting with you!
2020 Annual Membership Meeting scheduled for Nov. 20Mark your calendars for the MCLS Annual Membership Meeting on Friday, Nov. 20 at 10am Eastern (9am Central). More information, including registration/log-in, will be coming soon on our website and email lists.
If you have any questions regarding this meeting, please contact Heather Ladiski at ladiskih@mcls.org.
MCLS takes strategic planning virtual in IndianaWhile strategic planning has taken a back seat for many libraries during the pandemic, two public libraries in Indiana worked with the MCLS Engagement, Consulting, and Training team this fall to move forward with their planning in the virtual environment. Hamilton East Public Library and Anderson Public Library both took the bold move to work with us on an entirely new virtual process using Zoom. We conducted strategic planning retreats, Community Conversations, staff and board focus groups, and staff retreats all using the breakout room functionality in the Zoom platform. While the synergy and excitement of in-person planning cannot be entirely replicated in the virtual environment, the use of breakout rooms and visual ice breakers and energizers helped to make the process engaging and facilitated strategic thinking and consensus-building.
If you’ve been putting off your strategic planning until you can engage in person, we encourage you to consider going virtual. MCLS has the tools, techniques, and experience to lead you through the process and help you chart new directions for the future of your library. If you would like more information about our virtual strategic planning or meeting facilitation, contact us at engagement@mcls.org. We look forward to hearing from you and exploring how we can work together in this new virtual environment!
MCLS holiday closuresThe MCLS office will be closed the following days for the Thanksgiving holiday:
Thu, Nov 26
Fri, Nov 27
We are grateful, as always, for YOU! Happy Thanksgiving!
To help library staff understand, track, and maintain their own well-being in a challenging 2020, MCLS and our Board of Directors are offering a brief confidential survey from The Wellbeing Lab. Just take the survey by November 10, and receive a customized report and well-being plan tailored for you.
I usually use this space to tell you about what MCLS or libraries are doing. But this month, as we continue dealing with what can feel like an overwhelming number of challenges, I’m curious: how are YOU doing?
We’re living through tough times right now, and MCLS and its Board of Directors want to support you in improving your well-being, a critical part of how we function in work and in life. In the next few days, please take this simple survey that will help you better understand how you’re really doing, and help you get centered at a time that’s knocking many of us off course.
MCLS library staff development certificatesDid you know that you can earn a Certificate of Library Staff Development from MCLS? We offer certificates in Basic Cataloging, Advanced Cataloging, and Basic Soft Skills, and you can work towards them at your own pace, taking up to three years to complete the required webinars. Our certificates provide you with an opportunity to improve your knowledge and skills, learn new technologies, and demonstrate your overall competence in the library field. The MCLS Certificates of Library Staff Development are important credentials to assist you in promotions or job changes in the library field.
Please contact Gwen at training@mcls.org if you have questions about completing the form or eligibility for certification.
Learn more or download an application>>
A new semester of training workshops, January - June 2021, will be posted on our website in early December. Check in then to register for all the exciting upcoming courses!
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.
MCLS has partnered with SAGE Publishing to achieve special pricing on key SAGE Resources in 2020-2021. If you have been considering any acquisitions from SAGE, now is a great time to complete your collection with the special savings developed specifically for MCLS members! The resources featured in this offer are SAGE Video and SAGE Knowledge. SAGE Video streaming includes 11 different collections covering all major disciplines with recent content updates in Criminology & Criminal Justice, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology. SAGE Knowledge includes an expansive range of SAGE eBook and eReference content.
MCLS members are invited to participate in an exclusive offer to build your SAGE Knowledge collection at reduced buy-in pricing using Evidence-Based Acquisition. When you opt-in to the EBA program, you’ll gain full access to over 5,800 encyclopedias, handbooks, and reference titles with a combined value of over $1M.
For more information or to request a product trial or quote, contact MCLS Group Purchasing at services@mcls.org or (800) 530-9019 ext 401.
Right now, college and university libraries can get a one-year license to PolicyMap for the price of a six-month license. Available through June 2021, this offer is designed to support the academic community during the current health crisis. PolicyMap is a data and mapping tool for accessing datasets and other information from authoritative sources about communities across the United States, including demographics, health, education, housing, economics, and more.
The October 2020 edition of Choice 360 reports that "PolicyMap manages to deliver powerful GIS capabilities and copious data indicators with an interface that a generalist can quickly grasp and put to use." To sign up for this special offer, please contact Group Purchasing at services@mcls.org or (800) 530-9019 ext 401.
Looking to enhance your collection of health and science resources? From eBooks to interactive databases, Gale delivers essential, credible, and up-to-date content from powerful research platforms with vetted sources. Special discounts are available on the following products:
Learn more at an informational webinar on Wednesday, Nov. 18 from 11am-12pm Eastern (10-11am Central). Register today!
For a quote or more information, please contact MCLS Group Purchasing at services@mcls.org or (800) 530-9019 ext 401.
Well-known in the higher education environment as a premier streaming resource for exclusive social-issue documentaries, Docuseek now offers an affordable, robust streaming video collection for K-12 schools. Designed for elementary, middle, and high school audiences, the K-12 Collection contains more than 200 best-selling and popular titles, and includes films on sustainability, STEAM, global studies, current events, literature, and much more! New titles are added quarterly within the subscription period. A short preview of the product is available online.
Learn more about this K-12 focused collection by attending an overview webinar on Thursday, Nov. 19 from 10-11am Eastern (9-10am Central). Register today!
For a quote or more information, please contact MCLS Group Purchasing at services@mcls.org or (800) 530-9019 ext 401.
Sharing stories with library users is easy with Dial-A-Story, a service of Stories in the Cloud. Despite modern smartphones and streaming technology, many Americans lack reliable internet access. Offering a Dial-A-Story service, which works from any phone, connects your unconnected members with valuable content. With Dial-A-Story, your library gets a dedicated local number, custom greeting, and your choice of hundreds of stories. Record your own stories or choose from hundreds of pre-recorded classics. This cloud-based service requires no special equipment, hardware, or software. Library users simply call the number and listen to stories!
Contact MCLS Group Purchasing at services@mcls.org or (800) 530-9019 ext. 401 for information on special Dial-A-Story pricing available to MCLS members.
Please submit a RIDES Assistance form if your library will be closed on a scheduled day of service. Short closures should be reported no more than two weeks prior to closing. Extended closures of more than 30 days should be submitted at least two weeks prior to closing.
It is not necessary to report if your library is closed on a RIDES holiday; there will be no service those days.
Upcoming RIDES holidays:Thu, Nov 26
RIDES Assistance Form: mcls.org/rideshelp
