Advocacy in tough times

The Library of Michigan has partnered with EBSCO Information Services to promote Michigan libraries and the Michigan eLibrary.  Promotional ads will run on many Michigan radio stations between the week of July 6^th and the week of August 24^th.  The audio file can be found here.

From Deb Biggs Thomas of the Library of Michigan:  “This promotional campaign is being totally underwritten by EBSCO, and we are impressed by and delighted about their commitment to libraries in general and to Michigan libraries in particular during these challenging economic times ….  This is excellent publicity for what we do best–empowering all Michigan residents to read, to be informed, to learn and grow as people!”

Mel.org Advocacy resources: http://mel.org/SPT–BrowseResourcesPromotions.php?ParentId=829

MeL Marketing and Promotional kits: http://mel.org/SPT–BrowseResourcesPromotions.php?ParentId=874

Health library calculator and Marygrove literary map

• The National Network of Libraries of Medicine has created a calculator (found here: http://nnlm.gov/mcr/evaluation/calculator.html) to measure how much your library is worth to your institution.  From the website: “How much would it cost to replace your library services on the retail market? Calculate what it would cost to buy library services – at a book store, through pay per view for articles, from an information broker – if you and your library weren’t there.”
• Marygrove College – Follow this link (http://www.marygrove.edu/ids/detroit_literary_map.asp) to a literary map which shows locations with literary significance around Detroit. You can click on a number on the map or a hyperlink in the list below to read more about that location.  Also on the page are links to bibiliographies of books about or that take place in Detroit and its surroundings.

Global Women’s Conference at WCCCD

Wayne County Community College District’s Northwest Campus will be hosting A Global Women’s Conference on Saturday July 11, 2009.   The time will be 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM at 8200 W. Outer Drive, Detroit, MI 48219.  The event is free and open to the public.

“The Global Women’s Conference will be a full day of speakers, panels, and presenters who address issues currently facing women of all cultures and ethnicities. It provides educators, students, and health service providers with best practices for interfacing with women’s global issues in the areas of health, education, socio-economics and youth development. Participants will also learn about IT Career Opportunities (bring resumes), Speed Networking, interviewing and much more.” (from the event flyer)

Click here for more information.

Free Admissions around Detroit

Museums on us© from Bank of America

Present your ID and a Bank of America ATM, credit, or check card at participating museums on the first full weekend of every month and your admission is free!

In the Detroit area, participating museums are:

• The Henry Ford (no Sundays)
• Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History (no Sundays)
• Motown Museum (closed Sundays)
• Detroit Science Center

For more information and a calendar, go to http://museums.bankofamerica.com.

Target sponsored events

• The Henry Ford – Free admission and parking on Labor Day 2009 (Monday, September 7)
• Arab American National Museum –Free admission every Sunday
• Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History – Free admission every first Sunday. For dates, click here.

Museum Adventure Pass

Don’t forget the Museum Adventure Pass available for check out at local libraries (a list of participating libraries is here).

Guidelines from the Museum Adventure Pass website:

“Check out a Museum Adventure Pass using your valid library card at any library location. Libraries have a limited number of passes for each participating organization. Passes are available on a first-come, first-served basis and cannot be reserved, renewed or requested through interlibrary loan. One Museum Adventure Pass may be checked out per person, per loan period. The loan period is SEVEN DAYS. Up to two or four people may be admitted on each pass. (See the list for which organizations admit 2 and which admit 4.) Choose the museum you would like to visit and bring the card for that museum to the circulation desk. The library will give you a date-due slip that admits you into the museum through the date printed on the slip. After this date, the pass expires. You do not need to return it to your library.”

Others

• Detroit Institute of Arts - free admission on Fridays for Detroit residents
• Dossin Great Lakes Museum, Belle Isle – admission is always free; donations accepted
• Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit – free admission unless otherwise indicated
• Detroit Children’s Museum – general admission is free
• Dearborn Historical Museum – admission is always free; donations accepted
• River Raisin Battlefield
• Holocaust Memorial Center – free admission; donations appreciated

Midsummer Nights in Midtown

Midsummer Nights in Midtown began this past weekend and will continue through the month of June.  This month-long series replaces the Detroit Festival of the Arts, a single weekend event.

