Libraries today operate in complex environments, navigating evolving community expectations, and a growing set of unknowns. Whether large or small, urban or rural, all libraries share the common challenge of delivering high-quality services in a sustainable and impactful way. In this context, library consortia like the Midwest Collaborative for Library Services (MCLS) are an essential tool for cooperation, connection, and collaboration—one that not only strengthens individual libraries but also advances the greater library community’s shared goals.
A library consortium is a formal collaboration in which libraries unite to share resources, streamline services, negotiate better deals, and support each other’s missions. By working collectively, libraries can achieve goals that would be difficult or impossible to accomplish alone.
Library thought leader Lorcan Dempsey presents a power framework that argues that consortia are extremely beneficial to individual libraries and systems via their ability to scale capacity, learning, innovation, and influence. His 4-part blog series linked below touches on each element and helps define some of the less-discussed advantages of consortial affiliation.
With more than 630 member libraries of every type and size across Indiana and Michigan, MCLS provides a compelling example of Dempsey’s core framework elements.
Dempsey defines the first library consortium core power as scaling capacity, or increasing what individual libraries can accomplish by pooling resources and infrastructure. At MCLS, we do this through:
This capacity scaling allows MCLS members to extend their reach and improve services at a reasonable cost, which is essential in an era of constrained budgets.
Consortia create knowledge-based communities. Dempsey describes our role as scaling learning, or enabling continuous professional development and the exchange of expertise across institutions. MCLS nurtures this through:
We aim to promote collective learning, to ensure libraries stay agile and informed in a fast-changing field.
According to Dempsey, consortia are uniquely positioned to scale innovation because they can pilot new ideas, pool risk, and spread successful models more broadly. MCLS exemplifies this through programs like:
By connecting members with new tools, programs, and support, MCLS helps libraries experiment safely and adopt innovation faster.
Finally, Dempsey emphasizes the consortium’s role in scaling influence—amplifying the voice of libraries in policy, vendor negotiations, and public discourse. MCLS supports this by:
As a result, MCLS member libraries are not isolated, and are part of a larger, strategic network that commands attention and shapes the future of library service.
For more than a decade, hundreds of libraries have trusted MCLS to help them respond to change, innovate, and serve their communities more effectively. Libraries rely on us for cost savings and quality services, but MCLS is more than a service provider—we are also a member owned and governed organization, shaped by the very voices we strive to empower.
As Lorcan Dempsey observes, consortia deliver outcomes no single library can achieve alone. With our industry surrounded by rapid change and revolving unknowns, consortial collaboration is not simply helpful; it is essential. At MCLS, we want libraries to move beyond surviving change and actively engage in shaping it. To this end, MCLS staff leans into our vision: empowering libraries to achieve the extraordinary.
Have a question or an idea? Let’s talk. We’re here to listen and help. Visit mcls.org to learn more about our services, explore membership benefits, and see our current strategic plan. You can reach me directly at garrisons@mcls.org or 517-489-4071.
In August and September, the Midwest Collaborative for Library Services (MCLS) will host a multi-event engagement program, Sustainability & Resilience: Exploring Solutions, designed to bring together public library leaders in facilitated dialogue about the challenges and opportunities ahead. MCLS, a member-owned, non-profit library consortium serving Indiana and Michigan libraries of all types, invites you to attend one or more events listed below and offer your unique perspective.
We need input from public libraries of all sizes and geographic areas to make this effort an authentic representation of Indiana public libraries. You do not have to be an expert. We want you to speak openly and candidly from your point of view.
Each event uses The World Café methodology, a proven approach to inclusive, participatory conversation. Topics will focus on surfacing the diverse perspectives, experiences, and insights that exist across our library community — and on coming together to imagine bold, impactful solutions that support one another and move public libraries forward.
This method of dialogue accommodates large numbers of participants, so multiple library leaders from your system are welcome.
Marion Public Library, 600 S. Washington St., Marion, IN 46953
August 21, 2026
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern (local time)
Register for Marion >>
Brown County Public Library, 205 Locust Lane, Nashville, IN 47448
August 27, 2026
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern (local time)
Register for Brown County >>
Virtual Café, Zoom
August 28, 2026
9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Eastern (8:30 am – 12:30 pm Central)
Register for the Virtual Café >>
Purdue Northwest Westville Campus, 1401 S US Hwy 421, Westville, IN, 46391
September 1, 2026
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Central (local time)
Register for Purdue NW >>
Vigo County Public Library, 1 Library Sq, Terre Haute, IN 47807
September 3, 2026
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern (local time)
Register for Vigo County >>
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The legislative and funding changes affecting public libraries across Indiana are impacting everyone. That shared reality is exactly why your participation matters. You don’t need to have all the answers — you just need to bring your experience, your questions, and your willingness to think boldly alongside peers who are navigating the same challenges. You don’t need to arrive with solutions — you just need to arrive ready to build them together.
None of us has all the answers. That is precisely why we need everyone in the room — because the solutions we build together will be stronger, more creative, and more reflective of the real Indiana library landscape than anything any one of us could arrive at alone. Show up as you are, with what you know, and let’s build something together.
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After each World Café Conversation, all outputs will be recorded. At the completion of all conversations, a themed report will be compiled and shared widely.
