2006 MeL Users Group Meeting


MLC is pleased to report that 195 people attended the Annual MeL Users Day held in Lansing on April 26. 

“We are thrilled with the turnout at this year’s MeL Users Day,” said Randy Dykhuis, MLC Executive Director.  “It is gratifying to know that so many Michigan libraries are interested in MeLCat and in the statewide MeL project.”

MeL Users Day began with Opening Remarks from Nancy Robertson, State Librarian.  Special thanks were given to the Michigan State University Libraries who provided scholarship funding to make it possible for staff from smaller libraries to attend.

Participants were then given the choice of breakout sessions on a variety of topics related to MeL.  Breakout sessions throughout the day included:

What Does MeLCat Do For My Library – a panel of MeLCat librarians moderated by MLC’s Anne Donohue.  George Bishop of Ovid Elsie Area Schools and LaRene Klink of Genesee School District told how MeLCat works for schools, and Ginger Olson of Rochester Hills Public Library presented MeLCat from the public library perspective.

MeLCat Resource Sharing – a panel of members of the MeLCat Resource Sharing Policies Committee moderated by MLC’s Louise Bugg.  Linda Moore of Hillsdale College and Lisa Mitchell of Chippewa River District Library shared their experiences.

Troubleshooting MeLCat Issues – Debbi Schaubman, MeLCat Implementation Coordinator at MLC, provided information in two separate sessions on troubleshooting resource sharing issues for Innovative libraries and for DCB libraries.

MeL Databases and MyMeL – with the help of MeL Support Librarian, Kelly Bayee, Ruth Dukelow gave an update on MeL Databases enhancements.  Debbi Schaubman showed participants a glimpse of new features that will soon be available in MyMeL.

MeLCat Best Practices – Beth Taylor of the University of Michigan-Dearborn shared helpful information on cataloging best practices to conform to MeLCat standards.

MeLCat Reports – Louise Bugg, MeLCat Project Coordinator at MLC, explained the intricacies of MeLCat Reports for DCB libraries.  Debbi Schaubman covered MeLCat Reports for Innovative libraries.

MeL Delivery - Anne Donohue, MeL Delivery Coordinator, and Dan Gundry, Vice President of Strategic Planning for ProMed, Inc., spoke to a group of over 50 about current MeL Delivery practices and recent changes. Dan also fielded questions from the audience.

How to Join MeLCat – Anne Donohue, MeL Delivery Coordinator at MLC, provided non-MeLCat libraries with information on how to apply to join MeLCat and the requirements for participation.

PR for MeL at Your Library – Sheryl Mase of the Library of Michigan asked attendees for their suggestions on how to promote MeL.  She also showed the MeL promotional materials available to libraries for distribution to their patrons.  The Thomson Gale company’s marketing department generously designed and printed these promotional materials for the Library of Michigan, and MLC covers shipping and handling to deliver the materials to Michigan libraries.

Please note: some sessions included proprietary information, so the presentations for those sessions are not available on the open web.

Save the Date! Next year’s MeL Users Day 2007 is scheduled for Wednesday, April 25, 2007, at the Holiday Inn South in Lansing (same location as this year’s).