All, Are you enjoying this beautiful autumn weather? This is the perfect time to be outdoors, before the leaves (followed by their decidedly colder cousins) begin to fall. I have some great news to share with you today. Beginning October 1 Michigan's newest public library, Harrison Township Public Library, will be joining the MAP program! HTPL passed a millage in August, which means they could begin the process of becoming a certified public library. This also means that on October 1 HTPL will be a new member library in the Suburban Library Cooperative (SLC). This morning I accessed the HTPL website https://sites.google.com/a/htplib.org/htplib/ If I were the director of the Suburban Library Cooperative I would be extremely pleased to see the headline "Harrison Township Public Library Joins the Suburban Library Cooperative!" getting top billing on the HTPL website. Similarly, if I were the director of The Library Network I would be just as pleased to see a strong endorsement for the Michigan Activity Pass program in the form of "Our membership means you can begin using neighboring libraries (click for list) and the Michigan Activity Pass starting October 1st!" (MAP is a TLN-sponsored endeavor, in case you've been living out of state, or under a rock, for the past two years). The heavy emphasis placed by this brand new library on the value of cooperation is no doubt welcomed by the directors of Michigan's other nine library cooperatives, too. Of course the standard disclaimer applies here, that being that the opinions expressed in this blurb are the author's own and do not reflect the view of my employer The Library Network. Actually they probably do, but... Two new attractions for MAP? Maybe! We are talking to two cultural venues about the possibility of their becoming our partners in the program. One has been involved in MAP before, fell upon some hard times, and had to exit the program. They are back up and running now, and we hope they will see that the benefits brought to them by virtue of their previous participation in MAP are still there, and then some. The other potential partner is a brand new venue, grand opening for which is this weekend. It is our job to convince them that MAP will bring many benefits, in the form of publicity and library patrons, to their new venture. Will we succeed with either one? I dunno. If we don't it certainly won't be for lack of trying. Thank you for your support and promotion of the Michigan Activity Pass program. Sincerely, Jim Flury Jim Flury Technical Services Manager The Library Network 41365 Vincenti Court Novi, MI 48375 248-536-3100 x133 Fax 248-536-3098 jflury@tln.lib.mi.us