While MCLS may not have a physical office location in Indiana, we are present and working for you! Staff members, including Scott Garrison, Executive Director, and Stephanie Davis, Group Purchasing Manager, have traveled to Indiana to visit several member libraries this spring and summer, while Michelle Bradley, Manager of Engagement, Consulting, and Training, and Pam Seabolt, Community Engagement Librarian, work from their homes in Indiana and at the MatchBOX Co-working Studio in Lafayette.
We have recently worked with several Indiana libraries to provide facilitation and on-site training for them. Our training has included working with staff on basic technology skills, community engagement, soft skills, and customer service. We have provided training to staff at Perry County Public Library, Noble County Public Library, Alexandria-Monroe Public Library, Allen County Public Library, New Castle-Henry County Public Library, Indianapolis Public Library, Knox County Public Library, Rushville Public Library, and Sullivan County Public Library. This fall, we will be working with the Jasper County Public Library and the Indianapolis Public Library to provide training in community engagement, the Fulton County Public Library in basic technology skills, and the Eckhart Public Library for soft skills training. As always, we have a full training calendar of webinars available, including free soft skills webinars for MCLS members.In addition to training, we are providing consulting services for the Delphi Community Library staff on the engagement process of their strategic plan, and we are working with the Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library to facilitate the process and creation of their strategic plan.
The MCLS Group Purchasing department wrapped up its busiest renewal month of the year in July, including renewals for many of our Indiana members. Thank you to all who renewed resources and who reached out with questions and requests for product quotes. In mid-July, Ed Gron, ProQuest’s Indiana academic sales representative, visited MCLS for a face-to-face meeting with Group Purchasing Manager, Stephanie Davis, and Executive Director, Scott Garrison, along with Ed’s Michigan counterpart, Michelle Hayes. The conversation provided a great opportunity for conversation about how MCLS can best meet the resource needs of its Indiana academics. We look forward to partnering with ProQuest, and other product vendors, to serve Indiana libraries.
MCLS staff are also active participants in statewide meetings and events such as the IOLUG spring conference, the Indiana Library Federation regional conferences, the Ivy Tech Library Technical Assistance Program Curriculum Advisory Group, the Discovery to Delivery resource sharing conference at the Indiana State Library, and the Academic Libraries of Indiana Information Literacy Unconference at Ball State University. If you plan to attend the Indiana State Library’s “Difference is You” support staff conference in September or Indiana Library Federation’s annual conference in November, you can catch us presenting sessions on community engagement, World Café, critical thinking skills, and Appreciative Inquiry.
If you would like to arrange for training, group purchasing, or consulting for your own library, or would like us to visit your library, please contact us with your need at engagement@mcls.org. We look forward to seeing you out and about in Indiana!
