Greetings Michigan Library Community, It's not too late to begin work on an award nomination packet for RLC 2018! We all enjoy the feeling of being recognized by our peers for a job well done. This is your opportunity to take a few hours between now and January 12th to put together a nomination packet for one of four awards being given at RLC 2018 in Traverse City. Please consider who you know that meets the quality of excellence in the profession. Do you know someone at a small or rural library who is a leader in our profession? Do you have a Trustee or Friend who goes above and beyond the call of duty to promote and advance your library? Do you know a small or rural library that truly excels? We want to hear from you! It's time again to nominate libraries, staff, trustees, and friends of small and rural libraries for a Loleta Fyan Conference Award. Self-nominations are accepted for the Mendel award that goes to a library and it includes a cash prize! The conference will be held at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Acme outside Traverse City April 30-May 2, 2018. Nominations are due by Friday, January 12, 2018 to norriss2@michigan.gov or by post to Sonya Schryer Norris, Library of Michigan, 702 W. Kalamazoo St., Lansing, MI 48909. There will be four awards in 2018. The categories are: * Outstanding Small/Rural Librarian Award * Trustee/Friend Award * Patron Service Award (includes children's services) * The June B. Mendel Award for Excellence in Rural Library Service (this award goes to a small/rural library) Please note that library cooperative staff and conference planning committee chairs are not eligible for conference awards. To qualify for the award the library must serve a population of 25,000 or less. Branch locations of larger libraries do not qualify for nomination. Nominations may come from a library director or staff, another library, a library user, a community business or organization, a library cooperative or a library may self-nominate for the June B. Mendel Award for Excellence in Rural Library Service. The award nomination form can be found at this link: Award Nomination Form<http://michigan.gov/documents/libraryofmichigan/Call_for_Nominations_2018_RLC_599517_7.docx>. Nominations are due by Friday, January 12, 2018 but we encourage you to get them in early. Sonya Schryer Norris Library of Michigan 702 W. Kalamazoo St. Lansing, MI 48909 517-373-4457 http://michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan http://mel.org<http://mel.org/> http://michlibrary.org<http://michlibrary.org/> Our collective efforts can help make Michigan a Top 10 education state in 10 years! Here are the goals and strategies: http://mi.gov/top10in10/ [cid:image002.png@01D20444.B08921B0]