To receive your discount, you must return your registration with payment directly to MLNC using the form at http://www.mlnc.org/il2009.pdf no later than Wednesday, September 16, 2009.

Contact Deb Ehrstein (deb@mlnc.org, 800-969-6562, x816) with questions or for additional information.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Payment must be made to Missouri Library Network Corporation (MLNC), NOT to MLC.

We have a great line-up for the “Open Source, Open Libraries” program, including keynote speaker Daniel Chudnov from the Library of Congress.

In addition to our keynote, members of the Michigan library community will highlight some of their favorite open source applications:
Terry Robertson and Steve Sowder, Andrews University, on Eprints, open source software for institutional repositories.
John Rucker, Branch District Library, on Dansguardian, open source filtering software
Mark Szidik, Michigan Library Consortium, on Mozilla Firefox and GiMP.
Bill Ott, Grand Rapids Public Library, on Open Office applications.

For further information and to register online, go to:
https://members.mlcnet.org/workshops/viewcourse.html?id=191

We’re excited about Mr. Chudnov keynoting our “Open Source, Open Libraries” program.  Among his many accomplishments, he started the oss4lib weblog and listserv in 1999 to promote open source software in libraries.

In addition to Mr. Chudnov, we have an impressive line-up of Michigan library staff talking about their successes using open source software.  Steve Sowder and Terry Robertson of Andrews University will present on their experiences with open source Eprints for their university’s digital repository.  John Rucker, Bill Ott, and Mark Szidik will highlight a few of their open source favorites for libraries.

For further information, see MLC’s News and Announcements.

“Congratulations to the staff at Branch District Library for taking the plunge and becoming the first public library in Michigan to migrate to Evergreen,” said Randy Dykhuis, MLC Executive Director. “We at MLC are very pleased to be involved in the project.” MLC staff Evette Atkin, Ruth Dukelow, and Elaine Ross worked with the Grand Rapids Public Library and with Equinox Software, Inc., to convert and migrate Branch District Library’s records to the new Michigan Evergreen shared catalog.

“W00T! Nothing exploded!” said Evette Atkin, Systems Librarian for the Michigan Evergreen project. “With the amazing staff at Branch District Library, Equinox, and Grand Rapids Public Library, the migration was a success, and every minor speed bump will aid us making each migration smoother.  Thank you so much to Branch District Library for being our first library to go live!”

John Rucker, the point person for the Michigan Evergreen migration at Branch District Library, said, “The level of service and responsiveness we have received from both Equinox and the staff at Michigan Library Consortium has far exceeded our expectations based on past experience with other vendors. There were a number little glitches to work out in the first couple of days and these were promptly resolved, sometimes in just minutes. We already knew that we and our patrons would be getting a superior library system, but it’s a pleasant surprise, indeed, to have this high level of customer service.”

In addition to migrations, MLC staff are responsible for providing training and support to the Michigan Evergreen libraries. “Training in Evergreen is proving to be a challenging experience, but I am pleased with its overall stability,” said Elaine Ross. “Trainees seem to learn very quickly and easily.”

After the pilot libraries have migrated this fall, the Michigan Evergreen project will be opened to other libraries who wish to join the shared catalog. To schedule a demo of Michigan Evergreen at your library, please contact 800-530-9019 Evette Atkin (ext. 152), Elaine Ross (ext. 153), or Ruth Dukelow (ext. 121). For ongoing information on the Michigan Evergreen project, see the Michigan Evergreen blog and the Michigan Libraries Wiki page.

Congrats U of M Library! One million down and 6.5 million to go!

Great story about  the launch of a brand-new pilot project with Flickr, the enormously popular photo-sharing site.

More than 3,000 photos from two of the most popular collections are being made available on a new Flickr page, to include only images for which no copyright restrictions are known to exist.

“We want people to tag, comment and make notes on the images, just like any other Flickr photo, which will benefit not only the community but also the collections themselves.”

Marshall writes:

“The year 2007 saw considerable upheaval in the library automation industry. To get some sense of the aftermath of the recent rounds of mergers, acquisitions, product consolidations, and to gauge interest in open source automation systems, I created and executed a survey that aims to measure the prevailing perceptions in libraries.

… The survey results indicate major differences in satisfaction in the products and companies from which libraries acquire their automation systems. Dissatisfaction and concern prevail, yet some companies maintain exceptional levels of satisfaction from the libraries that use their products.”

Click here for the complete article. Click here to view the interactive version of the survey’s statistical results.

By ALEX MINDLIN

Library use is far more prevalent among people who have a broadband Internet connection at home or at work, according to a new study. The finding counters a decade-old assumption that libraries serve as a “bridge” for people who want to use the Internet, but have only dial-up connections, or no access at all.

“People in the low-access population don’t often think, ‘If I only had the Internet, I’d be in a different position,’” said Lee Rainie, director for the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which performed the study in tandem with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The study also found that people 18 to 30 years old were the age group most likely to have recently used a library. “They are the most recently in school,” said Mr. Rainie, “so they potentially have a better sense of the way that libraries have become more wired and more high-tech.”