John Sterbenz has been employed at the Kresge Business Administration Library at The University of Michigan since 1992, joining its librarian ranks in 1998. He has spent over 18 years serving in various Technical Services roles at the library, including as manager of the unit since 2000. In 2016, he was promoted to the rank …Read more »
Richard C. Harwood is founder and president of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, a nonpartisan, independent nonprofit that teaches, coaches, and inspires people and organizations to solve pressing problems and change how communities work together. Under his leadership, the Institute’s tools and approaches for deepening impact and change have spread to thousands of communities …Read more »
Dawn Olmsted Swanson is the Head of Technical Services and Metadata, Lead Librarian, at Kettering University Library in Flint, MI. She has a bachelor’s degree from University of Michigan, Flint and an MLIS from Wayne State University. In her spare time, she is actively involved in her church as well as Boy Scouts of America …Read more »
Consortia are fragile. Consortia are also resilient. Just like libraries. Unfortunately, for each of us, it only takes a small group, or even one individual, to threaten an organization that took years to build. We saw that in Michigan a few years ago, when a fringe band of ideologues nearly managed to shut down Troy …Read more »
The end of one year and the beginning of the next always seem to spark a certain pensiveness for me. I look back at the year that’s just ending and think about our accomplishments and our “might have beens”. 2017 saw plenty of them. I have a grab-bag of topics that came up in the …Read more »
Do you have a new idea or success story to share? Program proposals for GLRSC 2018 are being accepted through Jan. 12 on any of the following topic areas: Resource Sharing Best Practices, Marketing Services, Electronic Resources and Resource Sharing, Workflow Improvements, Cooperative Collection Development, Consortial or Group Purchasing, Purchase on Demand, Delivery Solutions, Data-Driven …Read more »
MCLS has the trained and experienced staff to assist libraries in developing effective, community-driven strategic plans. We start by turning outward to your community. The payoff is the structuring of a strategic plan that is truly aligned with the needs of your community. Whether you are looking for full-service strategic planning, or assistance with certain …Read more »
I love my job. After more than 20 years, I can say that I still find it challenging, rewarding, and fulfilling. Consortium work, of course, is not the same as library work, but we all have the same end goal in mind. We want a better educated citizenry. We want people to have access to …Read more »
On November 7-9, 2017, 54 Michigan library staff and partners began a nearly two year undertaking. They attended a Public Innovators Lab taught by certified coaches from the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation. During the Lab, the cohort was organized into two smaller groups, which for the next 18 months will participate in additional training …Read more »
The MCLS office will be closed the following days for the 2017 Holiday Season: Mon, Dec 25 Tue, Dec 26 Mon, Jan 1 Happy Holidays!
