1. Minnesota Library Structures
for
Check It Out! Libraries in the 21st Century
March 21, 2012
Chris Olson, Director, MELSA
Ann Walker Smalley, Director, Metronet

2. State Level Infrastructure
State Library Services
Minitex

3. Minnesota Department of Education:
State Library Services
• Provides leadership and support to the MN
library community in planning, developing and
implementing high quality library and
information services statewide.
• Administers federal and state grants-in-aid
programs for libraries and schools.
• Includes federal grants called LSTA (Library Services &
Technology Act)
• Includes state grants to Regional Public Library
Systems and Multitype Library Systems.

4. Minnesota Braille & Talking Book
Library
• Administered by State Library Services
• Provides direct library service to eligible
Minnesotans who are legally blind or visually
impaired (with visual acuity 20/200 or less in
the better eye with corrective lenses), printed
material as a result of physical limitations), or
reading disabled.
• Located in Fairbault next to the Minnesota
State Academy for the Deaf (MSAD)

5. Minitex
• Information and Resource Sharing Program of the
Minnesota Office of Higher Education & the
University of Minnesota Libraries
• Funded by MN Legislature to serve academic & state
government libraries
• Funded with federal funds by State Library Services to
provide services to public libraries & school and special
libraries
• Minitex also contracts with North & South Dakota to
provide services to libraries in those states.
• Minitex administers ELM, Minnesota Knows: Dig
Deeper @ your library; MnLINK Gateway, AskMN, MN
Digital Library and provides other services .

6. Minitex Brief Facts: FY 2010
 Cooperative Purchasing discounts and subsidies resulted in cost avoidance for
MN academic & state government libraries of over $34 million
 Number of requests for loans & articles that Minitex handled from
Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin
431,131
 Number of book loans & copies of articles taken from the University of
Minnesota Twin Cities Libraries to fill resource sharing requests from
Minnesotans 113,159
 Number of borrowing requests via the MnLINK Gateway 582,994
 Number of items handled in Minitex Delivery System over 1 million
 Minitex cost of Electronic Library for Minnesota statewide licenses and support
$1.82 million
 Percent of Minitex state appropriation 32%

7. More Minitex Facts
 Number of online searches in Electronic Library for Minnesota
over 17 million
 Number of questions from Minnesotans in 24x7 AskMN (virtual reference
service) funded by Minitex over 18,000
 Number of volumes in Minnesota Library Access Center 1,366,528
 Number of Minnesota libraries participating 21
 Number of attendees at workshops, webinars, conferences, workshops
over 4,460
 Hours of operation
 Monday through Friday 8:00A.M. – 11:00P.M.
 Saturday 9:00A.M. - 2:00P.M.

8. Regional Infrastructure
Regional Public Library Systems (there are 12)
• Federated Library Systems (there are 6)
• Consolidated Library Systems (there are 6)
Multi-type Library Systems (there are 7)
• 4 of these have the same borders as 4 Library
Systems
• 3 of these include two or more Library Systems

9. Regional Public Library
Systems

10. Organized under the provision of M.S. 134, M.S.
317, or M.S. 471.59
Regional public library systems
• Strengthen
• Improve
• Promote public library services
Receivestate funding, including Regional
Library Basic System Support Grants.

11. Regional Public Library Systems
•Consolidated Regional Library Systems (6)
•A total administrative unit
•May have branches reporting to Library Director
•Examples:
•Great River Regional Library
•East Central Regional Library
•Federated Regional Library Systems (6)
•Made up of independent public libraries
•Regional Library System Director & headquarters work with
member public library directors and staff
•Examples:
•MELSA (7 public libraries)
•Southeastern Libraries Cooperating (SELCO) (37+ public
libraries and around same no. of k12 schools)

12. Regions and their member public libraries provide free access to library
services for all residents of the region without discrimination. Through
cooperation, shared services, and reciprocal agreements, library users
have access to a wide range of public library services and resources
within the region and statewide. Through system
collaboration, communities develop libraries that capitalize on economies
of scale providing greater effectiveness, improved quality and access to
more resources.

13. Multitype Library
Systems

14. Multicounty Multitype Library Systems
•Minnesota has seven regional Multicounty, Multitype Library
Cooperation Systems established by the Minnesota Department
of Education in 1980. M.S.134.351, 134.353, & 134.354
•Each regional multitype defines its own services and priorities.
•Multitype Regions improve library services by promoting and
facilitating cooperation among the academic, public, school
library media centers, and special libraries within a specified
region.
•Membership includes academic libraries, school library media
centers, public libraries and special libraries in
businesses, government, health care institutions, and other

15. Local Libraries
Academic libraries (4-year; 2-year; private;
public)
Public libraries – city and county libraries
School libraries (a shrinking number)
Special Libraries

16. • City libraries
Public Libraries
Library Facts • County libraries
•359 public library buildings in
MN
•106 public library buildings in
Twin Cities • Funded with local taxes
•3.9 M library cardholders (state local gov’t aid LGA)
•16,847,007 total materials
•3,839,635 reference transactions
•56.5 M circulation
•$38.12 per capita expenditure • Serve local communities
• Must belong to Regional
Public Library Systems

