This page is a repository for professional development/continuing education resources, as well as an archive of recordings from previous Metronet events. Check back frequently to see what’s new!
For more information about our upcoming offerings, please visit our Events and Programs Page
Event Archives
Register here to receive a Zoom link for upcoming sessions:
- Thursday, April 25 at 3:00pm (CST) https://forms.gle/3W2ZgeV9rCdHPX8i9
- Wednesday, May 29 at 3:00pm (CST) https://forms.gle/hxnQUrNL2SanNLrp9
- Thursday, June 27 at 3:00pm (CST) https://forms.gle/Gy9zAHerzUz5PasV8
Readings for April 25, 2024:
The PLA 2024 Conference was just held in Columbus, OH and ALA just issued its State of American Libraries 2024 Report. The issues facing libraries are varied and extensive. Let’s chat about what’s on your mind and what issues are consuming you these days. This will also help determine future topics for LLF based on what you want to dig into!
- State of America’s Library 2024: A Report by American Library Association https://www.ala.org/news/state-americas-libraries-report-2024
- American Libraries – PLA 2024 Coverage https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/tag/pla2024/
- Library Journal – PLA 2024 Coverage https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/if-not-libraries-then-who-conference-programs-address-advocacy-inclusivity-and-more-pla-2024
Carol Jackson, the LLF facilitator, has extensive experience in leading book groups, facilitating group discussions, and program planning. After earning her MLIS, she spent 20 years in public libraries, 15 of them managing libraries. She is passionate about the value of libraries. As a certified Narrative Coach Practitioner, she helps library and nonprofit professionals face challenges and find their future career paths.
Questions? Contact Carol Jackson, LLF Facilitator, at [email protected].
Library Leadership Forum Resources:
Here are resources from past Library Leadership Forum meetings:
LLF #1 – November 15, 2023
LLF #2 – January 3, 2024
LLF #3 – February 14, 2024
LLF #4 – March 27, 2024
Talkabout Books Events: This is an online meetup to discuss books of different genres to share what you’re reading and/or to figure out your next read.
Click here to see all of our previous book lists!
Talkabout Conversations:
Library Conversations are a chance to talk about issues and ideas for all types of libraries & their staff. Whether you’re a library media specialist, an academic librarian, a public librarian, or just curious, come chat with us and other librarians and share your thoughts. Or just come and listen, all are welcome here.
Talkabout Conversation #1: Back-to-School Click here for the notes from this event!
Talkabout Conversation #2: Holiday Library Ideas Click here for the notes from this event!
Talkabout Conversation #3 – Social Media In Libraries Click here for the notes from this event!
Media Specialist Meetups
Youtube Channel
Did you know that we now have a YouTube channel? Click here to see all of our archived videos! Our current playlists include videos from the Real Life Librarianship series, and our Learnabout Series. See details below for more information about each archived video.
Learnabout Series: brief, one hour or less, informational webinar on various topics. View the full YouTube playlist here
Previous topics include:
- Learnabout Google Docs
- In these days of remote work and distance learning, Google Docs is an increasingly important tool. Attend this webinar to learn some new features of this popular tool, as well as some tips/tricks. You should have a basic working knowledge of Google Docs in order for this to be most useful.
- View the recording on our YouTube channel here
- Learnabout Google Drive
- Organization, storage, and file sharing are crucial elements in today’s world. This session will explore what Google Drive can do and some of its lesser known secrets. This is a great place to start for those who are new to the Google universe.
- View the recording on our YouTube channel here
- Learnabout Google Sheets
- Spreadsheets can be confusing and complicated. Let us demystify them for you! Join this webinar to learn more about how Google Sheets operates. This session will accommodate beginner and intermediate users.
- View the recording on our YouTube channel here
- Learnabout Chrome Extensions
- Google Chrome web browser can be a valuable tool, especially if you take advantage of extensions. Confused? View this webinar to learn more about Chrome Extensions, how to use them, some of the most productive, and more! For beginner users of Chrome Extensions
- View the recording on our YouTube channel here
- Learnabout Google Forms
- Need to create a survey? Registration form? Attendance? Want to create a feedback form? Google forms is an easy-to-use and versatile tool for creating web forms. This webinar will give the basics and some of the more useful features of this tool.
- View the recording on our YouTube channel here
- Learnabout Google Sites
- Are you looking to create a website? Perhaps you want your own home page within your organization’s larger site? You can use Google Sites to create your own free and easy website. Take this webinar to learn the basics of Google Sites and leave with enough information to create your first site. For beginner users of Google Sites.
- View the recording on our YouTube channel here
- Learnabout Google Chrome
- Learnabout Google Meets
- Learnabout Google Secrets
- Learnabout Canva
- Learnabout eLibrary MN
- Learnabout Canva Part 2
Real Life Librarianship Series: panelists who work in different kinds of libraries talk about their jobs in a 2 hour conversation. View the full YouTube playlist here
Curious about the different types of libraries and the librarians who work in them? Thinking about where you might fit in the library world? Join us in the Real Life Librarianship series to hear real librarians who do a variety of jobs in various libraries explain not only what day-to-day life is like doing these jobs but how to get there. This would be useful for job seekers, library school students, & anyone who is looking to advance or change roles in a library, or anyone who is just curious about other people’s jobs. Click each link below to view the full video.
- Week 1: Academic Libraries
- Week 2: Public Libraries
- Week 3: Special Libraries
- Week 4: School Libraries
- Week 5: Government Libraries
- Week 6: Archivists
- Week 7: Cataloging/Metadata Librarians
- Week 8: Non-Traditional Library Jobs
- Week 9: State-Level Library Services
- Week 10: Small Academic Libraries
- Week 11: Medical Libraries
- Week 12: Library System Directors
- Week 13: Law Libraries
Professional Development Resources
Level Up is managed by the Library Professional Development Network (LPDN), which is an ad hoc group of organizations in Minnesota that offers various types of professional development (PD) to library staff at all levels in all types of libraries.
Please visit our Statewide CE calendar here
Minnesota Library Professional Development Network
We are excited to announce the launch of a year-long campaign to support libraries as they grapple with today’s fractured and challenging media landscape.
This campaign will help Minnesota library staff:
- Understand how people navigate the media and information landscape, and how forces within that landscape influence their navigation.
- Learn how to build reflection and intentionality into their information consumption.
- Gain strategies for working with their communities on intentional approaches to information consumption.
Click Here to view Media Landscapes Events
Media Landscapes 23 Things Mini-Courses
This new series of mini-courses, created by the seven Minnesota Multitype Library Systems (Multitypes), meets the needs of Minnesota library staff by helping them understand how their users navigate the present media and information landscape, and how forces within that landscape influence their navigation.
It is designed to help library staff engage more deeply with the issues and concepts addressed in the Media Landscapes Campaign. By working together through these Things, we will all have a greater understanding of disinformation, information/digital literacy, and how to address these issues in various ways and in various library settings.
You can find more information, registration, and the mini-courses here: Media Landscapes: 23 Things