Minnesota's Twelve Regional Library Systems

After moving to new library in December, the staff and Friends of the Grand Marais Public Library are continuing for refine the space.  There are still a few boxes to unpack in the back, shelves to mount on the wall, technical challenges to solve, new furniture on its' way, and landscaping will be a spring task.

The University of Minnesota University Libraries seeks visionary, strategic, and creative senior leadership for the Director of Minitex, a regional information and resource sharing organization.  Reporting to the University Librarian, the director provides administrative and programmatic leadership for a robust portfolio of services.

For more information ---

Brief job advertisement

Full job description

Throughout Janaury 2012, Charlotte Wolf, musher and veterinary technician, will do presentations on the history of Minnesota dog sledding, and offer dog sled rides at branch libraries in the Kitchigami Regional Library. Wolf is a big supporter of the few dog sled races that run around the country, like the Iditarod in Alaska and the John Beargrease race along the north shore of Lake Superior here in Minnesota. Her dreams have been realized and she is as passionate as ever about her dogs, mushing and caring for other sled dogs wherever she goes. Program attendees will learn a bit about the dogs, the equipment, the history of dog sledding in Minnesota, and the commands to direct the dogs in their trail runs, and stops. You'll then have the opportunity to ride the sled while Charlotte or one of her assistants, drives the sled, and directs the dogs. What fun on a Minnesota winter afternoon.

Click here for dates and locations of this program.

This event is made possible with funding from the State of Minnesota Legacy Amendment, Arts and Cultural Heritage fund.

New Sculpture at the Calumet Public Library

Arrowhead Library System (ALS) supported the creation and installation of three (3) small pieces created for Calumet Library earlier this year with Legacy Amendment funding. All are identified as "cast works" by the sculptor/creator, Jeffrey Kalstrom.

One piece celebrates "Abby" the Reading Education Assistance Dog (READ) that worked at the Calumet Library. A second piece depicts branches of a tree (including birds) and can be used for displays that change with the seasons. The third piece sits above the entry door to the Library and states "Calumet Library" and appears to be a section of a log, along with a wood saw.

CRPLSA visits MDE and meets Read-It the Frog

The Council of Regional Public Library Administrators (CRPLSA) were treated to a sneak preview of an upcoming reading promotion planned by Commissioner Brenda Cassellius.  In the future, as the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education travels the state, visiting schools and libraries, Dr. Cassellius will be accompanied by Read-It the Frog.  The cuddly frog will serve as a friendly early literacy champion supporting Governor Dayton’s 7-Point Plan for Excellence in Education.

CRPLSA members enjoyed an informative meeting with the Commissioner, listening to her vision for libraries as education collaborators and sharing information about the role of Minnesota’s regions.

Highlights include:

• Mark Ranum, Director - Plum Creek Library System and Acting Director at Pioneerland Library System offering examples of the vital role public libraries play in early literacy activities.

• Barbara Jauquet-Kalinoski, from Northwest Regional Library shared her experiences offering school support, both from the perspective of the regional library and a 12-year veteran of the Thief River Falls School Board.

• Ann Hutton, SELCO Executive Director, emphasized delivery – both the volume that moves within the regions as well as around the state all with a goal of making sure that information reaches people who need it regardless of the geographic challenges.

• Jim Weikum from Arrowhead Library System offered real-life examples from life-long learners working on college degrees from remote locations assisted by their local library.

• Chris Olson, MELSA Director, highlighted the diverse selection of recent Library Legacy programs and projects, as well as state collaborative ventures with the Minnesota Historical Society.

For more photos of the CRPLSA visit to MDE, click here:

Photo credits left hand picture:

Back row - left to right: Jim Weikum, Arrowhead Library System, Dayle Zelenka, Traverse des Sioux Library System, Barbara Misselt, East Central Regional Library, Mark Ranum, Plum Creek Library System and Acting Director at Pioneerland Library System, Chris Olson, MELSA Director, Marian Ridge, Kitchigami Regional Library, Kathy Fredette, Lake Agassiz Regional Library, and State Librarian, Nancy Walton

Front row - left to right: Barb Jauquet-Kalinoski, Director at the Northwest Regional Library, Commissioner Brenda Cassellius, Ann Hutton, SELCO Executive Director, Rose Wan-Mui Chu, Assistant Commissioner, and Kirsty Smith, Great River Regional Library

In the chair, holding a children's picture book --- Read-It the Frog

Photo credit right hand picture:

Commissioner Brenda Cassellius holding Read-It the Frog and Rose Wan-Mui Chu, Assistant Commissioner

Sculpture at ALS and Bike Racks in Duluth

Library Legacy projects in the Arrowhead Library System (ALS) have added a host of well-designed signage and public art at libraries throughout the region.  A new sculpture sits on the broad expanse of green space surrounding the ALS headquarters in Mountain Iron and, with homage to Lake Superior, the Duluth Public Library sports a new bike rack.

