Greetings All,

I am writing to let you know that after over thirteen years at the Library of Michigan, I am leaving my position as Director of Statewide Library Services.  With the changeover of state librarian, I decided to take this opportunity to make a change as well in order to reach out for new opportunities and collaborative efforts to help communities and end users with their information needs. 

It has been my utmost pleasure and honor to serve in a statewide capacity managing the great work of Statewide Library Services (SLS) running grant programs - via federal LSTA dollars, specially directed state funding, or private foundation funds such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; developing and sponsoring training for library staff and trustees via workshops, webinars and conferences; consulting and providing resources to Michigan libraries such as QSAC, Plinkit, and SL21; collecting public library data, producing the Data Digest and certifying public library staff for state aid purposes; minding and sharing statewide and national developments and trends, especially relating to broadband and technology; approving technology plans and providing training and consulting for E-rate; creating and coordinating the annual Michigan Reads One State One Children’s Book program; coordinating the summer reading program resources via the national CSLP collaborative; maintaining the michlib-l listserv and the interactive library directory; and managing the ever-evolving Michigan eLibrary (www.mel.org), including MeLCat, Michigan Online Resources for Educators (MORE), Michigana, the provision of commercial “deep web” databases to all Michigan residents via seamless authentication, and librarian vetted web content all wrapped into a virtual public library with an evolving public interface design that is relevant, user friendly, and responds to changing needs.  Phew!  I hope it has been helpful!

I look forward to seeing you all in the future as our paths cross, and I wish each of you success both professionally and personally.  If you want to stay in touch with me, please feel free to email me at: sheryl.mase@gmail.com  Cheers!

Sheryl L Mase