Through the Power of MEL

I have long been a fan of Michigan Electronic Library (MEL) for several reasons:

1. It connects you with so many resources within and outside a drivable distance from where you live.
2. You can find all sorts of things on their website (mel.org).
3. It is a great option if you cannot find what you are looking for at your library and/or you don't want to spend the money buying that material.

Yes, it has the power to get you many materials within 2-4 weeks time, but perhaps you are unaware of MEL's other resources. Powered by MEL, you can do so much more than simply request materials for you to pick up at your local library. If you visit our website pdl.michlibrary.org, and select the "eResearch and Research" tab at the top of the page, you can explore more options that are supported by MEL.

Options such as MyHeritage allows you to look up historical documents associated with a person, or you can look for an old, obscure newspaper with Newspaper Source Plus. Additionally, EBSCO eBooks Public Library Collection can be used to find full-text magazines and reference books. This is particularly handy because you can pull up an interesting magazine or reference from anywhere that has internet!

I found the Auto Repair Source to be particularly helpful as I have always bought used cars and doing maintenance or troubleshooting them has not been my forte. MasterFILE is an interesting resource for finding businesses or individuals using specific criteria, so if you have been searching for something or someone, this might be a handy tool to take advantage of.

Novelist Plus is a resource similar to GoodReads as a source for finding your next great read. Simply by typing keywords, title, author, or anything similar you can find a book you've read and enjoyed in the past. Once you have found that book, you can choose between similar titles or authors, and Novelist will give you a concise list of books for you to try based on that search criteria.

If you're into researching or looking for another way to find information or particular materials, then try MEL's list of resources. It's powerful and free!