Once again Anoka County Library (ACL) has collaborated with the Coon Rapids Senior Center to provide seniors and their grandchildren with a Legacy program over MEA break with positive results.  Mary Oliver, the Library's Youth Services Manager offers this report.

45 people attended the program at the Senior Center, 30 seniors and 15 of their grandchildren.   The program was Ghosts of Anoka County and was presented by the Sarah Given, from the Anoka County Historical Society.

Many of the seniors attending the program used walkers.  One of the ladies using a walker made it a point to thank the library for providing the program at the Senior Center.  She had always wanted to go on the Ghost Walk in Anoka, but wasn’t able to handle the distance.  She couldn’t believe she could finally take the tour virtually!  She really enjoyed the program as did the rest of the audience.  The history program was 80 minutes long but the children stayed attentive and many adults stayed after the program to talk about their “ghostly” adventures.  Personally, I was intrigued by the local Anoka history that was mixed in with ghost stories.  I can’t wait to go the 7th floor of the government center for an aerial view of City Hall---I had no idea the building is shaped like a handgun and I want proof!
 
This has been a valuable collaboration for the library.  One of our goals for our Legacy funding projects was to bring our Library to unexpected places.  Many of the seniors I spoke with at the program were not library users,  but they took our hours brochure with them as well as the flyers for the upcoming history programs.

For more information about this successful collaboration, contact:

Mary Oliver, Youth Services Manager Anoka County Library (763)785-3695 x234

Minnesota Reflections is easier to use and contains many new features!

• The homepage for Minnesota Reflections now features a window that allows people to scroll through all of the contributing organization collections in this database.  

• Clicking on the collection name or on the thumbnail picture by the name will take users into the collection page. From there you may browse the individual collection. Patrons may also search either the entire collection from the homepage or search individual collections from their pages

• Zooming in on objects is now controlled by a slider above pictures, maps and document pages.  Moving around an image takes only a click and a drag of the object.  New features include built in commenting and tagging tools and easier to find information about each object.

• Visitors to Minnesota Reflections may now easily browse a pre-selected set of 18 topics. On the right side of the new homepage, below the welcome message, is a list of frequently use topics. Click on a link to go to a results page on agriculture, crime and punishment, and more.

The Minnesota Digital Library created tutorials for using the new Minnesota Reflections. Follow the links on the right side of the homepage to learn about “Browsing & Searching,” “Viewing an object,” “Special features” and “Advice on newspapers.”

In addition, the Minnesota Digital Library will be offering a live virtual overview (webinar) on the new features of Minnesota Reflections.  Watch for announcements about this webinar, or check the training page on the Minnesota Digital Library website.

The Minnesota Historical Society has proven an invaluable CRPLSA partner throughout the 2010-2011 Library Legacy collaboration and that productive partnership continues.  Recently, MHS conducted two focus groups – one for youth programmers and one for adult programmers from across the state.

The purpose of these sessions was to identify the elements of a successful program for youth and adult library audiences, and to better understand the needs and interests of those audiences as well as the librarians who serve them.

The focus group discussions illustrated the differences in library needs and services between MELSA and outstate libraries, the interest in a diversity of history topics, and an overall failure to serve the youth librarians with the current partnership.  Major recommendations from the focus groups include:

• Seasonal and audience targeted catalogs
• Nore streamlined marketing efforts
• Additional discussions on how to provide programs to MELSA libraries.

For a complete summary of the April MHS programming focus groups, click here.

The new Strategic Plan for the Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA) focuses on five Learning Services. MELSA adopted its new strategic planning document in June. With the new plan, MELSA will assist its member libraries to deliver:  Workforce skills development Lifelong learning Ready to Read Digital literacy Student support for success.

These areas will be the baseline for any new program developments for the region and will be considered as current activities are evaluated.

Help us better serve your libraries by participating in the quick survey described below.

The Minnesota Book Awards (MNBA) is seeking feedback on its programming and outreach activities. The survey takes just a few minutes to complete and will help gauge how well the Book Awards is serving the Minnesota library community and helping readers connect with local authors. The survey remains open through
Tuesday, November 1. Please click here to participate.

The Minnesota Book Awards is still accepting applications from public libraries and public schools interested in funding reimbursement for a 2012 program featuring one or more Minnesota Book Awards finalist or winning authors. Applicants may apply for up to $500, and programs can feature any finalist or winning author(s) from the Book Awards’ 24 year history.  Applications will be accepted until all funding has been allocated, although interested parties are encouraged to apply by Tuesday, November 15. More information, including the MNBA Author Program application form, is available on the MNBA website.