17. Academic Libraries
• University of Minnesota Campuses
• MnSCU campuses
• MnPALS – integrated library system for libraries –
operating online catalog and other services
• Cooperating Libraries in Consortium (CLIC)
• Private colleges in Twin Cities: Univ of St. Thomas;
Augsburg College, Bethel University, etc.
• Other Private Colleges, both non profit and for
profit educational institutions.
• Primary role is to serve their faculty & students
and support mission of the institution

18. Minitex Delivery System
provides courier delivery
Monday-Friday to higher
UMN CROOKSTON education libraries
statewide as well as
state gov’t and public
libraries. Also serves
private college council
UMN DULUTH
libraries (17).
UMN MORRIS
UMN TWIN CITIES
LIBRARIES
18

19. School Libraries
•School media centers located in K12
elementary, middle, high schools
•School librarians have both a masters in library
science and are professional teachers with a subject
expertise
•Due to budget reductions in K12, are among many
being laid off or reassigned to teaching positions
•School librarians teach kids information literacy and
critical thinking skills and are important to a student’s
development.

20. Special Libraries
•Funded by their sponsoring organization
•Special collections or special clientele
•Examples
•State Government Libraries
•Historical Society Libraries
•Corporate Libraries
•Museum Libraries
•Other special collections
May or may not be open to the public

21. ROLE OF LIBRARIES PRE-K – 20 & BEYOND: LIFELONG LEARNING
Pre-K K-6 7-12 College + Workforce Lifelong Learners
School Library School Library Academic Library Public Library / Public Library
Pre-School
Library/ •Information & Technology •Information & Technology Literacy •Supporting Teaching & Special or •Local Library
Literacy Curriculum Curriculum Learning Corporate Library Resources
Day
Care/Parents •Partner with Teachers to •Partner with Teachers to Improve •Local Library Resources •Adult/Continuing •Access to
Improve Learning & Learning & Communication Using Education Internet
•ELM, MnLINK •Interlibrary
Communication Using Technology. Lending/Borrowing •Reading Programs •Interlibrary
Gateway Technology. •Local Print, Media & Online Service •Access to Internet Lending/
•Partnerships •Local Print, Media & Online Resources Borrowing
with Minnesota •Partnerships with Public •Event
Resources •Partnership with School Reading Programming Service
Braille and Library
•Partnership with School Curriculum •Career & Small •Partnerships
Talking Book •ELM, MnLINK
Reading Curriculum •Partnerships with Public & Gateway, Minnesota Business with
Library
•Partnerships with Public Academic Libraries Development Academic
Reflections, AskMN, Res
Library Resources Library
•After School Programs earch Project Calculator
Public Library •After School Programs •Local Library •Distance
•ELM, MnLINK Gateway, Minnesota •Partnerships with
•Storytime Resources Learning
•ELM, MnLINK Reflections, AskMN, Research Minnesota Braille and
•Early Literacy Gateway, Minnesota Project Calculator Talking Book Library •Collaboration with •Collaboration
Programs Reflections, AskMN Local School & with Local
•Partnerships with Minnesota
Academic School &
•Local Library •Partnerships with Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library
Public Library Libraries Academic
Resources Braille and Talking Book
•Local Library Libraries
•Activities When Library •Interlibrary
Public Library Resources Lending/ •ELM, MnLINK
There is ‘No Public Library Gateway, Mi
School’ •Reading & “After School” •Access to Internet Borrowing Service
•Reading & “After School” nnesota
•Support Home Programs Programs •Interlibrary •ELM, MnLINK Reflections, A
Schooling •Event Programming Lending/Borrowing Gateway, Minnes skMN, Resear
•Event Programming Service ota
•Access to Internet •Homework Help •Homework Help ch Project
•Partnerships with Reflections, AskM Calculator
•ELM, MnLINK •Computer Literacy •Access to Internet N, Research
Gateway Academic Library •Partnerships
•Access to Internet •Support Home Schooling Project Calculator
•Partnerships with •Distance Learning with
•Activities When There is ‘No •Career Planning Resources •Partnerships with
Minnesota Braille •ELM, MnLINK Minnesota
School’ •Computer Literacy Gateway, Minnesota Minnesota Braille Braille and
and Talking Book and Talking Book
Library •Local Library Resources •Local Library Resources Reflections, AskMN, R Talking Book
•Interlibrary Lending/Borrowing esearch Project Library Library
•Support Home Schooling
Service Calculator
•Partnerships with School
Library •Partnerships with School & •Partnerships with
Academic Libraries Minnesota Braille and
•ELM, MnLINK
Gateway, Minnesota •ELM, MnLINK Talking Book Library www.mnknows.org
Reflections, AskMN Gateway, Minnesota Dig Deeper @ Your Library
•Partnerships with Minnesota Reflections, AskMN, Research
PARENTAL & Braille and Talking Book Library Project Calculator
TEACHER SUPPORT •Partnerships with Minnesota
Braille and Talking Book Library
LIBRARY STAFF SUPPORT Graphic by Jennifer Hootman
Updated 6/21/10 Questions?
Minnesota Libraries Collaborate to Serve Minnesotans Bill DeJohn, Director, w-dejo@umn.edu