OLA Report

The Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor released its evaluation report on Public Libraries.

SAMMIE Seeks Director

February 28, 2011 -- The SAMME - SW Area Multicounty Multitype Interlibrary Exchange nine member Board seeks an Executive Director to lead an 18 county multitype library cooperative with 197 members. The successful candidate must posses an ability to envision and promote the role of the library cooperative into the future. For a complete copy of the job ad, click here.

SAMMIE Planning Committee Recommendations

January 21, 2011 -- SAMMIE's seven-member Planning Committee submitted their final report and recommendations to the SAMMIE Governing Board in December 2010. During their study from July - November 2010, the Committee considered the following proposals and identified the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Proposals and their Strengths/Weaknesses

Transfer administrative and management duties to a Regional Public Library System

Plum Creek Regional Public Library system - expressed interest

Pioneerland Regional Public Library System - does not have interest at this time

Maintain position "as is" with a new hire (same location, same job description)

Rewrite position description and move SAMMIE headquarters to another collaborative location

Southwest Minnesota State University

Southwest/West Central Service Cooperative.

Based on the information gathered, the Planning Committee recommended the following course of action to the SAMMIE Governing Board:

Rewrite the SAMMIE Director position description

RE: more emphasis on school library work

Plan to move forward with a shared space with either SW/WC or SMSU

Negotiate with one or both (SW/WC and/or SMSU) to see what arrangements can be made for sharing of space, services, etc.

Move forward with hiring a new director as soon as the position description is re-written.

For a complete copy of the SAMMIE Planning Committee report to the SAMMIE governing board, click here.

LARL NWRL RFP

December 8, 2010 -- The Lake Aggassiz and Northwest Regional Libraries are requesting bids to conduct a re-organizational study with the purpose of finding if the two systems could be reorganized into one entity. Both regional libraries are consolidated public library systems located in northwest Minnesota. For more details and to view a copy of the RFP, click here .

ECRL Gathers Board Info

November 3, 2010 -- As the East Central Regional Library (ECRL) Board looks at ways to reduce administrative costs and as it considers reducing meeting frequency, Barbara Misselt, Director, collected information from the other regions. For a copy of the ECRL Board Survey as collected in 2010, click here.

LARL and NWRL Study

November 2, 2010 -- Lake Agassiz Regional Library (LARL) reports that approval was given at the LARL August Executive Board Meeting to work with Northwest Regional Library (NWRL) in exploring possible joint efforts and/or reorganization through a study and evaluation of both regions. The study would include the impact of any proposed changes on each region. System Directors, Barbara Jauquet-Kalinoski (NWRL) and Kathy Fredette (LARL) are currently working on a Request for Proposal (RFP) that outlines the study and what would be involved. They've also contacted Nancy Walton, Acting State Librarian, and Jym Wroblewski, LSTA Coordinator, at the Minnesota Department of Education, State Library Service to see if the project would be eligible for LSTA funding.

TdS Conducts Regional Discussions

October 29, 2010 -- The Traverse des Sioux Library System (TdS) Executive Director conducted informational sessions around the region to respond to questions about the proposed merger of the multitype system, SMILE, and TdS.

To review the Merger document, click here.

To review the proposed bylaws for a new merged system, click here.

PLS Upcoming Study

October 22, 2010 -- Over the next year and half, Pioneerland Library System (PLS) will be undertaking a number of major projects. With the anticipated retirement of its director in early 2012, Pioneerland will be conducting a study to determine the best administrative structure for its future needs. Options to be considered include but not limited to:

Maintain the current administrative structure
Seek an outsource administrative contract
Contract with Plum Creek Library System (PCLS) for administrative services
Merge Plum Creek Library and Pioneerland administrative and headquarter functions
Consider other regional administrative alliances (Viking Library System (VLS), Great River Regional Library (GEEL), etc.)
Others options yet to be identified.

CRPLSA Endorses OLA Recommendations

May 5, 2010 -- The Council of Public Library endorses the four recommendations and in a short statement outlines the key factors that need to be considered when implementing local plans.

A path of transition from multitype to regional library system listing responsibilities required to carry out the plan for both entities.
A specific method of receiving and tracking funding and expenditures to insure the financial separation of the funds allocated to each type of system.
A timeline with a definite deadline for completing the plan.
Final approval of each plan by the Minnesota Department of Education.

State Library Council Endorses OLA Recommendations

The State Library Advisory Council released its position paper on the Minnesota Office of Legislative Auditor's Report on Public Libraries. The Council, comprised of appointees from around the state representing Minnesota's Congressional districts, endorsed the four OLA recommendations and cited specific conditions for their successful implementation. The Council also focused on a number of deficient findings affecting public libraries for which the OLA did not go so far as to offer a recommended remedial path. These include:

The State Library's inability to plan
The inequity between levels of local support
The inadequate staffing at the Library for the Braille and Talking Book Library.

Lisa Finsness, Chair of the State Library Advisory Council, testified before the House Cultural and Outdoor Resources Finance Division on Monday, April 19, 2010 offering the Advisory Council's support of the initial OLA recommendations and asked for additional attention to the OLA's other findings.

MDE Response to OLA Recommendations

On March 12, Minnesota Department of Education Commissioner, Alice Seagren offered an agency response to the general recommendations from the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor's Report on Public Libraries. The following is an excerpt from the OLA Report summarizing that response:

In a letter dated March 12, 2010, Minnesota Commissioner of Education Alice Seagren wrote that the department "is in agreement with the recommendations and will work with the Legislature to facilitate" eliminating multitype library cooperation systems and transferring their function and funding to the regional public library systems. She also indicated that State Library Services will implement the remaining three recommendations. Overall, the department was "pleased to see that the current regional library systems structure is working well for Minnesotans," but noted that State Library Services expressed concern that some of its roles and responsibilities, especially as they relate to the Braille and Talking Book Library, were not included in the evaluation.

OLA Report

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