Thank you for your participation in and support of the Minnesota book community.

For more information contact Ann Nelson, MN Book Awards Coordinator
The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library
325 Cedar Street, Suite 555
Saint Paul, MN 55101
(651) 366-6497 – direct line
(651) 222-3242 – main line
(651) 222-1988 - fax

The Cloquet Public Library sports a new library sign incorporating public art. The sculpture was made possible through a Arrowhead Library System Library Legacy project.

Published with assistance from CRPLSA and Library Legacy funding, Kevin Clemens has a new book about Minnesota’s Carnegie libraries.  Clemens documents the history of the original 66 stately buildings built in Minnesota of which 22 are still in use as libraries.  True to the general concept of Andrew Carnegie, the buildings, then and now, inspire a love of reading and knowledge with open stacks, high ceilings and a studious environment, as well as a deep commitment by each local community.  

Carnegie Libraries of Minnesota was published by Demontreville Press and is illustrated with 425 photographs.  Libraries around Minnesota received copies of the new book for local collections.

SELCO’s travel art exhibit, easel, was installed at the University Rochester Center (URC) on September 7, 2011 for public viewing by students, faculty, and community members.  A reception and gallery talk highlighted the easel exhibit at the University Center Rochester (UCR) Gallery on September 14, 2011.  Past SEMVA Presidents Andrea Costopolous and Richard Hutton shared remarks about how the show moved from conception to reality.  Planning for this cooperative endeavor between SEMVA and SELCO began in February 2010, the first installation of the traveling art collection launched in October 2010 and the show will run through December 2011 having visited 17 locations.

For more photos from easel at URC,click here.

For more information about easel, including a videotape from SELCOtv, check the easel website.

Minnesota's Regional Library Systems have been awarded funds from Minnesota's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund (ACHF) to continue programming throughout libraries across the state. Over the last two-years, Minnesotans have enjoyed a wide variety of arts and cultural heritage programming including musical concerts, authors, historical presentations, writers' workshops and a wide variety of children's and family fun events. Without the Legacy program, many residents would have had to travel to the Twin Cities area and purchase expensive tickets to see many of the events libraries sponsored at no cost to attendees.  Through a grant from the Minnesota State Legislature, these community building events will contine.
 
Library Legacy programs are made possible through funds from Minnesota's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

As reported by Brian Strub, Communications & Government Relations Director with the Minnesota State Arts Board

On July 21, 2011, the Minnesota State Arts Board reopened following the state government shutdown. We are pleased to be back at work and are ready to serve your needs and answer your questions. We regret any inconvenience the shutdown may have caused our constituents.

Community Arts Schools and Conservatories deadline changed
The previously stated July 22 deadline for the Community Arts Schools and Conservatories grant application deadline has been extended to August 31, 2011.

Application deadlines for FY 2012 may be adjusted
Grant application deadlines for fiscal year 2012 that are currently posted in on the Minnesota State Arts Board Web site, under the deadlines/calendar tab may be adjusted. Any revised deadlines will be posted online soon.

Reminder, reports are due July 31
Please note that all final reports and any required statistical reports that were due in July 2011 are still due by the dates indicated in grantee contracts. This impacts in particular those grantees with statistical reports due July 31, 2011. Those reports are still due on that date. Please see your individual contract for specific reporting requirements and deadlines.

SELCO’s proudly announces the completion of Public Art at the Library.  Undertaken as part of this year’s Library Legacy activities, five READ bike racks were installed.  Locations include the SELCO office and the Rochester and Spring Grove Public Libraries.

		SELCO The first rack was installed at the SELCO office in November 2010 and served a dual purpose.  First and most important to provide a bike rack for those (albeit infrequent) biking visitors and secondly to offer a visual prototype of the steel hardware that would be available for library installations.  SELCO’s READ bike rack was the final detail of the 2010 remodeling job to shift the dual front doors and make the entrance under the long covered approach to the building.  The adaptation allows staff and visitors cover from the weather rather than dashing between raindrops or snowflakes. |
		Rochester The Rochester Public Library installed three bike racks in June 2011.  The READ bike racks sparkle in a range of colors --- red, blue, and green.  The Library offered a complimentary presentation focusing on Bike to Work Day. Click here for more photos of the READ bike racks at the Rochester Public Library.
		Spring Grove The Spring Grove Public Library installed a single red READ bike rack.  The Library also displayed information on eco-friendly projects and books, as well as craft projects using recycled-items. More photos of the READ bike rack and the Library's informational display are on SELCO's Flickr page.

