State Library Services (SLS) is seeking temporary help with the second year of our pilot data collection on school libraries. This survey effort is led by State Library Services with participation from library support organizations throughout the state.

SLS requires help to coordinate the collection, cleaning, and analysis of the survey data. 

In this role, you will:

• Organize and monitor lists of survey recipients and responses,
• Follow up with survey respondents and non-respondents,
• Manage data exports, deduplication and cleanup for data accuracy,
• Communicate with team members regarding data management and reporting,
• Assist with analysis and publication of datasets.

This position is needed from November 2024 through January 2025 for an estimated 10 to 15 hours per week. This is a contract position with one-time payment of up to $5,000 at the completion of the project.

Interested? Even a little? Please send an email to Verena Getahun by Friday, October 25.

State Library Services at the Minnesota Department of Education has contracted with Library 2.0 through June 2025 to provide all Minnesota library staff with free access to the “Safe Library” set of webinars.

The set includes over 60 one-hour webinars covering topics on safety and security in libraries, facilitated by Steve Albrecht – author of The Safe Library: Keeping Users, Staff, and Collections Secure – and other expert guests.

To access the webinars, each library worker will need to create a Library 2.0 account and indicate that they are part of the “Minnesota Librarians” group. Detailed instructions are available on the State Library Services website.

Once you have followed the instructions to join Library 2.0, you can view the recorded Safe Library webinars and special programs.

We want to hear what you think of these trainings! After you watch each webinar, please fill out an evaluation. This gives you an option to be sent a certificate of completion for that webinar, and also allows us to track the popularity of individual webinar topics. To fill out the evaluation, choose Certificates from the Webinars tab on the main Library 2.0 site.

If you have questions or comments, please email Verena Getahun.

Ever wonder how many libraries in Minnesota have a bookmobile? Or which library spends the most on e-books? Or how many elementary schools in your district have a school library?

With a little bit of sorting and filtering, you can find the answers in recently published datasets on the State Library Services website.

Data from the 2023 Minnesota Public Library Annual Report is available on the Library Statistics page, under Annual Data Files.

Data from the 2023-24 School Library Status Reports is available to download from the School Libraries page.

The Brazelton Touchpoints Center is hosting a series of virtual conversations this fall, called Communities Strengthening Themselves. Through conversations with a range of community members, this free webinar series explores unique visions, wisdom, and resources that are indispensable to addressing challenges children, families, and communities face.

Each webinar lasts one hour followed by a 30-minute Q&A session with parent panelists.

Dates: October 15, November 12, and December 10, 2024

Time: 2-3:30 p.m. Central

Register to attend the October 15 conversation, "Nurturing Creativity in Challenging Circumstances." Can't attend the live webinars? Register to receive access to the recordings upon registration.

LiveMore ScreenLess is launching a 2024-25 cohort of school media specialists and youth librarians to become certified digital well-being resource specialists.

LiveMore ScreenLess (LMSL) is a Minnesota-based nonprofit dedicated to equipping and supporting leaders with sustainable digital well-being practices for and with young people in their community.

For the 2024-25 school year, LiveMore ScreenLess is offering scholarships to gain a Digital Well-being Resource Specialist Certification through 20 hours of training and engagement in a community of practice. As a digital well-being resource specialist, you will:

• Understand digital well-being and the practices that promote it,
• Learn practical strategies to create spaces where young people feel heard and respected,
• Become equipped to use LMSL resources for sustainable digital well-being practices,
• Facilitate digital well-being conversations and Digital Well-being 101 workshops.

Sign up for a scholarship today!

Trainings begin in November 2024, and CEUs are available.

All U.S. public libraries are invited to participate in the 2024 Public Library Staff Survey. The Public Library Association (PLA) is fielding this survey to better understand library staff roles and representation, hiring and retention practices, and goals and activities aimed at creating a welcoming environment for staff and community members of all backgrounds and abilities in public libraries nationwide.

Libraries that complete this year’s survey will be entered into a drawing to win group registration for a live or on-demand fee-based PLA webinar in 2025 (up to a $237 value).

To complete the survey, log into your library's free Benchmark account. The survey closes Saturday, December 14. If you have questions or need help accessing your library's Benchmark account, please email plabenchmark@ala.org.

Survey results will be released next summer via summary report, conference presentations, and online webinar. Each past years’ survey report spotlights Results for Action, providing resources and illustrating how and why the data collected from these national surveys can be applied to and benefit your library. Visit the PLA Surveys and Data page to learn more.