MECollab

What is MECollab?

Join MECollab

Share Programming

MECollab Logos and Templates

Meet Up with MECollab

Collaborate with MECollab

MECollab Recorded Programming & Knowledge Shares

Frequently Asked Questions

Non Library Organizations—Apply to share your program with MECollab

What is MECollab?

MECollab is a group of Maine librarians who share their resources. We share programming ideas, items for programming and more! Together we improve our offerings and reduce our workload.

You can join us by joining our email list. Register a Google account, then join the MECollab Google Group. Find more information about joining the Google Group below.

MECollab members work far and wide across the state of Maine (and even over the boarder into New Hampshire!). Want to add yourself on the map? Make sure you're signed into your google account with your MECollab Google email and add yourself here.

Join MECollab

We offer a number of ways to collaborate together:

Join our email list https://groups.google.com/g/mecollab
- This is where we communicate opportunities to list for your patrons, develop programming together, host library tours, and more! Joining the list is the first step to getting involved. Here's how to join our email list:
  1. Register a Google account with your preferred email and then head to the Groups app and search for "mecollab" (make sure to click the box that says "Outside my org" to find us).
  2. Click on MECollab, then click "Ask to Join Group."
  3. Make sure to change your settings to your desired frequency.
Look at and add to our spreadsheet of programs.
- Apply to be added as an editor to the spreadsheet. (If you're a librarian in the region, we'll let you in!)
- Use this resource for inspiration and contacts. If you want to run a puzzle race or reach out to a speaker someone else has used, do it! Contact another library for their resources so you don't have to reinvent the wheel.
- If you've run great programming others should replicate, add them! We need your ideas.
Share your programs with other libraries.
- If you are hosting a program that your organization wants to make available to other libraries, consider sharing it! Check out the next section on How to Share Your Programming for more details.

Share Programming

Choose how you want to collaborate. Here are a few easy ways to start sharing:

Respond to requests for collaborators from the MECollab email listserv (Google Group emails). See the spreadsheet below for details on how you may be asked to collaborate.
Ask for collaborators over the email listserv. See the spreadsheet below for details on what type of collaborators you may want to request.

How to Collaborate with MECollab

MECollab Logos and Templates

Use either of these MECollab logos in your promotional materials (see the How to Collaborate with MECollab spreadsheet to clarify when to use them).

Use below templates, if you want. If you have a new template, email the listserv.

An orange themed Canva template for your use
more templates will be added here as we make them!

Meet Up with MECollab

Sometimes we get together. Online or off, we love to share ideas, reduce workloads and increase access to good programming. Join us!

Below are upcoming MECollab meet-ups, library tours, professional development opportunities, and other things for library programmers to participate in.

Add your event to the Meet Up with MECollab calendar by emailing Bethany at tech@bbhlibrary.org. Please include the event name and any pertinent details.

Collaborate with MECollab

Below are upcoming MECollab programs. Read through the details for each program to learn more about collaborating or publicizing the event.

Add your event to the Collaborate with MECollab calendar by emailing Bethany at tech@bbhlibrary.org. Please include host library name, library host contact info, program information (for folks to copy and paste to share the word), and link to a web post/calendar post on the host library's website.

MECollab Recorded Programming & Knowledge Shares

We don't record it all, but when we do we'll post it here. Some of these are knowledge shares for us to improve our knowledge. Other times, we record our public programs that we hosted.

MECollab YouTube Channel

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I contact just the steering committee?

Email mecollabsteering@googlegroups.com with your program proposals, questions etc.

Why do you have MECollab?
A few of us realized we could do more and better serve our patrons by cooperating and offering quality programming. We're still learning great ways to do this, but overall it works!

What are your future plans?
More collaboration! Feel free to join and let us know what you'd like to do.

I want to collaborate but don't know how to get started. How do I?
Joining the Google Group is an easy way to learn about opportunities to get involved. We're here to help each other!

Why don't we get to count statistics for our library if we help advertise the program?
Read this explanation.

Non Library Organizations—Apply to share your program with MECollab

Are your a nonprofit, a local company, or a citizen group with something amazing to share? Contact your local library to see if your program would be a good fit for one of the many MECollab programming opportunities offered throughout the year. If you're not sure that your local library is the right fit, fill out the form below and some librarian will get back to you.