The genesis of the Library Legacy Public Art at the Library project is the result of recommendations from library directors and community residents interested in blending functionality and public art.  SELCO’s FY 2011 project goals included installing small pieces of public art at libraries and offering architecturally distinctive, high security bike racks.  

DERO, a Minneapolis-based company, was selected as the bike rack fabricator.  The company offers works of public sculpture that are easy to install and use, and whose creations include flexibility to libraries, riders, and the community.  In conjunction with the installation and unveiling of the new bike racks, each participating library agreed host a program or series of programs on such topics as:  public art, architecture, green environments, or healthy living practices.

SELCO's Library Legacy program, Public Art at the Library, was funded in part or in whole with money from Minnesota's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Live at the Library featured local artists displaying, presenting, and demonstrating their craft, as well as encouraging participating by library patrons.  Hosted at each of the nine Anoka County Library locations, Live at the Library highlighted the talents of local artists in a countywide celebration that, hopefully with continued Library Legacy funding, will be an annual event and grow each year.

View a 30--second Live at the Library promotional video

View a 4-minute video montage of the Anoka County Library‘s Live at the Library

The Babbitt Public Library hosts new artwork through ACHF Library Legacy funding. from the Arrrowhead Library System.  Two new collages depict children’s favorite characters from their favorite books.  For more details and and a photos,click here.

More Library Legacy public art funded by Arrowhead Library System.

Duluth artist, Sarah Brokke, recently completed original work on a mural at the Hoyt Lakes Library, a member of the Arrowhead Library System.  Her artistic theme includes families, reading, and the beauty of northern landscapes.  Click here for a full look at the mural with details.  A large glass sculpture graces the opposite wall above a library alcove and brightens the environment as seen below.

The Viking Library System (VLS) in partnership with the Kaddatz Galleries offered “art history for real people” through their Bluestocking Salon series.  The guest speaker for 15 programs was Lorene McIntosh, a Minnesota artist and art educator who works from her CanvasDancer Studio in Fergus Falls.

From January to May, the five public libraries in Alexandria, Fergus Falls, Morris, Perham, and Wheaton, each hosted three seminars covering the most influential periods in art history: Greek and Roman, Renaissance, and Impressionist.  The project name, Bluestocking Salon, combines the historic concepts of Victorian era literary study and the gathering of people for intellectual conversation.

Print and share the event brochure.

Lake Agassiz Regional Library (LARL) is pleased to announce award-winning poet Mark Vinz will read his poetry accompanied by renowned jazz musician David Ferreira on keyboards and Jeremy Cahill on bass.  The LARL Events webpage offers more details.

Print & Share the Event Poster!

Tuesday, June 28
3 p.m. -  Twin Valley Living Center
6 p.m. -  Halstad Living Center

The Legacy of Elmer L. Andersen celebrates the life and contributions of Elmer L. Andersen, whose participation in the Princeton community was instrumental in the creation of the library.  The exhibit consists of a series of ten 16-inch painted and glazed earthenware medallions, created by local artist Amy Sabrina.  The exhibit will open at the Princeton Area Library tomorrow evening, June 22, with musical entertainment provided at 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. and a program at 6:00.  The Friends of the Princeton Area Library and the Princeton Area Library Society will host the hors d’oevres reception.  Click here for a copy of the event flyer.

The Legacy of Elmer L. Andersen exhibit was wholly paid for with Legacy Funds.

Viking Library System (VLS) went live with OverDrive eBooks and audio books in May.  All 11 member libraries and the bookmobile voted to join forces to offer the service throughout the region.  

After final training and changes to the website, VLS launched this new service with a low-key opening and then offered a major announcement a couple of weeks later.

Founded in 1996 and based in St. Paul, Minnesota, The Rose Ensemble entertains with music that strives to stir the emotions, challenge the mind and lift the spirit.  They will be performing in McGregor and Cambridge this June.  The dates/times of the And Glory Shone Around: Early American Hymns, Ballads and Spiritual Songs programs are:

• Monday, June 20 at 7:00 pm in the McGregor School Auditorium

• Tuesday, June 21 at 7:00 pm in the Richard G. Hardy Performing Arts Center of the Cambridge-Isanti High School

The Viking Library System (VLS) hosted CLIMB Theatre to present Return to Honor.  The play depicts the challenges of post-deployment life during World War II.  The performances ran from April 30 through May 7 in seven VLS communities.  Print and share the event poster.

