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petition
by Shirley Roos 12 Aug '13

12 Aug '13

Hello, how do you handle persons wanting to put up a table to gather names on a very controversial subject either inside or outside of the library??? We are having a backyard where we sell table space for all kinds of vendors and they want to purchase space. We have nothing in our policies. Thanks, for your help. Shirley Roos Holly Township

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Reposting - Technology Coordinator/Trainer at Houghton Lake with benefit details
by Donna Alward 12 Aug '13

12 Aug '13

Due to the retirement of long-term employee, Kim Frazho, the library is seeking a great employee to fill this position. Please share with anyone who might be interested. Thank you all. Donna J. Alward, Library Director Houghton Lake Public Library 4431 W. Houghton Lake Dr. Houghton Lake, MI 48629 Phone: 989.366.9230 Fax: 989.366.0063 URL: www.hlpl.org

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Coupon Exchange Etiquette
by Erin Schm�ndt 12 Aug '13

12 Aug '13

(Please excuse cross postings) Hoping for suggestions on a particular situation. We have hosted a coupon exchange at the library for years, possibly decades. We have a table with several boxes where people can donate their unused coupons, go through the ones that have been donated and also donated out of date coupons for the military. We also add all the coupons that come in the papers the library subscribes to, and often, residents drop envelopes of unused coupons in the drop box. Recently, we have had several people waiting in line when we open on Monday morning to get to the coupons first. One woman, if she is the first through the door, will grab the entire stack of fresh weekend coupons, stuff them in her bag and take off. The other patrons who were waiting are quite angry about this. We've offered this casual service for years and this is the first problem we've had. Does anyone else offer this service? Do you have a suggestion on how to offer the Monday morning coupons equitably? Erin Schmändt, MLIS Library Director River Rapids District Library 227 E. Broad Street Chesaning, MI 48616 (989) 845-3211 e.schmandt(a)vlc.lib.mi.us

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composition of library board committees
by Melissa Malcolm 12 Aug '13

12 Aug '13

Hi all-- Happy Friday! I have a question about board committees. Those here at Lapeer have traditionally had a staff member on them and currently, that process is causing some headaches. For me. Is staff involvement in a board committee--personnel, facilities--usual, or is the staff usually represented by the library director only? Thank you for your input. melissa -- Melissa A. Malcolm Director Lapeer District Library 201 Village West Dr S Lapeer, MI 48446 810.664.9521 extension 3113 810.664.8527 facsimile melissa(a)lib.lapeer.org "If liberty and justice mean anything, then access means everything." --Charles Ogletree

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Berkley's new director
by Celia B. Morse 12 Aug '13

12 Aug '13

I am delighted to announce that Matt Church has been appointed Library Director for the City of Berkley. Matt comes to us from the Baldwin Public Library in Birmingham where he is currently the Associate Director. Matt will begin at Berkley on September 18 and my last day here is September 27. Please join me in extending a warm welcome to Matt! Celia Celia Morse, Library Director Berkley Public Library 3155 Coolidge Hwy. Berkley MI 48072 248-658-3440, fax 248-658-3441 cmorse(a)berkley.lib.mi.us

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Special Series on Public Libraries on NPR
by BiggThomas, Deb (MDE) 12 Aug '13

12 Aug '13

Hi All-many or most of you may already be aware of this, but just in case, NPR is doing a special series on public libraries! Entitled, "Keys To The Whole World: American Public Libraries", you can listen to all the stories by clicking on the link below. Just today on Morning Edition, you can find out how libraries play an important role in disaster recovery. http://www.npr.org/series/209598179/public-libraries-in-america I've also posted this to the Library of Michigan's Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Library-of-Michigan/54064216770?ref=hl which you are also welcome to "Like"! Cheers, Deb Deb Biggs Thomas Michigan eLibrary & Outreach Coordinator Library of Michigan/Michigan Dept. of Education 702 W. Kalamazoo St. Lansing, MI 48909 Phone: 517-373-4466 Visit MeL at: http://mel.org<http://mel.org/> and on Facebook at: http://facebook.com/mel.org

