The Directors’ Retreat at Lake Shetek was two days of very informative sessions, along with meeting with other Librarians to share ideas and get to know people from outside our local libraries. I learned so much from Valerie Horton’s two sessions. There is so much more to what Minitex has to offer beyond MNLink, eBooks MN, and ELM, and having a brief glimpse into what’s there will be something I can take back to staff and patrons. The statistics on library usage, in-house, physical materials, and online were eye opening. Dr. Michele Leininger’s sessions on leadership, and advocacy, broke down how various positions within libraries and communities work together – or could work together – and how we fit into the larger picture. Determining how groups, organizations, aka “teams” are born and function brought up ideas on what works, what doesn’t, and how to assess those outcomes. I found the comparisons with other types of systems, statewide and beyond, to be thought-provoking and illuminating. Shelly Grace’s session explaining SAMMIE, as well as the group brainstorming as to how SAMMIE can reach out to libraries/librarians, was informative. It was a rare opportunity for librarians in different types of libraries to come together to share viewpoints and ideas. I believe that retreats such as this one, as well as retreats for non-directors, support staff, etc., are critically important and are of great benefit, as they give people who work in libraries the opportunity to meet other librarians, learn what others are doing, and find support. I’d like to see more retreats, or one-day seminars with multiple speakers, held at various places within the SAMMIE area.
