I’m thrilled to share that the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has awarded MCLS a grant for $242,351 for our project Demonstrating and Documenting a Statewide LOCKSS 2.0 Preservation Network for Cultural Memory Institutions, marking MCLS’s first-ever IMLS grant award as an organization. We will use these grant funds to continue building the …Read more »

MCLS invests in innovation for libraries At their May 6 meeting, the MCLS Board of Directors accepted MCLS’s FY23 budget, which includes investments we will make using some reserve funds to foster innovation and advance diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and accessibility (which we abbreviate as DEIJA) for the libraries we serve, the broader library community, …Read more »

Addressing RIDES pricing equity throughout Michigan We at MCLS have heard concerns regarding RIDES (Regional Interlibrary DElivery Service, the statewide library courier service in Michigan which MCLS facilitates) pricing equity for libraries in Michigan’s lower (LP) and upper (UP) peninsulas for some time, and I’m happy to share that our staff has worked hard this …Read more »

We’re hiring a Marketing and Communication Coordinator! If you’re a marketing professional who dreams of being part of an innovative, growth-minded organization, this position is just the one for you! MCLS is looking for a creative, highly-motivated, and experienced candidate to establish, carry out, and continually improve our digital and print marketing and communication strategy. …Read more »

Like me, you may be trying to balance living in a moment to be thankful, being cautious, reflecting as an exhausting 2020 draws to a close, and hoping for a better 2021. While the past several months may have been among the most challenging of our lives, they have also shown us just how adaptable, …Read more »

It’s my last newsletter article. Come January, for the first time in 36 years, I won’t have any official affiliation with a library science program, a library, a library vendor, or a consortium. How odd is that? My consortium director career started in August 1995 when I became Executive Director for the Michigan Library Consortium. …Read more »

After a thorough process, which included a nationwide search, two rounds of interviews, and feedback from staff and members, the MCLS Board of Directors was not able to successfully fill the Executive Director position. “Naturally, we are disappointed with the outcome of this search,” said Eva Davis, MCLS Board President. “We remain committed to recruiting …Read more »

This turned out to be quite a different column than the one I thought I was writing. Lately, I’ve been thinking about linked data a lot, and I thought I’d opine a bit about the history and development of linked data, with an update on a couple cool linked data projects in Michigan and Indiana. …Read more »

Time is running out to secure a seat for this great opportunity to learn valuable tools to make your library even more visible in your community. The deadline to register is Friday, October 31. On November 6, 2014, the Cooperative Directors Association, the Library of Michigan, and the Midwest Collaborative for Library Services (MCLS) will …Read more »

To say that the 2013 Michigan Library Association Directors Summit was a transformative event in my life would be hyperbole. But it would not be too much to say that my notion of how best to lead a nonprofit organization was forever altered. I learned that our usual way of designing the services we offer …Read more »