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composition of library board committees
by dale parus 12 Aug '13

12 Aug '13

Melissa, We have had excellent success including a staff member as a full voting member of several committees. We have found there are a lot of positives to including staff in the process. A staff member should not serve on a personnel committee or similar due to its sensitivity, but no concern here about the others you mentioned or others that we have, including strategic planning. - dp -- Dale Parus, Director Harper Woods Public Library Michigan's First Green Library TM LEED® Silver 19601 Harper Avenue Harper Woods, MI 48225 (313) 343-2575 http://www.harperwoodslibrary.org A Suburban Library Cooperative Member ########### *Detroit Suburban Librarians RoundTable* *Co-chair, 2012 - 2014* ###########

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Composition of library board committees
by Michael McGuire 11 Aug '13

11 Aug '13

I have always has serious reservations about staff being considered "member" of a library board committee. A BOARD committee is, almost by definition made up of BOARD members. A committee is usually a subset of the larger body that designates it as a committee. One definition is: a body of persons delegated to consider, investigate, take action on, or report on some matter; especially : a group of fellow legislators chosen by a legislative body to give consideration to legislative matters. To cite an example, legislative committees in both the Congress and the Michigan Legislature are made up of members. They are members of the larger body and are designated by that body (or a chair/speaker of that body) to take up and recommend with respect to certain matters of legislation or institutional management. In 40+ years of law practice - almost all in local government - and some time spent as an interim library director and director of another department as well, I have never seen a committee that functioned effectively with members of a governing body and staff members of the organization governed by that body function effectively. There is too much disparity of authority, interest and role. I have, by the way, served on such committees. What I have seen function very effectively is for staff members to serve as non-voting resource persons for a committee made up of members of the governing body. They can do everything that they can do as committee members except vote. Provide information and data (which is not usually available to governing board members), make recommendations, seek and convey input from other staff and outside entities, etc. Having staff support committees allows a clear distinction between "line" expertise, research and policy recommendation provided to the elected (or appointed) sub-set of the governing body and the action of the committee which is itself a part or subset of the governing body. It is the role of the committee to study issues, questions and possible policies and to receive public comment. Part of this process is staff input. The committee then makes an initial determination as to what action should be taken and if the matter should go forward to the full governing body. Staff also has a potential avenue to bring matters before the governing body via the executive director, manager or other chief executive but only if that officer deems it appropriate. The committee structure allows members to develop expertise in certain areas and to look at matters at a level of detail that a full governing body would find difficult and time-consuming to do. This is why each committee (except a committee of the whole) has a specific assigned area of responsibility and can develop expertise in that area that isn't necessarily shared by the governing body as a whole. One way to define the committee and staff roles might be: Committees monitor on-going library operations, identify issues suitable for Board review or action, consider and act upon matters referred to the committee by the Board or the Chair, gather and evaluate information, and recommend courses of action to the Board. The staff role with respect to the committee is: * To provide information and policy recommendations on items being worked on by the committee. * To provide special or professional knowledge, advice, relevant background, expertise and perspective that relates to items within a committee’s area of responsibility. * Objectively participate in the committee’s work during and between meetings. * Be willing to assume responsibility for work requested by the committee. WHO the staff member is that is assigned to work with a committee is certainly the Director's decision and that staff member may change depending on a number of considerations (expertise, time available, faithful performance of duties, etc). No matter what, the assigned staff member, if not the Director, has the responsibility to keep the Director fully informed of her/his activities with the Committee. If the Director doesn't believe that the staff member is acting in the best interest of the Library, then it is the Director's prerogative to assign a different staff member. There are certainly other ways of looking at this concept and I hope that others will share them. Michael McGuire, J.D. Grand Rapids, Michigan mdmcguire(at)yahoo(dot)com

