by Nancy Robertson, State Librarian

Recently, the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA) published a much needed “Reference Guide to National Projects: Digital Literacy, Broadband Adoption, and Digital Inclusion.” In Michigan, the Library of Michigan and libraries from across the state have participated in two broadband gatherings of note – one in May of 2009, and the most recent one in October of 2013. Nationwide, there are numerous projects and efforts aimed at expanding broadband access to the residents of this state and the country, in particular via connection to anchor institutions including schools and public libraries. So much effort is commendable, but it’s often confusing and daunting to understand what these various initiatives are each about, and how they differ from or complement one another.  This guide helps to unravel some of those questions.

Not only does the guide provide profiles of each of the 15 initiatives identified, it includes a helpful “Projects At-A-Glance” chart that 1) shows the breadth of scope of these projects collectively, and 2) can be useful for libraries or community members or institutions to see which projects relate to their own current priorities and needs.

I encourage everyone to take a look at this guide so you are familiar with the resources available to you and to your communities. Some can help you with advocacy within your community. Some will aid you in connecting with community partners in the effort to bring more robust Internet access via broadband, Internet2, and so forth to your community at affordable rates. Some can provide you and your patrons with digital literacy training resources and information. One (Edge Initiative) is designed to provide you with a suite of tools that can help libraries identify ways to strengthen their current public access technology and to engage community partners about the real value of public libraries in this era. 

A lot of effort, and federal and private foundation funding, is going into these projects. It behooves us (actually is our responsibility) to make the most use of them as possible for the purposes of providing adequate or superior access to the growing number of online resources that people need to be successful, healthy, and supported in their daily activities from birth throughout their lives.

by Edwina Murphy, Michigan Collection Curator

The Library of Michigan will host events for African-American History Month each Wednesday throughout the month of February 2014.  Designed to be a month long celebration, topics will include: cookbooks, literacy, music and the Underground Railroad.

“We are excited to have such noted speakers join us throughout the month,” said State Librarian Nancy Robertson, “we expect that professionals, teachers, and students will find it fun and informative.”

Joining us will be David Kirkland of Michigan State University to talk about his book, A Search Past Silence: Literacy of Young Black Men. From the Special Collections Library at the University of Michigan, JJ Jacobson will be talking about African American Cookbooks and their role in American culture.  Long term Underground Railroad researcher and Michigan Freedom Trail Commission founder Carol Mull will be speaking on Michigan as the path to freedom for escaped slaves.  The RJ Spangler Trio and Jazz Master Larry Smith will round out the month with music. The Library of Michigan’s Martha W. Griffiths Michigan Rare Book Room as well as all Michigan Collections will be available for use.

All sessions are free, however registration is required.  For a full schedule of dates and times please visit:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/African-American_History_Month_Library_of_Michigan

by Sheryl Mase, Assistant Director – Statewide Library Services

Policy. Legislation. Rules. Established procedures. We have them for a reason; they are important constructs of our civic self-governance. But what if, in the formation of policy, whether intentional or not, we gave privilege and power to some people and denied it to others?  The leadership of the Department of Education has engaged the Great Lakes Equity Center (GLEC) to help us peel back the layers and take a fresh look at potential inequities deriving from established policy and procedure.

I attended the Equity Leaders Institute back in September as a member of the Department’s Equity Analysis Team.  There are centers across the country by region and the GLEC in Indianapolis serves Region V, which includes Michigan. Thanks to Dr. Seena M. Skelton (center director) and colleagues, we better understand “critical collaborative inquiry.” The methodologies can vary, but the “equity lens” that we apply is at the core of discovery as we dig deeper, using a data-driven dialogue: seek-collect-analyze-act-evaluate. We need to ask critical questions:  What is the intent behind the policy? What social constructions does this policy embrace? Who benefits from the way things are and who does not? What actions will redress the inequities that we see in our policies?

The strategic process offered up by the Center is designed for educators in the K-12 environment, but certainly applies much more broadly. The leadership at the Library of Michigan recognizes the value and importance of this policy analysis with an equity lens, and we have begun to unpack and analyze policy and procedure. We will need to identify stakeholders and engage partners in this work.  We must begin somewhere, and it is never too late to do this work.  As we look at our society and the distribution of wealth, we all need to be part of the solution or risk inadvertently exacerbating the problem, which is that power and privilege goes to certain groups and not to others.  So much of why we do what we do in the library profession centers on access to information and resources for all.  Each of us may only be able to vote one time, but we can use our equity lens early and often!

by Carol Fink, Rare Books Librarian

The Library of Michigan Foundation sponsored a gala event celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Martha W. Griffiths Michigan Rare Book Room. Attendees were treated to a presentation by Randy Asplund of Ann Arbor, an artist who specializes in illuminated manuscript book art. Select examples of Asplund's work were moved to the  Rare Book Room for closer viewing following his presentation where guests enjoyed a complimentary reception.

Guest speakers were Library of Michigan Foundation Board President Dan Arbour; Richard McClellan, Foundation Board Chair; and Kelly Rossman-McKinney, co-founder of Truscott Rossman, a Lansing based public relations agency. Ms. Rossman-McKinney served on the Board at the time the Rare Book Room was built.

Also on display were select items from the rare materials collection, including a 1490 British law book; a penny-sized book of addresses by Abraham Lincoln; Barbara Brown’s book art: Water and the Spirit; Martin Frost’s double fore edge painting on Walter Scott’s Lady of the Lake, published in 1810; and numerous other specially-chosen books, maps, posters, and magazines.

The Martha Griffiths Rare Book Room is located on the 4th floor of the Library of Michigan. Hours are 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call 517-373-1300 for more information about the collections at the Library of Michigan.

by Shannon White, Continuing Education Coordinator

Over the past year, the Library of Michigan has been working on collaborative professional development projects with the Midwest Collaborative for Library Services and the Cooperative Directors Association.  Once again the three organizations will be offering an opportunity to learn more about a timely topic of interest to all library types. The April 10 opportunity will provide a program instructing and preparing librarians for a worst case scenario, an Active Shooter situation. The program will be held at Lansing Community College West Campus and will be available through live Web stream for remote viewing.

In partnership with the Michigan State Police, the day will consist of training from the State Police about personal safety and developing an Active Shooter policy and procedures. There will be input by a panel of librarians who have dealt with violence in their workplaces and instruction on layout and design of library space to reduce risk.

Information on how to register will be posted on Michlib-L and the partners’ websites in the coming weeks.

by Kim Koscielniak, Law Librarian

The decision to charge a fee to patrons outside of a library’s jurisdictional area to use the library’s Internet access is, as with so many library policies, generally considered one of local control and regulation. Still, the questions surrounding open Internet access continue to raise debate because there is no bright line in Michigan law to provide guidance, as there is, for example, with the ability to charge a nonresident a fee to borrow library materials. We know of no legal authority against charging or limiting access time for those outside of the library’s jurisdictional area, but, conversely, none that would (permanently) require access to be unlimited, either.

Read the rest of this informative article.

by Karren Reish, LSTA Coordinator and Youth Services Librarian

Planning for the 2014 Summer Reading program is in full swing! The Library of Michigan has sent out the 2014 manuals on DVD to all public library locations. If you need another set or a paper version, please contact us. The incentive ordering deadlines are approaching as well. You can order any time, but the earlier you order, the better chance you’ll be able to get everything you want. You do not pay until the order is shipped. The next deadline is March 1st to receive your order by May 1st. If you order after March 1st, Upstart will confirm a shipping date when you order.

If you are looking for new ideas or a review of the basics, there are great webinars. The Library of Michigan is doing a series of four. The first two (Summer Reading 101 and Online Clubs) have already happened, but you can watch the recordings. The next two are Feb. 11th (Getting Past the Reading Log: New Program Ideas) and March 4th (Adult Summer Reading). You can sign up for the upcoming webinars and watch the recordings at www.michigan.gov/youthlibraryservices in the Summer Reading section.

The Collaborative Summer Library program is also doing two webinars on the Children and Teen manuals on January 29th (Get Ready to Fizz Boom Read!) and February 26th (Spark a Reaction!). You can register at shopcslp.com and click on the webinar banner. You will need to login to do this.

