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AccessMichigan: The Challenges and Rewards of Statewide Library Cooperation

Slide 9 of 17

View of Web Site: AccessMichigan: http://accessmichigan.org/about.htm

So what is AccessMichigan? In practice, most Michigan librarians would say that AccessMichigan is the set of databases they are able to use in their libraries, free of charge.

On paper, AccessMichigan is a steering committee of librarians to advise the State Librarian on:

·Creating a statewide set of library resources

·Encouraging and implementing improved information technology and resource sharing, and

·Facilitating document delivery

This umbrella group outlines policies, recommends databases to license, suggests ways to extend the technology to more users, and reviews options for future directions.

But in my mind’s eye, and in the vision of a number of us who worked to organize this group, AccessMichigan is also a vehicle for multi-type library cooperation and understanding.

Take a long review of this home page.

AccessMichigan has been around since 1997, and since then, a number of other states have gotten into the act.