• April 30 at the Pelican Rapids Public Library and the Wheaton American Legion Post 80

•  May 1 at the American Legion Post 29 in Morris and in Barrett

•  May 6 at the New York Mills City Hall Ballroom

•  May 7 at the Fergus Theatre in Fergus Falls
  
  

Scott Murphy, Artist, standing in front of the new mural painted with Library Legacy funding from the Arrowhead Library System

Artist's work is one for the books by Lisa Baumann as printed in the June 11, 2011 Duluth News Tribune

A new pop of literary color has come to the library plaza in downtown Duluth. In the form of a giant bookshelf, Proctor artist Scott Murphy´s 23.5-foot tall "Books on the Plaza" mural was dedicated Friday by Duluth Mayor Don Ness. "The thing I love about it is that it features a number of local artists," Ness said of the book titles featured on the mural. "It´s part of our heritage and culture. It´s fantastic." Murphy said he was excited to work on a large-scale project again, having spent 17 years painting billboards. He came up with the idea to paint books on the central pillar on the plaza after the original idea to paint on one of the flat walls nearby wasn´t feasible. "That wall had moisture problems," Murphy said. "So we moved it to the rounded pillar, which was a really nice surface." The pillar outside the library located at 520 W. Superior St. now is adorned with the spines of 18 books. Titles range from Dr. Seuss´ "Green Eggs and Ham" to an organic gardening book by local author Ellen Sandbeck called "Eat More Dirt" to literary classic "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger. The books depicted are clearly from a library, complete with Dewey Decimal System numbers used by libraries to classify books. Murphy said his main goal for the design was to make the book titles legible from a distance. Up close, Murphy wanted the mural to look "brushy" and obvious that it was hand- painted. "There´s so much machine-made stuff in the world," he said.

"I think it´s comforting to see something made by a person." The project took Murphy about five weeks to complete starting in May. He used about nine gallons of paint and several coats of UV protectant. Besides working in some inclement weather, selecting the books proved to be the biggest challenge for all involved, according to Nancy Eaton, a community services representative for the library. Library staff, Murphy and members of the public had a say in the titles. They chose books that showed the range of the library´s collections, books with local significance and books that had interesting spines. Murphy had final say if he didn´t think a book would work and on the order of the books. Funding came in the form of a $12,000 grant from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. This money was made available when Minnesota voters approved a three-eighths-of-a-percent sales tax increase in 2008 to support environmental programs, parks, the arts and cultural heritage initiatives. No city money was spent on the painting. State Rep. Mary Murphy of Hermantown, who serves on the Legacy Funding committee that decides how to spend the sales tax money, said she wanted to make sure some of the funds went to libraries. "Libraries are the centers and heart of communities," she said. "We want to encourage the use of this plaza and this will help," Ness added. Libraries in Babbitt and Calumet also received the same amount of funding and are using it to create public art at their sites.

The SELCO Library Tour traveled south and east on Thursday, June 2 to visit Library Legacy art locations.  The visiting group included SELCO staff, members of the SELCO/SELS Board and library representatives.

Beginning the day at the SELCO office, the touring group visited the Mabel and Spring Grove Public Libraries.  Doc’s Blue Moose hosted the group for lunch before moving to the Bluff Country Artists Gallery.  With SELCO’s traveling art exhibit, easel (Experience Art in Southeastern Libraries) on display at the Gallery and at the library, the touring group was able to encounter a Legacy program at the local level.  The round-trip loop concluded with a stop at the Chatfield Public Library, one of the libraries featured in the new Libraries of Minnesota book published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press.

On Tuesday evening, May 24, 2011, more than 75 people gathered at the Gaylord Public Library in the Traverse des Sioux Library System for the premiere screening of the TVbyGirls Gaylord film.  The Sibley East Junior High students collaborated with elders from the community to document the town's icons. This included the main street, the library, the county courthouse, the lake, the roller rink and the beloved swimming pool. It was a great night to showcase the student's projects and all their learned skills. It also showed the past, present and future of these community places. Congratulations to all the students and mentors!

MELSA offers a a touring exhibit, They Played for the Love of the Game: Adding to the Legacy of Black Baseball.

MELSA met with staff from the Ramsey County Historical Society (RCHS) last summer to explore collaboration using Legacy funds. There have been a few interpretive programs at Ramsey County Library, and our larger collaboration is for MELSA libraries to host a traveling exhibit that is based on an exhibition at the Landmark Center in 2010.

MELSA used Legacy funds to have RCHS fabricate text and image panels that are easy to transport to any MELSA library that wants to host the exhibit. The exhibit curator Frank White and RCHS staffer Mollie Spillman consult with the host library regarding the best ways to display the panels. And Frank uses his extensive baseball contacts to curate and present public programs. MELSA also provides collection support for the host library to purchase recommended titles on the topic to be added to the host library collection for the public to read more about black baseball in Minnesota. We’ve been in conversation with the Minnesota Twins to link to the exhibit on their website. The public has responded enthusiastically to the exhibit.

