Moving on...

Phew! It's been a hectic few days... I hosted a Meet & Greet on Thursday. This gave me the opportunity to talk to GVSU staff all about what I do at Kingston University and about some of the differences and similarities between our Information Services and their Library Service. Around 50 staff turned out to hear a presentation I gave and there was also the chance for staff to ask questions. They took a keen interest in the fact that we are a converged department at Kingston. Here at GVSU the library and IT sections are separate but the two areas will be working much more closely when the new main library building opens next year. There were also questions about our collections development at Kingston (some of which I even knew the answers to!) and about a self-service holds project which I helped to roll out at KU.

I then found out all about document delivery at GVSU and had an introduction to the MeLCat service. MeLCat combines the catalogue records of over 400 libraries in Michigan and provides a state-wide resource sharing and delivery service. This has drastically reduced the interlibrary loan bill at GVSU as many of the materials requested can be sourced from other libraries at an annual subscription rate which is subsidised by the US Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). MeLCat even has its own courier service, called RIDES. 

It was Pink Floyd night down at the local ballpark, where I was able to catch a game and also see a cracking laser show afterwards!: 

Laser Show at 5th/3rd Ball Park -home of the West Michigan Whitecaps

There's much, much more to say about my time at GVSU and all I've learnt during my time here but I'm afraid I've become more than a little sidetracked from documenting it all during this balmy Memorial Day Weekend! More about that too, later on but for now I'll be heading out to Chicago in a mere few hours and alas will have to bid a fond farewell to Grand Rapids. 

I've not forgotten about Thing 4 either and have been using Storify to bring together news and photos from some of the libraries I plan to visit over there: