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News | Executive Director | Training | Special Offers | MeL
Mark your calendars for the MCLS Annual Membership Meeting to take place from 10-11am Eastern (9-10am Central) on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019. This year's membership meeting will take place at the Hamilton East Public Library - Fishers Branch, as well as online using Zoom, and will feature reports from MCLS President Edra Waterman, Executive Director Scott Garrison, and Treasurer (and Audit Committee Chair) Arlene Weismantel. For those who will be attending in person, MCLS staff and board members will be facilitating a Conversation Cafe following the meeting.
There is no cost to attend, but please register here to attend in person so we know how many to expect. To attend virtually, no pre-registration is required; simply go to https://zoom.us/j/280952499 just prior to the meeting start time.
If you have any questions regarding this meeting, please contact Heather Ladiski at ladiskih@mcls.org.
Project ReShare – a new and open approach to library resource sharing – has officially welcomed MCLS as one of its Founding Consortial Partners. In addition to substantial monetary contributions which will speed along development of the open source code being developed, MCLS is also committing time and expertise from its staff and member institutions that promises to uniquely benefit Project ReShare. MCLS Executive Director Scott Garrison and his staff are excited about the potential opportunities Project ReShare offers. “We hope that Project ReShare becomes a viable solution for hundreds of libraries in the two states we serve, as well as for the broader library community. MCLS believes in innovating for libraries and their users, and our Board of Directors, staff, and I feel that Project ReShare is a fresh, innovative approach to resource sharing for users everywhere,” Garrison said.
We are pleased to announce that Manistee County Library in Manistee, MI has selected Midwest Collaborative for Library Services (MCLS) to provide consulting services for strategic planning. We will be working with the library throughout the spring of 2020.
Is your library interested in learning more about our consulting services? Visit our webpage to read more or contact us to request a quote.
Interested in exploring new resource products for your library, but don’t have a lot of time to learn the ins and outs of individual databases, software, eJournal, and eBook sources? MCLS’s fall lightning webinars can help.
During November, MCLS will offer three online lightning webinars:
The webinars will feature a variety of vendors, including vendors currently working with MCLS, like EBSCO, Gale, ProQuest, and SAGE, as well as vendors new to MCLS like Cabell’s, RedLink, and medici.tv. Vendors will have 10 minutes to highlight a specific product and demonstrate its functionality. These webinars will be a great opportunity for library staff to see products in action. To register, please complete this registration form.
Join MCLS at fall conference boothsThe leaves are starting to turn, and you know what that means: it's almost time for fall conferences! The Michigan Library Association (MLA) Annual Conference is in Novi from Oct. 16-18, and MCLS will be at booth #1. Then the Indiana Library Federation (ILF) Annual Conference is in Indianapolis soon after, Nov. 3-5, and we'll be at booth #53. Stop by and say "Hi" to MCLS staff!
Whether your library is a current member of MCLS or not, we'd love to see you and chat about how we can support you, supporting your community. Stop by for giveaways, a drawing for free MCLS webinars, and much more fun. We look forward to seeing you in either Novi or Indianapolis!
As MCLS prepares to end its contract with bibliotheca on Dec. 31, 2019, we are committed to helping member libraries locate new sources for obtaining bibliotheca materials. Along with commercial vendors like Demco and The Library Store, another resource for bibliotheca products is Minitex, a consortium based in Minnesota. For over 30 years, Minitex has served as a distributor, first of 3M and now of all bibliotheca products, including big-ticket items like gates as well as other accessories like B1 and B2 Tattle-Tape strips. Minitex has a strong relationship with bibliotheca (they are located in the same community) and is able to provide libraries with competitive pricing on bibliotheca products.
As a non-profit consortium and a program of the University of Minnesota, Minitex’s focus is on supporting and helping libraries. Ordering through Minitex starts with registering as a new customer. Once registered, ordering is easy and credit card purchasing is available. Visit the program website to learn more. Tim Peters directs the Minitex product program and is available to answer questions at t-pete@umn.edu or (612) 625-9527.
In January, we will begin delivering all MCLS invoices and account statements via email. With this process, information will be available to you sooner and can easily be copied and forwarded to others within your organization. Watch the MCLS eNewsletter over the next few months for more information.
Like many throughout the library community across the country (including the Michigan Library Association), we at MCLS are very concerned about the limits that Macmillan Publishing announced that they would place on eBook lending for U.S. libraries, effective Nov. 1, 2019. I’m using my MCLS newsletter space this month to share an open letter adapted from the American Library Association.
Featured October webinar: Intellectual PropertyIntellectual property and copyright laws affect libraries on a daily basis. Join MCLS instructor Jessica Barnes on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2-4pm Eastern (1-3pm Central) to learn about different types of intellectual property, fair use doctrine, first sale doctrine, orphaned works, digital rights management, and IP laws affecting libraries. Best practices to ensure libraries are in compliance with the law will also be discussed.
Learn more or register today>>
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.
Cabell's: the trusted source for journal discoveryWe are happy to announce a new partnership with Cabell's. Cabell's Journal Whitelist is an independent, curated database of more than 11,000 scholarly journals across 18 disciplines, powered by a suite of insightful, citation-backed metrics. Search, filter, and compare journals to find the perfect outlet to submit research, review scholarly contributions, or gain accreditation. Cabell's Journal Blacklist, currently listing nearly 12,000 publications, is the only searchable database of predatory journals and includes detailed violation reports for objective and transparent analysis. Be aware of exploitative operations that threaten to undermine quality research.
These resources provide the academic community with the intelligent data needed for better-informed journal evaluations. For more information or a quote, contact MCLS Group Purchasing at services@mcls.org or (800) 530-9019 ext 401.
Looking for new eBook options for your library users? MCLS is currently working with Project MUSE to develop a group purchase for Evidence-Based Acquisition of Books on Project MUSE, a collection of over 36,000 University Press titles covering the social sciences and humanities. Evidence-Based Acquisition (EBA) of Books on Project MUSE provides libraries with an option to open up discovery and access for significant numbers of high-quality scholarly books, allowing faculty and students to find and make use of the most relevant content for their research and teaching. The user experience is as if the institution already owns the book, with unlimited simultaneous usage, downloading, and printing of DRM-free PDF chapters. The library can track which books are receiving the most use through standardized usage reports and select for permanent acquisition those titles best suited for its collections. Pricing is based on a tier system and involves libraries committing to a set amount of funds to use for purchases. To learn more, please contact Stephanie Davis, Group Purchasing Manager, by email at daviss@mcls.org or by phone at (800) 530-9019 ext 154.
Effective October 1, MeLCat will begin a pilot project intended to shorten the time materials spend in transit between libraries.
The system will first look for available copies in the same RIDES hub as the requesting patron’s library. If a request can’t be filled within the same hub, the system will look for copies elsewhere in the statewide system.
We fully anticipate that some libraries will suddenly get many more requests than in the past and some will see a big drop. We’ll be monitoring this closely to try to make adjustments as quickly as possible. This is a big change, so it will take a while for things to get back into normal numbers.
Thank you for your patience as we try to improve service to Michigan residents. If you have any comments or questions, please let us know at melcathelp@mcls.org.
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.
