Virtual Dialogue Series, every other month, January - September 2024
MCLS’s Engagement, Consulting, and Training team hosted five more sessions of our popular Virtual Dialogues via Zoom in 2024. These Dialogues were FREE and were designed for librarians and library workers at all levels and in all library types to connect, engage, learn from, and support each other across our two-state membership region.
Virtual Dialogue Series, every other month, January - November 2023
MCLS’s Engagement, Consulting, and Training team hosted more sessions of our popular Virtual Dialogues via Zoom every other month in 2023. These Dialogues were FREE and were designed for librarians and library workers at all levels and in all library types to connect, engage, learn from, and support each other across our two-state membership region.
The 2022 MCLS annual meeting was held virtually on Tuesday, Nov 29 at 10am-noon Eastern (9-11am Central) via Zoom. Using a reimagined approach to the annual meeting format, attendees were given a brief overview of board and staff activities and accomplishments in fiscal year 2021 followed by an engaging dialogue session led by MCLS staff members Pam Seabolt and Jan Davidson.
project, held a special virtual event on Thursday, November 4, to bring the processes and practices of Appreciative Inquiry to a second cohort of Michigan libraries as part of their toolbox for community engagement. LEAP Day was a virtual event held via Zoom. LEAP Forward monthly coaching sessions were offered to the cohort December 2021 - May 2022.. These were offered to staff of any Michigan library, and were held online via Zoom again this year. project, held a special virtual event on Thursday, November 5, as a way to bring the processes and practices of Appreciative Inquiry to Michigan libraries as part of their toolbox for community engagement. In the wake of disruptions and closures caused by COVID-19, LEAP evolved into a virtual event held via Zoom. LEAP Forward coaching continued monthly from December 2020 - May 2021.. These were offered to staff of any Michigan library. For the first time, they were held online via Zoom.MCLS Annual Meeting, November 6, 2019
The MCLS Annual Membership Meeting took place on November 6, 2019 and was held both in person at the Hamilton East Public Library and online, where attendees could view and participate in the comfort of their own offices.
Conversation Cafe trainings, August 2019
In partnership with the Library of Michigan and with funding from the Institute of Museum & Library Services, MCLS brought facilitators from the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) to Michigan the first full week of August 2019. Three one-day trainings around the state were followed by continuing support via six months of monthly coaching conference calls and ongoing online peer support.
Facilitation Trainings, July - October 2019
MCLS, in partnership with the Library of Michigan, offered six more trainings on facilitation presented by We Can Work It Out, LLC . These trainings took place in July, September, and October 2019.
Indiana Public Innovators cohort, March 2019
A cohort of Indiana library staff formed in March 2019. The initial training in March was led by coaches from the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, and was offered through grant funding from the sale of the former INCOLSA building. The cohort participated in ten months of online coaching, ending spring 2020.
Removing Barriers: A Library Accessibility Workshop
The Michigan Collaborating Partners (Michigan Cooperative Directors Association, Library of Michigan, Midwest Collaborative for Library Services, Michigan Library Association, and Michigan Academic Libraries Association) held a workshop in November 2018 in Grand Rapids, MI.
Community Engagement Summit, September 27, 2018
MCLS and Library of Michigan hosted a one-day summit on community engagement, bringing together members of all three Michigan Harwood cohorts, as well as others interested in community engagement. Registrations included 154 people from Michigan, Indiana, and beyond.
in Escanaba, MI in conjunction with the Upper Peninsula Region of Library Cooperation (UPRLC) Annual Meeting. in Terre Haute, IN. in Greenwood, IN. with 38 attending; Greensburg-Decatur Public Library with 29 attending; Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library with 48 attending., and was offered at no charge to selected Michigan libraries, with generous stipends provided through Library of Michigan LSTA funding. in Brownsburg, IN. This workshop was limited to those libraries who have attended either an in-person or virtual ALA/Harwood Public Innovators Lab through MCLS. in Granger, IN. in Kalamazoo, MI. in West Lafayette, IN. and Lansing Community College, West Campus . This summit, which featured speakers from Zepheira and the Library of Congress , as well as several IN and MI Linked Data projects, was an opportunity for librarians to explore the possibilities of what a fully integrated Linked Data world means for libraries and our communities. The day also provided updates and presentations exploring what is already happening to make that possibility a reality. in Connersville, IN and one at the Salem-South Lyon District Library in South Lyon, MI.Community Engagement Roundtable, December 1, 2016
MCLS hosted a free roundtable discussion on community engagement at the Bristol Public Library in Bristol, IN.
MCLS Annual Meeting 2016, November 18, 2016
The theme of this year’s meeting was Innovation in Libraries. The meeting was held live and simulcast from three locations: Lansing, MI (Lansing Community College West Campus ), Marquette, MI (Northern Michigan University ), and Indianapolis, IN (Indiana Wesleyan University - North Campus ).
