Vote for us!

Gale/Cenage is having a contest for the most beautiful library.  We entered a photo of our stained glass windows in the "Greatest Historical Treasure" category -- and we're one of the top 5 in the US!

Vote April 2-9 for the finalists in the categories below. The grand prize winner will receive $2,500.

Categories include:

Most Unique Structure/Art Installation
Greatest Historical Treasure (for HPL!)
Most Modern Architecture
Coolest Internal Space
Best Curb Appeal

Visit http://solutions.cengage.com/beautifullibrary/ to cast your vote. Be sure to share this so others can vote as well. Winners will be announced on the contest website during National Library Week April 13-19.

Vote for us!

We are a finalist for a newspaper digitization project! Between April 1 and April 15 vote for us (early and often!) at https://digmichnews.wufoo.com/forms/vote-for-your-library-to-win/

Why Support Your Local Library?

FIND A LIBRARY NEAR YOU

FIND YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY
INFORMATION INTEGRATED
WITH GOOGLE MAPS

DATA SOURCE: IMLS

Sources:

• ALA Library Fact Sheet
• Bureau of Labor Statistics - Data
• Bureau of Economic Analysis
• Northwestern University Libraries information
• MIT Library Data
• Institute of Museum and Library Services
• Census.gov - Public Libraries in the U.S. 2009
• ALA - Funding Technology Access Study
• Volunteer Match - Engaging Volunteers
• Pew Internet - Libraries, patrons & ebooks

• ALA Quotable Facts - American Libraries
• Harrison County Library - Facts and Figures
• Stanford University - Library Facts
• Library of Congress - Fascinating Facts
• Libraries for Real Life
• Houston Library - Facts
• Library Journal - Annual Library Budgets Survey
• ALA - State of American Libraries Report - 2012
• NationalService.gov - Benefits of Volunteering
• ALA - Library Operating Expenditures

Thank you to StateStats.org for providing this infographic and other free web guides and tools.

Community Foundations "Love Your Community" Mini Grants

Thanks to everyone who voted for our Friend's project!

From the Community Foundation:

And the winners are...Movies on the beach, Linenbottom's Wowsical Traveling Show, Play It Forward for the Snurfer sculpture, Howmet Playhouse Children's Mural, Hackley Library Literary Landmark, and the Lakeside Pocket Park! Thanks to all of you who voted with 1,384 comments!"

The Building of Character Campaign

WZZM-TV reports on the kick-off of our Campaign, as does WOOD-TV.

The Building of Character

In 20 minutes (at 10:00 am) we'll be announcing our Capital Campaign and all the wonderful upgrades we'll be making to the building.  Join us at the Library at 10 to be the first to hear about it!

Funding for Michigan Electronic Library, MeLCat At Risk At Federal Level

Funding for Michigan Electronic Library, MeLCat At Risk At Federal Level: From the RedTape Blog:
"As we all wait for detailed news of the State budget cuts to be released, there is something proactive you can do today to fight to save funding for MeL and MeLCat. The Michigan eLibrary is currently funded through $5 million in federal funds from LSTA. If those funds disappear, so does MeL.



This week, the House of Representatives will consider an amendment to the FY2011 Continuing Resolution that is critical to Michigan libraries – one that would eliminate all Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funding including Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funding.



Email via CapWiz or call your representative at (202) 224-3121 today and tell him or her to oppose Amendment #35 to the Continuing Resolution!



Amendment #35, submitted by U.S. Rep. Scott Garret (R-NJ), seeks to zero out the Institute of Museum and Library Services, eliminating all federal funding specifically for libraries.


Message to Your Congressional Representative:

• The Michigan eLibrary is funded through LSTA funds. These federal funds are critical to sustaining Michigan's statewide resource sharing system that saves the state over $72 million annually through group purchasing. It supports libraries of all types K-12, community college, public, private and universities.
• Libraries are essential to every community, and federal funding is critical for ensuring library resources and services remain available to their constituents.
• LSTA supports all kinds of libraries including school, academic, and public libraries.
• Public libraries are the primary source of no-fee access to the Internet and are active in assisting the public with online job searches, e-government services, and lifelong learning.

