Michigan at the Archives of Michigan

Thank you to all those who participated in one of the Michigan library “community conversations” this past spring. The insightful discussion revealed a very real desire in the community for more open-ended, collaborative and multi-type discourse about where the Michigan library community is and where it might go to better serve our state and communities.

To keep the dialog flowing, we are scheduling another round of conversations for September. We want to verify that we heard you correctly in the first round and to refine the ideas and aspirations that you shared with us last spring. We invite you to attend one of the conversations in September and help us keep the momentum going.

The process used for facilitating these conversations is based on the work of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation. Our purpose is to gain public knowledge of what really matters to Michigan libraries and to begin taking steps to actualize the library community’s aspirations.

We need input from libraries of all types, sizes and geographic areas to make this effort an authentic representation of Michigan libraries. Please consider joining us and sharing your thoughts, challenges and hopes for the greater Michigan library community.  You do not have to be an expert. We want you to speak openly and candidly from your experience and point of view.

The dates, times and locations are listed below. All library staff are welcome. To have a meaningful conversation, we will limit the number of attendees at each session to 12. Because of this, we request that you consider limiting the number of attendees from your library system. Registration is free and on a “first come, first served” basis. A waiting list will be kept. As in our first round, the meetings will be kept to 2 hours and will be held across the state.

• Willard Public Library, Battle Creek – September 15, 2014 from 1:30-3:00 pm
• Flint Public Library – September 16, 2014 from 1:30-3:00 pm
• Devereaux Memorial Library, Grayling – September 23, 2014 from 1:30-3:00 pm
• Grand Rapids Public Library – September 24, 2014 from 10:00-11:30 am
• Peter White District Library, Marquette – September 24, 2014 time 6:00-8:00 pm (to register for this session, contact Pam Malmsten at pamm@uproc.lib.mi.us)
• Ypsilanti District Library – September 25, 2014 from 10:00-11:30 am
• Royal Oak Public Library – September 25, 2014 from 1:30-3:00 pm

Registration is now open. For questions, please contact Heather Ladiski at ladiskih@mcls.org .

For more information about the Harwood Institute, please visit the Harwood Institute website. For more information about our involvement and interest in the Harwood process, please read our “Turning outward” blog post.

The above photo “Michigan at the Archive of Michigan” by Andrew McFarlane is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0