Get ready for some artistic fun as Steamroller Art returns to all seven of Northwest Regional Libraries. Bring out the whole family for this outdoor event featuring a small steamroller that makes prints for both kids and adults. ArtOrg is a traveling art team whose events are popular state-wide. Most artists, from children to senior citizens, are photographed with their finished lithographs. The smiles on their faces prove the effectiveness of this program.

The ArtOrg Thousand Print Summer 2011 is coming to a library near you soon. When guests arrive, they check in, get their supplies, and sit down under the tent to cut up materials to make a personal printing block. The ArtOrg team takes the finished block and rolls it up with ink. Each inky block gets put on the runway with a piece of paper on top. At this point, they start up the steamroller and roll over it. Once it is thoroughly inked, the artist peels back the paper to reveal a wonderful art print, their very own piece of original Steamroller Art.

For a downloadable poster to print, click here.

Wednesday, June 15
3-7 pm – Greenbush Public Library

Thursday, June 16
2-6 pm – Warren Public Library

Friday, June 17
11-3 pm – Red Lake Falls Public Library

Saturday, June 18
10-2 pm – Thief River Falls Floyd B. Olson Park, Gazebo Parking Lot

Monday, June 20
10-2 pm – Roseau Public Library

Tuesday, June 21
11-3 pm – Hallock Gazebo park

Wednesday, June 22
11-3 pm – Warroad Public Library, City Office Parking Lot

Like many others around the state, SELCO staff members, are contacting Legacy Conference Committee Members and requesting a continued appropriation of Arts and Cultural Heritage (ACHF) funding be dedicated to libraries.  Here is a sample letter from the southeast.

Please retain House approach for Library Legacy appropriation.

As a member of the Legacy Conference Committee, I urge you to approve the House language regarding the distribution of Arts and Cultural Heritage Legacy funding for libraries.  During the past two years, libraries worked closely with community organizations to host a wide variety of programs.  Many of these events were accomplished with just a few hundred dollars and lots of local enthusiasm.  

SELCO (the regional public library system) allocated 48% of its Legacy appropriation to a competitive grant program.  This approach allowed local creativity to shine.  Grant awards ranged from $145 to license public performance rights for a community gardening movie night at the Houston Nature Center collaborating with the Houston Public Library to $47,966 awarded to the Great River Shakespeare Festival that cooperated with 15 public libraries.  SELCO’s grant process is in place and will be easy to continue into the future.

Public discussions in each of the 11 counties framed the region-wide endeavors and SELCO responded.  As a result, the regional library worked with the Minnesota Historical Society to digitize newspapers in four counties, published two poetry anthologies, partnered with SEMVA and installed a traveling art exhibit in 17 communities, and hosted Minnesota authors in libraries, schools, and coffee shops.

Because SELCO works so closely with libraries throughout the region, the regional library moved quickly to roll out both the competitive grant program and the regional projects.  I urge you to continue the distribution of Legacy dollars to the regional library systems.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Ann Hutton, SELCO/SELS Executive Director

A heartfelt story from East Central telling a Library Legacy story that will bring tears to your eyes and demonstrates the importance of continuing an Arts and Cultural Heritage appropriation to the regional library systems.

I am asking you to leave the formula for Legacy funding for public libraries as it is.  Let me tell you a story about a Legacy funded program that our small rural library presented in April.

Through Legacy funding, we were able to present, "Happy Days are Here Again:  A Musical Review of the Greatest Generation" in conjunction with the MN Historical Society.  42 people attended this Saturday afternoon program.  Among them was a couple that is in their 90's, Doug and Betty.  Doug has the beginnings of dementia.  I kept an eye on them out of the corner of my eye, and several times during the program, Doug leaned over to Betty and sang the words to her.  After the program, Doug came up to the performers and to me, and said, "This is too wonderful for words!  I knew the words to every one of the songs you performed".  There were tears in his eyes.  

This type of programming means so much to rural library users.  We simply could not afford to do it on our own, nor could we afford to hire grant writers that would be necessary to compete with larger libraries for the funding.

Sincerely,
Mary Beth Woodrow, Aitkin Branch Librarian
Aitkin Public Library
110 1st Ave NE
Aitkin, MN  56431
218-927-2339

The following letter written by Ken Behringer, the Dakota County Library Director was sent to members of the County's legislative delegation.  The text is shared here with permission.
 

Please hold to original House position on Legacy Funds for regional public library systems

I need your help addressing the Senate version of a bill announced this week that would significantly limit public libraries’ access to Legacy funds. I’m  asking you to retain in conference committee the House proposal to directly dedicate Legacy funds to regional public library systems.

