All, As you might have heard or read :) the third year of the all-online, statewide Michigan Activity Pass program went live on May 24. As we head into the second weekend of hugely expanded, DNR inclusive, Park and Read merged, MAP, I am extremely pleased to share the news that in the 11 full days since go-live, you've circulated nearly 15% of the TOTAL number of passes that were checked out ALL of last year! And you haven't seen anything yet, in terms of usage. Just wait until all schools are out of session, and July/August family vacation season kicks into high gear. We are working out the details of how best to share MAP circulation stats with libraries, and we will have more information concerning that very soon. Other MAP details and library-related fun: 1. Many of you have liked the MAP Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michigan-Activity-Pass-MAP/510259192344845 Do you have a news article to share about your library, or about a MAP partner venue in your community? Please send me the link to said article, in order that we may feature it on the MAP Facebook page. 2. Remember, MAP is your EXCLUSIVE, online-only source for DNR fun at state parks, state forest campgrounds, state recreation areas, and state historic sites at http://michiganactivitypass.com All passes for the 230+ DNR sites, and the 150+ other cultural partners, are conveniently available for your patrons to print from the MAP website. This also translates into less work for library staff, in that you needn't be concerned with lost or stolen passes, or having to request additional passes, etc. As a result of the great support from our cultural partners and sponsors, Michigan's public library patrons have access to a total of nearly 259,000 passes (I believe the actual number is 258,802) in the Michigan Activity Pass program! Gee, just think, if we were to assign an across the board value of $5.00 per pass, that means Michigan's public libraries are providing a total of $1,294,010 of value in just MAP passes alone! 259,000 passes, or more precisely 258,802, is a lot of pass records, which means a big MAP database, too. I say that on account in any database of that size, there are bound to be errors. We, and you, have already identified a few such glitches. We have corrected all of the issues in the MAP database that have been brought to our attention. But that isn't to say there aren't a few others lurking about. Should you or your patrons find something in the MAP database that just doesn't look right, please let me know, in order that we may correct same. 3. Finally, in the library fun category: Many of you, and your patrons, are familiar with the extremely popular Under the Radar Michigan show on PBS television https://www.facebook.com/UTRMichigan Numerous libraries took advantage of the TLN initiated discount for a bulk order of the UTR book and dvd's. During the course of said order process, a number of libraries asked me about the possibility of having Tom and Jim of UTR fame come to their library to do a program. Along those lines, can you say RAFFLE??? I am pleased to report that the UTR duo have very generously volunteered to present their program at a total of SIX Michigan public libraries, one library each quarter for the next six quarters, beginning in September, 2015! Isn't that great? And don't just take my word for it. Here's what the director of a TLN library had to say regarding a recent UTR program at their library: "We hosted the Under the Radar guys and it was fabulous. Tom Daldin and Jim Edelman from UTR accomplished something that doesn't happen often: they made us laugh over and over * and * reminded us how great Michiganders are. UTR isn't about "the best of the best" it's about the unique towns, festivals and travel opportunities there are in our state. It really boils down to the people behind these destinations. The coolest thing is that Tom and Jim are a Michigan success story themselves. They both found themselves out of work during the recession. They knew each other as fellow media professionals, so they put their heads together and started pitching ideas to PBS. Their book sales were brisk (we're hoping there can be a group discounted buy, maybe, for public libraries in Michigan?). At least four of our guests (full-house) said it was the best program they'd ever attended! Don't you want to have them, too?" Well, don't you??? And thanks to the generosity of Tom and Jim, you might! Look for details regarding our UTR RAFFLE, very soon. Don't forget to send us those news articles about your libraries and MAP cultural partners, for inclusion on the MAP Facebook page. Thank you for your promotion and support of the Michigan Activity Pass program, and start thinking about how YOUR library might promote an Under the Radar program in the future. 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