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questions for PA 164 libraries
by Colleen Leddy 09 Aug '13

09 Aug '13

Hi, I have a couple questions for city libraries formed under PA 164, but not by city charter...and with appointed boards. 1. Do any of you have a city council member who sits and votes on your board (and do you have any problems associated with that)? According to PA 164, Sec. 2. (1) "...Not more than 1 member of the city council shall be at any 1 time a member of the board." Currently, per city ordinance and library by-laws, a representative from our city council attends library board meetings, but does not vote. 2. Also, per ordinance and by-laws, when there is a vacancy on the board, or a member's term is up, the library board supplies names to the council which has always approved them. It's in conflict with PA 164 which says the mayor appoints and council approves, but does any other board operate this way? Thank you, Colleen Colleen Leddy, Director Stair Public Library 228 W. Main St. Morenci, MI 49256 517/458-6510

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Call for Programs - 2014 Rural Libraries Conference
by White, Shannon (MDE) 09 Aug '13

09 Aug '13

It is time to begin thinking about the 2014 Rural Libraries Conference. The event will be held April 30-May 2, 2014 at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. The Library of Michigan and the Rural Libraries Conference Program Committee encourage you to submit a proposal for the conference. The Rural Libraries Conference has a long tradition of providing a forum for the staff, trustees, and advocates of Michigan's small and rural libraries to share, learn and be inspired to provide the best library service to their communities. The 2014 RLC theme is Partnerships, People, Progress. Let's come together as a community to share our collective knowledge of imaginative, resourceful and successful library practices. How can you contribute? Bring your tried and true as well as your new and inventive practices to share with your Michigan library colleagues. If it's working well for you, chances are good that others could benefit from hearing about it. We will be showcasing up to 50 presentations at the 2014 conference. The RLC Program Committee invites you to consider the following conference tracks as you design your program proposal: * Library Technology or Digital Literacy * Services to Individual Populations (youth, seniors, unemployed, entrepreneurs, etc.) * Library Programming * Engagement, Collaboration & Partnerships * Administration and Management Presenters will be required to provide an electronic copy of session materials by April 1, 2014 that will be on a flash drive to all conference attendees. The Library of Michigan will provide all presenters with one conference registration and one night's lodging at the Grand Hotel (or other hotel accommodation up to the state rate of $75 per night) per day of presenting. Program selection is a peer-reviewed process. The RLC Program Committee will evaluate the content of your proposal for relevance to the conference tracks, clarity, originality, and timeliness. The experience and qualifications of presenter(s) will also be considered. Proposals are due Monday, October 21, 2013 in order to be considered for inclusion in the 2014 conference. Please note that proposals with significant incomplete information will not be considered. The contact person for the proposal will be notified of the status of that proposal by the end of December 2013. If you have questions about the submission process or Rural Libraries Conference, please contact Shannon White at whites29(a)michigan.gov<mailto:whites29@michigan.gov> or 517-373-9489. Instructions for Submitting Your Program Proposal You will need the following information to complete your proposal submission: * Complete contact information and a brief bio for all speakers * Program title * Length of program (one 45-minute session or two back-to-back sessions) * Preferred date of program * Program description * A minimum of three learning outcomes Submit your proposal here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RLC2014 (A program may not be an advertisement for a vendor or solely a demonstration of a product/service. Specific product/services may be used or described only if essential for a correct understanding of the topic being presented. Library staff currently using the product/service must participate in the presentation. The Library of Michigan and the Rural Libraries Conference reserve the right to reorganize content, combine proposals, and make other changes as necessary to render the proposal appropriate for presentation at RLC.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Shannon D. White Continuing Education Coordinator Library of Michigan 702 West Kalamazoo, P.O. Box 30007, Lansing, MI 48909-7507 Ph: 517-373-9489; Fax: 517-373-5700 Toll free: 877-479-0021 whites29(a)michigan.gov<mailto:whites29@michigan.gov> http://michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan

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