From the April 24th press release:
“The University Cultural Center Association (UCCA) and Wayne State University are excited to announce a new series of summertime public performances, Midsummer Nights in Midtown, every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening in June. This special series will continue to provide outstanding arts and cultural programming for the metropolitan Detroit community, in lieu of the Detroit Festival of the Arts.

“Midsummer Nights in Midtown spotlights a different Midtown venue each evening of the series, presenting an admission-free performance by international, national and local guest artists ranging from acclaimed musicians to award-winning poets and authors, and large-puppet theater for children. In total there will be more than a dozen participating venues and over 25 performances amid the state’s premier arts and cultural institutions, neighborhood galleries, and entertainment facilities.”

For more information, visit midsummernightsinmidtown.com.

For the schedule of events, click here.

Polio Hospital Reunion

The Botsford Commons Senior Community will be hosting a reunion on Saturday July 11, 2009 for former patients and staff of the Michigan Hospital School, Michigan Convalescent Home and the Sister Kenny Polio Hospital.  These hospitals operated on the site of the Senior Community from 1919 to 1958.

In addition, those who plan to attend can bring memorabilia from the early hospital that they would like to donate to the archive that has been established at the Walter P. Reuther Library at Wayne State University.  The formal opening of the archive will occur at the reunion.

See the full article at: http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20090517/NEWS06/905170377.

For more information, see the Botsford Commons blog at http://www.botsfordcommons.org/reunion/.

UM-Dearborn Second Life Conference

The University of Michigan-Dearborn will be hosting a one day conference titled “Using the Virtual World to Improve Our World: A Conference on the Use of Virtual Environments and Social Networking to Effect Societal Change” on Wednesday June 3, 2009. Registration will be at 9:00 AM. Catered lunch will be at 12:00 PM and closing remarks will be at 3:15 PM. The conference will take place at the University of Michigan – Dearborn, Institute for Advanced Vehicle Systems, 1101 Borg Warner Auditorium, 4901 Evergreen Rd., Dearborn, MI.

There is no cost to attend the conference either in person at UMD or online via Second Life. RSVP to Deborah Knight-Stark by May 28th.

Conference overview: “Inspired and sponsored by the Ford Motor Company Fund’s College Community Challenge project, the University of Michigan-Dearborn is proud to host a conference dedicated to examining the issues and opportunities that technology in general and virtual environments in particular provide for addressing pressing social needs. This conference will include presenters from industry, non-profits, government, and universities who are using various forms of technology to change society. This forum and discussion will provide for the exchange of best practices and innovative ideas that can accelerate the pace of change.” 

For more information, visit http://groups.engin.umd.umich.edu/hpceep/slc/FMC3flyer.htm.

St. Mary’s Polish Country Fair!

Visit St. Mary’s Preparatory in Orchard Lake on Memorial Day Weekend (May 22-25) for their annual Polish Country Fair!  There will be music, rides, and lots of food as well as games and crafts.  For more information and maps, visit http://www.stmaryspolishcountryfair.com/.

Michigan Information Literacy Initiative

The Michigan Information Literacy Initiative (MILI) workshop will take place Friday, June 19, 2009 from 9 AM to 4 PM at Oakland Community College’s Orchard Ridge Campus (27055 Orchard Lake Rd., Farmington Hills, MI).

At the workshop, you will learn to improve library/faculty collaboration, “preplan talking points, identify prime opportunities to engage, and pinpoint library champions, all to better promote library instruction and better serve your customers.”  

The agenda will include a panel discussion on teacher/librarian collaboration and three breakout sessions titled “Information Literacy Assessment and the First-Year Experience,” “Elevator Chat: Promoting Information Literacy and Library Instruction in 5, 10, or 15 Minutes” (Caryn Noel, Library Director, Adam Cardinal Maida Alumni Library, Orchard Lake Schools and DALNET Board Member will be participating in this session), and “Insight into a Successful Librarian-Faculty Collaboration.”

Registration is $85 for members and $170 for nonmembers.  Register at http://www.mla.lib.mi.us.

Digitized Medical Books from UVA

The Claude Moore Health Sciences Library at the University of Virginia has digitized many medical works from their collection dating from the 5th century BCE through the 19th century.  Only a few pages from each book are available online, however.   Among over 40 authors whose works are included are Hippocrates, Albertus Magnus, Rene Descartes and Benjamin Rush.

See the online exhibition:  Vaulted Treasures

Read more at this blog:  American Historical Association