Prairielands supports career development by offering continuing education scholarships to staff in member libraries. Scholarships are offered on both a quarterly ($400) and annual ($1000) basis for any appropriate training, workshop, or seminar, including annual events such as MLA, ITEM, Children’s Literature conference, etc. Staff of member libraries may apply for one annual scholarship per year in addition to one quarterly scholarship per fiscal quarter. The fiscal year quarters are:
- Quarter 1, July – September
- Quarter 2, October – December
- Quarter 3, January – March
- Quarter 4, April – June
All scholarships reimburse expenses related to the continuing education program. An eligible expense might include a registration fee, lodging, mileage, etc. Paid receipts will be required. Check with Prairielands for expenses that differ from these examples. Recipients are required to share their experience with other Prairielands members by submitting a report through an online form. Reimbursement forms for all scholarships are attached to approval letters.
Quarterly Scholarships: $400
- Scholarship Guidelines
- Scholarship Application
- Scholarship Report
Annual Scholarships: $1000
- Scholarship Guidelines
- Scholarship Application
- Scholarship Report
Diversity in Rural Libraries:
A Year-Long Professional Development Focus
Teen Summit 2024: Teens and Rural Diversity
Registration closes March 12th!
Continuing Education Opportunities
Prairielands encourages staff in member libraries to investigate trends and changes in library programs and job descriptions through continuing education. Organizations listed below provide continuing education opportunities in the form of conferences, webinars and self-paced learning. While many charge for their services, some are free. This list is not and will not attempt to be exhaustive. It is also not intended to imply Prairielands scholarships will only be granted for these opportunities.
Prairielands Library Basics
Register to view these tutorials
- Information Literacy
- Reference Interview
- Finding an Article from a Citation
- Legal and Medical Assistance, not Advice
- Problem Patrons
- Dealing with Stress, Pressure and Burnout
Minnesota
- Level Up! Minnesota
- Minitex Training and Events
- Continuing Education Calendar
- Linking Our Libraries classes – CMLE (Central Minnesota Library Exchange)
- Linking Our Libraries podcasts – CMLE
Scholarship Reports
ALA eCourse “Genealogical Research for Librarians by Erin Conway / Marshall-Lyon County Library
Over the month of October, I attended the ALA eCourse [...]
MLA Conference by Michele Leininger / Marshall-Lyon County Library
Look What I Found at the Library: virtual merchandising ideasThe [...]
Resilient Together: Building School and Public Library Partnerships by Mackenzie Schley / Jackson County Library
This was a great three-week course presented by Library Journal [...]
2021 MLA Virtual Conference by Cindy Hendrickx /Appleton Public Library
My 3 Fav Sessions: Minnesota Author Project: Celebrating the 2021 [...]
MLA 2021 by Rachelle Golde /Hutchinson Public & Litchfield Public Libraries
I attended the three days of the fully virtual MLA [...]
MLIS Graduate Coursework through University of Kentucky by Mackenzie Schley / Jackson County Library System
As part of my coursework towards my MLIS, I took [...]