Who ya gonna call?

Ghostbusters? Or . . . .who does the library, information source for communities, call when they need assistance? The (paraphrased) mission of our regional library is to “. . . foster a seamless network of library services, promote cooperation among members, . . . and to foster collaboration and communication among the members.” As I review my calendar of regional activities for the last couple of weeks, I see an illustration of the mission statement in action and the value of our regional library system. Here are some of the things I’ve been doing with libraries in the region:

• Jennah, the media specialist at Goodhue School, asked for advice for her summer project, remodeling and re-arranging the media center. We introduced her to a seasoned media specialist from another region, who is well-experienced to offer consulting advice. Additionally we coordinated the collection of advice from other libraries in our region about moving shelves and installing new carpeting.
  
• In Northfield, Lynne, the public library director, and I met with the staff at the Northfield History Center and invited them to become a regional library member, thereby facilitating collaborative ventures with their local counterparts as well as other historical archives in the region.
  
• At Albert Lea Public Library, Peggy and Sarah discussed and demonstrated their use of reading program and blogging software and other library programs. I will be able to relate what I learned from their experiences to other libraries with similar needs.
  
• The Minnesota Digital Library Annual Meeting was informative and inspiring as we are considering implementation of a project to assist libraries and history archives to digitize historical newspapers and documents.
  
• At the brand new Rochester branch of Minnesota Business College I met with Rachel and Lee. They are eager to join the regional library to network with other libraries in the area and participate in training. We also discussed options for them to participate in delivery service for resource sharing.
  
• Erin from the University of Minnesota Experiment in Rural Cooperation called and invited me to meet with her. They have a collection of books they have gathered to support their project and would like us to facilitate their sharing the books with libraries in the region.
  
• At Spring Grove Public Library I assisted the library director, Millie, with problems she was having with her brand new blog. Then I got to help senior citizens attending a Senior Techie class, part of an LSTA funded regional training project.

Wow! It’s been a busy couple weeks full of very rewarding visits with libraries. But really, this is what regional libraries do all the time – just another day at the office ;^)