MeL Minute

MeL Winter Connections for Patrons

Now that the cold weather has arrived, many of us are probably spending more time indoors, so this is the perfect time to help your patrons discover the Michigan eLibrary. With eResources to help explore a new hobby, find the perfect eBook, reconnect with their family history, learn a new skill, or tackle home improvement projects, patrons will find just what they need.  

Whether you want to create online programming for your patrons (kids or adults) using these ideas or simply spread the word that these eResources are available, MeL and EBSCO have the tools to support you. Here are a few EBSCO eResources from MeL’s collection you can promote to your library users:  

• Auto Repair Source™: Colder weather is approaching, so now is a good time for folks to prep their cars for the winter months. Find up-to-date service, repair and maintenance information on thousands of domestic and imported vehicles. 
• EBSCO eBooks™: Encourage patrons to save money by downloading e-books for free via the library. MeL provides access to EBSCO’s academic, business, public library, K-8 and high school e-book collections. 
• Hobbies & Crafts Reference Center™: Help patrons nurture their hobbies or find new projects to pass the time with articles, how-to instructions and videos on sewing, knitting, jewelry making, scrapbooking, painting, photography, hiking, biking, baking, board games and much more. (Promotion support from EBSCO's social media kit.) 
• Home Improvement Reference Center™: Remind patrons who might be tackling home improvement and remodeling projects during the pandemic that they have access to reference information from leading home improvement magazines and more than 100 how-to videos on popular home repairs. (Promotion support from EBSCO's social media kit.) 
• EBSCO LearningExpress® Job & Career Accelerator: Invite those seeking work to research growth industries, take skills and interests assessments to find ideal career paths, explore more than 1,000 occupations, conduct real-time job searches, build resumes and cover letters, and prepare for job interviews. (Promotion support from MeL's Promotions Toolkit.) 
• MyHeritage Library Edition™: Inspire members of your community to begin researching their family history. They’ll be fascinated to discover U.S. Census records dating back to 1790, military records, immigration records and passenger lists, gravestone photos and much more. 

Need a refresh on eResources? Library staff looking for professional development opportunities have access to a couple of options. 

• MeL’s eResources Learning Academy. This learning portal offers short microlearning courses using videos and text. Designed to help library staff become more comfortable using different eResources, these self-paced courses make it easy to pop in and out depending on the time you have available and the skills you need to learn or refresh. 
• The new EBSCO Academy. This centralized learning portal offers short training videos, self-paced courses and instructor-led sessions designed to help librarians increase their knowledge about EBSCO products and services. You can even earn a micro-credential for completing the EBSCO eBooks eLearning Path.  

Brought to you by the MeL Team and Tammy Ross, Senior Marketing Manager, Schools & Public Libraries, EBSCO Information Services

Supporting Michigan Libraries by Putting You First. 

Want more information on MeL?  Stay tuned for the next MeL Minute available on many Michigan library listservs, visit http://mel.org, or sign up for the MeL Minute and other Library of Michigan e-mail lists via GovDelivery. We encourage you to share MeL Minutes with your colleagues and networks. 

MeL eResources are available to Michigan residents or for Michigan library or school access only. 

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