I will be updating the customizable Summer Reading flyers for teachers and parents and posting them on our Summer Reading site next month. Check the site for those when you come for the webinar sign up or recordings. I am also attending the annual Collaborative Summer Library Program meeting in April so if you have any comments on the manuals or materials you’d like to send with me, feel free to contact me at reishk@michigan.gov!

by Deb Biggs Thomas, MeL Coordinator

The Michigan eLibrary has a wide variety of eResources also known as subscription databases especially for children. Starting in preschool and going into middle school, parents and teachers can find early literacy resources as well as those that can be excellent homework helpers! This article will focus on a sampling of both.

Joining the lineup just this past fall is a variety of eResources that will help with early literacy/reading.  These include World Book’s Early World of Learning, Scholastic’s BookFlix and EBSCO’s eBook K-8 Collection. The first two - Early World of Learning and BookFlix - combine fun learning activities with reading and include fiction and non-fiction titles. The eBook K-8 Collection contains hundreds of children’s books that can be downloaded to an eReader.

Elementary and middle school kids will be interested in CultureGrams, MeL’s one-stop-resource for information on countries and cultures of the world. This eResource is excellent for those country reports and includes a Kids, World, States and Provinces (Canada) editions.  CultureGrams includes interviews from people living in the country, recipes, photos and other important data. Kids will find the colorful and graphic interface engaging.

World Book Kids is MeL’s encyclopedia just for kids. This resource contains eight major subject categories: Arts, History and Government, People, Places, Plants and Animals, Science and Mathematics, Sports and Hobbies, and World Religions. World Book Kids includes three sets of activities divided into: Make It! Think It! and Be It! plus full-featured pictures, sounds and videos.

Michigan kids, their parents and teachers need look no farther than the Michigan eLibrary for reliable, easy to use resources to help spark their curiosity and encourage their love of reading and learning.  Just go to MeL Kids at http://mel.org/kids to see all the great resources MeL provides at no direct cost to all Michigan residents! 

by Shannon White, Continuing Education Coordinator

The 2014 Loleta Fyan Small and Rural Libraries Conference is just around the corner. The logo contest was won by Rachael Kirby of Kalkaska County Library.

Full details and registration information are available on the Library of Michigan’s website. This year’s conference features rural library technologist and blogger Jessamyn West; the creator of Mother Goose on the Loose Betsy Diamant-Cohen; and New York Times best-selling author and Michigander, Rhoda Janzen. Attendees will have nearly seventy breakout sessions to choose from in eight educational tracks. We hope to see you on Mackinac Island April 30-May 2.

The Library of Michigan continues its Summer Reading Webinar Series with Getting Past the Reading Log: New Program Ideas for Children and Teens on February 11. This series is a collaborative effort between the Library of Michigan, Michigan Library Association and Mideastern Michigan Library Cooperative to bring Summer Reading programming and education opportunities to Michigan libraries throughout the year. View the Summer Reading…Year ‘Round Opportunities brochure.

For dates and information on upcoming Library of Michigan Continuing Education Opportunities be sure to visit the Library of Michigan's Continuing Education web page. The 2014 Beginning Workshop is scheduled for May 13-15 at Shanty Creek Resorts in Bellaire. The New Directors’ and Advanced Directors’ workshops are set for September 18-19 in Lansing.

Monthly listings of free library-related webinars of interest to all library types can be found on the Library of Michigan’s Continuing Education web page.

by Karren Reish, LSTA Coordinator and Youth Services Librarian

The new SL 21 measures have been endorsed by the Library of Michigan Board of Trustees and were presented to the State Board of Education in the fall. The new version provides an enhanced rubric that helps define a quality school library media program. We now have 121 certified school libraries, including our three new sites:

Exemplary

• Pattengill Media Center, Berkley School District with librarian Rachel Smith
• Portage Northern High School, Portage Public Schools with librarian Jeanna Walker

Qualified

• Round Elementary School Library, Hartland Consolidated Schools with librarian Barbara Benford

You can find the full list of certified school libraries, the measures and resources on school library quality and promotion at www.michigan.gov/sl21.