Reading Redefined: Deep reading, learning, and the impact of digitization, September 30, 2016
A collaborative of library service agencies sponsored a one-day symposium to discuss the ways that reading is changing as our environment and interactions become ever more digital. This event was held in Lansing, Michigan at the Lansing Community College West Campus .
Community Engagement Roundtable, September 20, 2016
MCLS hosted a free roundtable discussion on community engagement at the Loutit District Library in Grand Haven, MI.
Community Engagement Roundtable, September 8, 2016
MCLS hosted a free roundtable discussion on community engagement at the Ohio Township Public Library in Newburgh, IN.
Media Boot Camp: Interviewing skills, July 27, 2016
As a follow-up to our Media Coaching workshops, library staff gathered at the Jasper County Library branch in Wheatfield, IN to practice their skills with mock interviews and provide friendly critiques.
Libraries Read: 1 book, July 21 - August 29, 2016
Book discussions took place through Michigan and Indiana, July - August 2016. Library staff were encouraged to read The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains by Nicholas Carr throughout June and July, then join us in a Twitter chat or regional discussion about the book.
Community Engagement Roundtable, June 14, 2016
MCLS hosted a free roundtable discussion on community engagement at the Public Libraries of Saginaw Hoyt Branch in Saginaw, MI.
Community Engagement Roundtable, June 2, 2016
MCLS hosted a free roundtable discussion on community engagement at the Monticello-Union Township Public Library in Monticello, IN.
Community Engagement Roundtable, March 2, 2016
MCLS hosted a free roundtable discussion on community engagement at the Monroe County Public Library in Bloomington, IN.
Twitter Chat for New Managers, February 2016
MCLS hosted a live Twitter chat series at #MCLSchat with special guests who are veterans in the field of library management. These one-hour Twitter chats provided opportunities to get expert advice from your veteran peers in the library management field without leaving your desk (or your smartphone.)
Community Engagement Roundtable, December 10, 2015
MCLS hosted a free roundtable discussion on community engagement at the Knox County Public Library in Vincennes, IN.
Media Boot Camp: Interviewing skills, December 1, 2015
As a follow-up to our Media Coaching workshops, library staff practiced their skills with mock interviews and provided friendly critiques.
MCLS Annual Business Meeting, November 20, 2015
The MCLS annual business meeting took place on November 20, 2015 and was held online, where attendees could view and participate in the comfort of their own offices.
Strategic Planning Workshop Series, September - October 2015
In this two-day series (held on September 9 and October 21), library staff in Indiana and Michigan learned and practiced do-it-yourself tools to create your own strategic plan.
MCLS Michigan Regional Meetings/MeLCat Symposiums, July 2015
Over a two week period in July 2015, MCLS and the Library of Michigan traveled across the state and met with library staff from the Detroit area, to Muskegon, north to Marquette, and points in-between. Over 200 library staff participated in our seven events.
ILF District Conferences - Turning Outward: Creating Deep Community Engagement, April - May 2015
Emily Bunyan, Director, Knox County Public Library and Randy Dykhuis, Executive Director, MCLS, presented on their community engagement work and training with the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation at several of the ILF District Conferences.
Media Coaching for Librarians - Indiana, March 6, 2015
Due to the success of the Media Coaching for Librarians program held in 2014 in Michigan, MCLS offered a similar program in Indiana, instructing and preparing librarians on interacting with the media.
MCLS Annual Meeting 2014: Libraries Engaging and Transforming their Communities, October 3, 2014
Securing Your Library in Troubling Times, April 10, 2014
Librarians were instructed and prepared for a worst case scenario, an Active Shooter situation.
MCLS Annual Meeting 2013: Open Spaces, Open Data, Open Access: Transforming Today's Libraries, October 4, 2014
The Digital Library: Now and Future, June 5, 2013 (Part 6 of the MCLS eBooks & Libraries Series)
eBooks & Publishing, March 21, 2013 (Part 5 of the MCLS eBooks & Libraries Series)
HathiTrust Webinar, February 6, 2013 (Part 4 of the MCLS eBooks & Libraries Series)
eBook Licenses Webinar, December 5, 2012 (Part 3 of the MCLS eBooks & Libraries Series)
Do Buildings Matter? The Impact of eResources on Bricks & Mortar, October 26, 2012 (Part 2 of the MCLS eBooks & Libraries Series)
MCLS Annual Meeting 2012: Ebooks and Emerging National Libraries, October 5, 2012 (Part 1 of the MCLS eBooks & Libraries Series)
Choose Your Own Adventure: eBooks and eReaders in Libraries, April 28, 2011
Marketing the Public Library, April 21, 2011
Legacy Librarianship, August 2010
