Erik Mitchell of University of Maryland

MCLS held its 2011 Annual Meeting, Library Clouds and Content, on October 6, 2011.  For the first time, member libraries were offered the option of attending in-person or via videostreaming.  Of the 120 attendees, about half opted for videostreaming, and several reported that it went well.  We will survey the virtual attendees for their feedback to use when planning our next videostreamed event.

For the Library Clouds and Content portion of the program, three speakers addressed various library issues raised by cloud computing and digital content.  Our keynote speaker, Erik Mitchell of University of Maryland, addressed “Why Libraries Virtualize: Understanding cloud computing adoption and impact.”  Erik talked about how cloud computing changes information and how cloud computing can help libraries.

Andy Bush of OCLC

Following Erik, Andy Bush of OCLC presented, “ILS in the Clouds: OCLC WMS.”  Andy discussed OCLC’s history with cloud computing and how cloud computing works to integrate an ILS into all of the library’s services.

After lunch, Matt Weaver talked about eContent challenges faced by today’s libraries and how Library Renewal  can help.  See Matt’s slideshare presentation here.

Matt Weaver of Library Renewal

The Annual Business Meeting was held at the end of the day, with reports from Chair Elaine Logan, Audit Committee member Ray Arnett, and MCLS Executive Director Randy Dykhuis.

MCLS Executive Director Randy Dykhuis

During the Annual Meeting, Nominating Committee Chair Denise Hooks announced the election results for the five open seats on the 2012 MCLS Board of Directors.  The newly-elected Board members are:

Academic/Indiana – Janet Fore, Library Director Cushwa-Leighton Library, Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana
School/Michigan – Margaret Lincoln, Lakeview District Librarian, Lakeview High School Library and Lakeview Middle School Library, Battle Creek, Michigan
Research/Michigan – Bryan Skib, Associate University Librarian for Collections University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, Michigan
Special/Indiana – Patricia A. Lunsford, Medical Librarian, Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health, Lafayette, Indiana
At-Large/Michigan – Lise Mitchell, Director, Chippewa River District Library System (CRDL), Mount Pleasant, Michigan