Working in a library can be stressful. Many library staff members are exhausted and running on fumes while trying to build inclusive spaces, stand up to censorship, and tend to the day-to-day details of running a library. If this sounds familiar, join MCLS Library Strategists Jenny Kobiela-Mondor and Lissa Krull for MCLS’s new workshop, “Break …Read more »

If you’re a librarian who dreams of being part of an innovative, growth focused organization, this position is just the one for you! MCLS is looking for a highly motivated candidate to coordinate, support, and administer group purchases for library products and services as a member of the Group Purchasing team. The ideal candidate is a …Read more »

As MCLS prepares to embark on a strategic planning process in 2023, we will engage with the library community in Indiana and Michigan through a series of Community Conversations and one-on-one interviews. These Community Conversations are based on engagement tools from The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation and are designed to take between 90 minutes …Read more »

Each fall, MCLS takes stock of the past year’s accomplishments and also focuses on the year ahead. This month, I’ll cover some strides we’ve made, share some highlights from the MCLS Board of Directors’ recent annual retreat, and preview our 2022 MCLS Annual Meeting on Nov. 29. First and foremost, we aim to deliver on our …Read more »

With the transition to ConsortiaManager, MCLS is now able to provide product quotes to libraries via the system. While libraries can continue requesting quotes either through the MCLS vendor web page or by sending an email to services@mcls.org, they also have the option of requesting quotes through the CM system. To make a quote request in CM, click …Read more »

TALK: Text and Learn for Kindergarten sends fun activities parents/caregivers can do with their babies and preschoolers to make any time learning time. Developed by librarians and based on the Every Child Ready to Read program that encourages caregivers to read, write, sing, talk, and play with their little ones everyday, TALK activities are designed …Read more »

By an overwhelming majority vote, our member representatives elected the proposed slate of Board members to serve from January 2023 to December 2025. The elected slate includes: Academic Library Representative (Michigan): Annie Belanger, Dean of University Libraries, Grand Valley State University (incumbent) Special Library Representative (Michigan): Lauren McMullan, Director, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts Library At-Large Library …Read more »

MCLS is thrilled to announce that the membership vote to move forward on selling the building at 1407 Rensen St. in Lansing has PASSED with 197 YES votes to 4 NO votes. Thank you for your support! With this first step complete, we would next like your input on what MCLS should do with proceeds once …Read more »

This month, I’ll offer thoughts on two recent reports on libraries and collaboration: from OCLC Research in August and from an International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) task force in September. The OCLC report focuses solely on academic libraries and refers liberally to former OCLC Vice President Lorcan Dempsey’s recent work and other library and …Read more »

Like so many other organizations, the COVID-19 pandemic influenced MCLS to become a mostly remote work organization, and I have big news to share. On Friday, Aug. 12 the MCLS Board of Directors voted to authorize me as Executive Director to seek our members’ approval to sell the building and land we own at 1407 …Read more »