All, On this Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples' Day I thought I would share some great MAP news, regarding usage as well as the forthcoming addition of a brand new cultural partner that we know will prove to be immensely popular in MAP Year 3. Oops, did I just spill the beans and announce that there will be a MAP Year 3? Yep! Just as there is a Santa Claus, so too there WILL be a MAP Year 3. And we expect that the combination of your continued hard work to promote the program, the increased number of "likes" and "followers" for our social media campaign, not to mention the addition of said hot new venue next year, will make MAP Year 3 even more popular than ever. So, what is the hot new venue that we look forward to having as a MAP partner in Year 3? I can't tell you! (yet). I can tell you that they will be joining MAP for Year 3, albeit not at the start of MAP Year 3 when the program goes live on May 24, 2015. We expect the new cultural partner to be ready to go with MAP during the peak, hottest, checkout time for the program, which is July. Stay tuned for details regarding this exciting new cultural partner venue for MAP Year 3! As for current MAP Year 2, I ask all of you to congratulate yourselves. Why? Because your hard work to promote the program is making an amazing difference in terms of usage. What does this mean? Well, we are currently just shy of five months into MAP Year 2, and ytd MAP checkouts for this year vs the same time last year are UP, WAY UP, compared to the same time last year. How up is WAY up? How does a 31% INCREASE in MAP checkouts for the period May 24, 2014 through October 12, 2014 sound, vs the same period last year? That's way up! Let's keep it way up. How can you help? Well, have you liked our MAP page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michigan-Activity-Pass-MAP/510259192344845 or are you following us on Twitter? https://twitter.com/MapPass2014 Many of you and increasingly your patrons, are doing so. Also, in a couple of months it will be time for us to enter into "recruitment mode" when it comes to talking to our current (and new, as with said hot one) MAP partners as regards their intentions for Year 3. You can help by reaching out to currently participating as well as any potential new, MAP cultural venues in your communities, and extolling the virtues of the program in terms of the increased (not to mention free) visibility and publicity participation in the program brings to said MAP partners. To aid your efforts TLN has created all manner of cool MAP swag (posters, bookmarks, brochure) for you to use to promote the program, all of which is available at http://tln.lib.mi.us/map/ Feel free to share this material with your patrons, as well as with the MAP partner venues in your communities. While the Tigers may have disappointed us with their early exit from the playoffs, and while the Lions may be having trouble finding someone who can successfully kick a field goal (where is "Steady" Eddie Murray when you need him or, for the younger crowd, Jason Hanson) that doesn't mean it isn't too early for you to start swinging the bat and kicking the ball for MAP Year 3. With your help we can make this increasingly successful program even more popular in Year 3, than is the case in current MAP Year 2. 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