Michigan Library Association Update, February 17, 2011. For more information, contact:


Gretchen Couraud, CAE, CFRE

Executive Director

Michigan Library Association

1407 Rensen, Suite 2

Lansing, MI 48910

couraudg@mlcnet.org

Ph: 517-394-2774 ext. 224

Fax: 517-394-2675

www.mla.lib.mi.us

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

"

How Libraries Stack Up

How Libraries Stack Up: From the BookBrowse Blog: "There have been mumblings in certain quarters recently suggesting that libraries are a waste of money in this day and age.


Pardon me, but I beg to differ; and this is why:

• Two-thirds of Americans have a library card.
  
  
  


• Every day 300,000 Americans get job-seeking help at their public library.
  
  
  
  


• 13,000 public libraries offer career assistance. By comparison, the US Department of Labor offers 3,000 career centers.
  
  


• Americans are six times more likely to visit a public library than they are to attend a live sporting event. US public libraries receive 1.4 billion visits annually.
  
  
  
  


• Small business owners and employees use public library resources 2.8 million times each month to support their businesses.
  
  
  
  


• 5,400 public libraries offer free technology classes - that's more technology training classes than there are computer training businesses in the US. Every day, 14,700 people attend free library computer classes - a retail value of $2.2 million.
  
  


• Every day, 225,000 people use library meeting rooms at a retail value of $11 million. There are more meeting rooms available at public libraries than there are meeting rooms in all the US conference centers, convention facilities and auditoriums combined.
  
  
  


• Most public libraries offer internet access - a vital resource for the approximate 1 in 4 people who do not have internet access at home.
  
  
  
  


• Every day, US libraries circulate 7.9 million items. That's more materials than FedEx ships worldwide.
  
  
  

Source: http://www.oclc.org/reports/stackup/

Lest these stats aren't enough to prove the point, let me leave you with a comment posted on BookBrowse's Facebook page yesterday:



"I am a librarian in a large system in New Jersey, and we are receiving an awful lot of angry calls. Today, when I answered the reference phone, I was told I am a waste of taxpayers money, among other choice words. As the budget problems in NJ get worse, more people (along with Gov Christie) seem to be targeting librarians as wasteful. Five years ago, this would be unheard of.
You can imagine how I felt - I make around 40K, teach Excel, Word, Power Point, continue to develop more classes to improve job skills, am working on a state partnership to bring resume/job searching workshops here, develop ~20 adult programs out of thin air, run book groups .... am I a waste of taxpayers' dollars?" - Martha


After reading this, can you honestly tell Martha that she's a waste of money?



Davina Morgan-Witts

BookBrowse editor




"The richest person in the world - in fact all the riches in the world - couldn't provide you with anything like the endless, incredible loot available at your local library." - Malcolm Forbes



"Perhaps no place in any community is so totally democratic as the town library. The only entrance requirement is interest." - Lady Bird Johnson



"There is not such a cradle of democracy upon the earth as the Free Public Library, this republic of letters, where neither rank, office, nor wealth receives the slightest consideration." - Andrew Carnegie"

* Final Push to Save Funding to Sustain MeL and MeLCat!

* Final Push to Save Funding to Sustain MeL and MeLCat!


House and Senate leaders agreed to cut an additional $1.4 billion in cuts on September 16, with no additional revenues. Senate Majority Leader Bishop and House Speaker Dillon agreed to a plan to cut an additional $1 billion from the General Fund and $412.7 million in the School Aid Fund, beyond Governor Granholm’s recommendation. Conference Committees will meet on Monday and are charged with reporting out details by Tuesday. With the elimination of the Department of History, Arts and Libraries, library funding remains in the House Education Committee at $10 million, with a placeholder in the Senate budget. Governor Granholm’s Education Budget called for $26,389,700 – but the agreed upon targets reduce this amount to $19,429,600. The $6,960,100 in cuts will be negotiated by the conferees. Education Conference Committee members include: Senators Jelinek, Brown and Switalski and Representatives Brown, Moss and Cushingberry. It is time for one last push to preserve library funding. If you are in their districts, it is extremely important that they hear from you with a personal story or the impact on your community if MeL and MeLCat implode. . Visit milibrariesforthefuture.com to send a final message to these legislators about the value of MeL. Thank and encourage Representatives Cushingberry and Brown for their support. Don't forget to personalize your message!