The two most noteworthy problems with the Senate changes are 1) that regional public library systems would be required to compete in a competitive grant process for future Legacy funds,  and 2) would be required to do so under a program administered by the State Arts Board.

Our library staffing levels are down by more than 20 positions. In fact Dakota County government has returned to 2001 staffing levels, even though our population has grown by 50,000. We know we’re not alone. Filling out extensive forms for a competitive grant process is going to take time we’d rather dedicate to serving our residents. Some of the smaller libraries in the state will simply find it impossible to do. One of the values of using regional public library systems as conduits for Legacy funds is that it opens up program opportunities the 360 public libraries in every corner of the state.

I also can’t help but believe  that setting up the guidelines, application forms/procedures, evaluation processes, contract documents and other aspects of a State Arts Board-run program will just mean delays into getting programs to Minnesota residents.

As we have discussed in the past, the library community understands your position on limiting costs for single, high-visibility programs and in the MELSA area we have built safeguards into the system to see that this expectation is met.

In order for the Library participation in the Legacy program to move forward efficiently and with the least bureaucracy, I urge you to retain in conference committee the House proposal to dedicate Legacy funds directly to regional public library systems.

Please let me know if you have questions or concerns. Thanks for your time and interest.

Ken Behringer, Director
Dakota County Library

The following letter was sent to the members of the Legacy Conference Committee.  Diane Moench speaks from her heart and from a position of experience.  She serves as a Member of the Rochester Public Library Board and the SELCO/SELS Board of Directors.  During the current biennium, she has been an active participant on the SELCO Library Legacy Review Committee which is responsible for reviewing and approving SELCO competitive Library Legacy grant awards.

I am writing to share with you my unique perspective on an issue on which you will be acting because I believe that my perspective will be useful to you.  I have lived and worked in Rochester, MN for 38 years.  For most of those years, I was an Executive Project Manager at IBM.   I am now retired and in addition to being an adjunct professor in Business and Workforce Education at RCTC, I serve on several boards.  The experience that I believe will be useful to you relates to my work on the Southeastern Minnesota Library Cooperative (SELCO) Legacy committee.   This committee consists of volunteer representatives from each county in southeastern Minnesota and within the membership includes members of SEMAC and a Historical Society.   

In the past two years, the members of the SELCO staff and the Legacy committee have worked to distribute the library portion of the Library Legacy funds.   Distributing money is a very gratifying job but, as you well know, distributing money is work.  The committee has spent many hours working together over the last biennium.  We worked to improve our grant process.  Our goal was to have the information we needed to make an informed decision which best utilized the money while ensuring that the process  was not overly onerous for the grant writers.  We did not want the process to preclude any library or organization in partnership with a library from requesting funds.   Many libraries especially smaller libraries do not have professional grant writers on staff and with community and county funding stressed by the economy many do not have the funds to hire them.   Looking at the data from our last quarter grant reviews, 19% of the grants we reviewed were for amounts under $500 and another 24% were for amounts between $500 and $1000.  So, we are often able to make a difference with a small amount of funding.  We have been able to make the process manageable for even small grant requests.  With all grant applicants, we stressed the program results documentation by linking their final payment to the final report.  We consolidated the final reports and made the resulting documents available to both houses of the legislature as an accounting of our activities.  The positive feedback on the programs has been very rewarding and the committee is proud of what we accomplished in southeastern Minnesota with the Library Legacy funds in this biennium.  Because we know libraries and in particular the libraries in southeastern Minnesota, because we have ties and relationships with the libraries and librarians of southeastern Minnesota, and because we have experience and a process that is working, we believe that SELCO and the SELCO Legacy Committee is in a better position than the State Arts Board to distribute the southeastern Minnesota Library Legacy funds in the next biennium.   We can hit the ground running while they will have to build an infrastructure and process.  (As an aside, a significant amount of pro bono work was done not only by the volunteers on the committee but also by the SELCO staff in support of Library Legacy work.  It would be a shame to lose these free resources, their unique knowledge, and their energy in the next biennium.

I have struggled as I have written this letter with how to address the elephant in the room --the Neil Gaiman experience.  The minute I heard this story, I knew this would hurt everyone connected with Library legacy funding and it has.  It was the wrong but humans make mistakes especially when they are doing something for the first time.  The really important thing is to learn from our mistakes.  Project Managers spend large amounts of time understanding lessons learned and how to use them to improve future projects and processes.  Let us not make another mistake by using this lesson learned as justification to walk away from processes that are basically sound instead of making process improvements to include checks and balances on large grant awards.   I truly believe that the audit that I am told is occurring will exonerate the distribution of Library Legacy funds with this one exception.   

Please promote the House position on Library Legacy funding.  

