Rita Sol, a recent graduate of the Wayne State University (WSU) School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) is concerned about the plight of Michigan libraries in these difficult economic times and she is doing something about it. Rita is the volunteer host of Library Highlights, a weekly 30-minute television program that airs on the Bloomfield Township community cable BCTV network. As a forum for community dialogue, BCTV provides the perfect venue to inform the metro area public about the great libraries in the area and what they do for their communities.
As Rita notes, “Michigan needs its libraries. The good our librarians do to support the needs of the public during these financially hard times is essential to our economic recovery.”
Each week, Library Highlights features librarians from metro area libraries. Rita begins the interviews by asking her guests what motivated them to enter the library profession and what brought them to the library where they work. The second part of the interview focuses on the services and resources offered to the community. At the conclusion of the show, guests are given an opportunity to talk about future directions for their libraries.
To date, three DALNET libraries have been featured on Library Highlights: Oakland County Libraries, Oakland Community College Libraries, and the Walsh College Vollbrecht Library. As noted by Jon Campbell, Director of Vollbrecht Library and Chair, DALNET Board of Directors:
Walsh College very much appreciated the opportunity provided by BCTV to “tell our story” to the Oakland County community. The one-on-one interview format provided ample space to both describe the evolution of the library as well as remind the audience of the specialized accounting, taxation, and financial collections available to them. The occasion to highlight the Walsh College Library along with the other libraries of Oakland County was most welcome.
You can catch Library Highlights at 9:00am on Tuesdays and 4:30pm on Thursdays. Be certain to watch for future guests from DALNET Libraries: Caryn Noel, Director of the Adam Cardinal Maida Alumni Library, Alison Keller, Director of the Rochester College Ham Library, and Linea Dudley from Marygrove College.
If you would like to know more about Library Highlights or are interested in having your library featured on the program, contact Rita at ritasol7792@aol.com.
– Mary Ann Sheble´, Oakland Community College Libraries