We look forward to connecting with you!
MCLS’s Engagement, Consulting, and Training team is hosting more sessions of our popular Virtual Dialogues!
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These Dialogues are FREE and are designed for librarians and library workers at all levels to connect, engage, learn from, and support each other across our two-state membership region. You do not need to be from an MCLS member library to participate.
In 2026, we hope to dive deeper into resilience in times of uncertainty and how collaboration can support us. Each session will have guided questions based on principles and practices of Appreciative Inquiry to facilitate a supportive, growth-minded space. Most of the time will be spent in conversation with each other, so come with your camera and audio connected and ready to see and hear others as well as be seen and heard!
Sessions will be 10:30 a.m.-noon Eastern (9:30-11 a.m. Central).
January 22: Surviving & thriving amid uncertainty
March 19: Embracing impactful change in our libraries & communities
May 14: How to talk about the ‘elephant in the room’
July 16: Combatting loneliness and isolation
Because these sessions are truly DIALOGUES and most of the content will be with peers in breakout rooms, they will NOT be recorded and shared for later viewing. We hope you can join us live.
We look forward to connecting with you!
Presenters: Kate McDowell (keynote) and Thom Fladung (workshop)
Date: Friday, Oct. 9, 2026
Attendance options:
Location:
St. Joseph County Public Library Community Learning Center
305 S. Michigan St., South Bend, IN 46601
Google Maps
• In person (REGISTER HERE)
Register by 5 p.m. on Sept. 18
$75 per person (includes a light breakfast, lunch, and beverages)• Virtual (REGISTER HERE)
Register by 12 p.m. on Oct. 7
$25 per person to participate in the opening remarks and keynote live on ZoomRegistration is limited and open to anyone from an MCLS member organization. Check your membership status here. Not a member? Join today!
MCLS has secured a special group rate of $149.00 USD at the following nearby hotel:
Aloft by Marriott South Bend
111 N Main St., South Bend, IN 46601
Phone: 574-288-8000
Google MapsCheck In: Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026.
Check Out: Friday, Oct. 9, 2026
Hotel reservation linkThe last day to book your stay at the special group rate is Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026.
Times are Eastern (local time) and subject to change.
9:15 a.m. Registration/ light breakfast (fruit, pastries, and beverages)
10 a.m. Opening remarks by MCLS
10:30 a.m. Keynote: Data Storytelling in Libraries presented by Kate McDowell
11:30 a.m. Workshop: Crisis Communication with Thom Fladung
12:30 p.m. Lunch (taco bar, dessert, and beverages)
1:30 p.m. Workshop: Crisis Communication with Thom Fladung
3 p.m. Wrap-up
TBA Experiential library tour: SJCPL
St. Joseph County Public Library is planning a unique tour experience for in-person attendees!
Learn more about the resources, services, and spaces that SJCPL’s Main Library has to offer on a staff led tour. Highlights will include:
- The Youth Services Department
- The library’s new bookmobile, The Dream Machine
- Studio 304
- A hands-on learning activity in the Local & Family History Department
- Crisis Intervention staff, including the library’s in-house social worker, will also be available to discuss how SJCPL has moved to a trauma informed approach when interacting with patrons.
Note: tour times will be determined based on feedback from the event registration form.
Photo credit: KateMcDowell.com
Kate McDowell, author and professor at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign will present on data storytelling in libraries.
About Kate McDowell
Professor Kate McDowell focuses on storytelling as information research, social justice storytelling, and how the history of library storytelling can enhance contemporary data storytelling. Her projects engage contexts such as public libraries, non-profit fundraising, and health misinformation in online discourse. This research takes many forms, from publications to storytelling workshops and toolkits to research roles with international coalitions and working groups. She leads the nationally-funded Data Storytelling Toolkit for Librarians project to equip libraries with narrative tools for data-informed advocacy, which has been used by over 5,000 librarians in over 50 countries so far. Her book for libraries, Critical Data Storytelling for Libraries: Crafting Ethical Narratives for Advocacy and Impact, came out in 2025.
Read more about Kate McDowell on her website.
Photo credit: crisiscommunications.com
Thom Fladung will lead a hands-on workshop on crisis communication best practices and techniques including brainstorming key messages and participating in mock interviews, to help you prepare for any media interview or public speaking opportunity. With his practical approach to instruction and years of experience, you will walk away with pragmatic tips and best practices that you can put into play immediately to effectively communicate during a crisis.
About Thom Fladung
Thom Fladung serves as managing partner for Hennes Communications. He brings more than 33 years of daily newspaper and digital media experience to the agency, having served as a top editor at some of the nation’s largest newspapers such as the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Detroit Free Press. Over the past decade, Fladung has also played a lead role in helping newsrooms enter the digital age, including web, social media and handheld digital devices.
Thom is an expert at crafting effective, strategic messages on hard deadlines. He is also experienced at quickly evaluating, assembling and disseminating information – crisis management skills that are critically important for clients coping with reputation management issues and breaking crises. In 2017, Thom received the Communicator of the Year award from the International Association of Business Communicators.
Learn more about Thom on the Hennes Communications website.
Special thanks to our location sponsor