Respectfully,
Diane Moench

The following points were prepared by Elaine Keefe, the lobbyist for MLA and MEMO.  She has used them in her discussions with House and Senate leadership regarding the proposed change in Senate language shifting the Library Legacy funds to the State Arts Board.

• Libraries across the state are struggling to meet heavy demand for library services while coping with reduced budgets and smaller staffs.  They can't afford to divert staff time to writing competitive grant applications.    

• A competitive grant program will put small rural libraries at a significant disadvantage.  The current distribution method ensures that libraries in all parts of the state get a share of the funds.    

• Even some of our larger library systems cannot devote staff time to writing grant applications. Both the Anoka County and Dakota County library systems told me that if this becomes a competitive grant program they will not apply because they cannot afford the staff time.  The director of the Kitchigami Regional Library System (serving Beltrami, Hubbard, Cass, Crow Wing and Hubbard Counties) wrote," KRLS does not have the staff to write unsuccessful grant applications for the wide range of relatively small cost individual region wide and local library programs that we held in the last biennium.  I would have no choice but to recommend to the board that we bow out of this."

• In the past two years the regional libraries provided many micro grants to many of their libraries. For example, the regional library system in the metro area estimates that "50% of our contracts per individual program are $250 or less, 30% are $300-500, 15% are $500-1,000 and 5% over $1,000."   It would not be cost-effective for them to apply to the State Arts Board for such small amounts.  

• A competitive grant program will raise administrative costs both for the state and for libraries.  

• There will be no legacy funded programs in libraries for several months, perhaps even a year, while the Arts Board develops criteria for the grants, establishes an application process, evaluates the applications and awards the grants.

At nearly the 11th hour in this legislative session, the Senate author of the Library Legacy bill radically shifted his approach for continued funding.  Rather than have funds allocated to the 12 regions (the practice of this biennium with each region identifying programs that meet local needs), the Senate bill proposes the State Arts Board receive the library appropriation.  The Arts Board would then manage a statewide competitive program.  While the Senate author is trying to correct a perceived problem, the well-written Op Ed piece by George Lattimer and Peter Pearson, from The Friends of the St. Paul Public Library, points out there was one small problem and a host of huge successes.  Click here for their comments printed in today's, May 16, 2011, Star Tribune  “Short Takes”.

The following is a MALF e-alert.

Most of you know that two years ago Minnesota citizens voted in favor of increasing the state sales tax to support the environment and the arts. This sales tax is referred to as the Legacy Amendment and is in place for the next 25 years.  A number of people from the library community worked to get libraries included in the legislation so that $3 million annually of the Legacy sales tax revenue would be dedicated  for library arts and culture programming.  

Right now, the dollars allotted to library cultural events and programming are distributed through the regional library system.  This system guarantees that every library has access to the funds.  Many of you have probably had a program presented in your local library as the result of this system.  But a change in the way those funds are distributed is being considered: the change would require libraries to write competitive grant proposals and to receive their funding through the State Arts Board.

For large, urban libraries that already employ grantwriters, this may not be a significant problem.  But for small, rural libraries that are already understaffed and struggling to provide services to their communities, the change could be disastrous.  Grantwriting requires experienced writers, and no small library has additional money to spend on writers.

MALF urges all of its members to contact the legislators listed below and to ask that they NOT change the current fund distribution system.  Rural libraries will suffer.

Contact information for these two individuals is:
 
sen.bill.ingebrigtsen@senate.mn     651-297-8063

rep.dean.urdahl@house.mn      651-296-4344

The following letter was written by Audrey Betcher, Rochester Public Library Director, supporting an Arts and Cultural Heritage appropriation to the regional public library systems.

I am writing to request that the administration of the legacy funding for libraries remain at the regional library systems.  Our regional system, SELCO, has done a great deal of work to create a system that works for all the public libraries in the region.  The system uses local input, allows innovation, encourages partnerships, yet is accessible to every library no matter its size or staffing levels.  
 
The goal of the legacy funds is to bring the arts to all areas of the state, and no one does that better than public libraries.  The current administration of the legacy funds for libraries is working efficiently and it guarantees that all citizens benefit.  The proposed changes will increase the administration costs and will make the program less accessible to many public libraries.
 
Thank you for your work on this important bill.
 
Sincerely,
Audrey Betcher, Director
Rochester Public Library

With geocaching growing in popularity, Northwest Regional Library (NWRL) collaborated with area state parks to offer a geocaching library program to children. Four mystery stories were developed and children simply “solve” the mystery through a geocaching outing.  They simply check out a GPS and copy of the story from NWRL Branch Libraries before they head out. Staff is currently visiting classrooms and Boy Scout/Girl Scouts clubs to market the program.  Click here for a copy of the brochure designed for kids and adults.