Welcome to the new Metronet Events page. Here you will find information about the different types of events we offer, as well as specific details for upcoming events and programs. Check back again to see what’s new! To see a shorter listing of events and how to register, visit our Registration page here.
Special Film Screening!
Join Metronet, ITEM, and the Intellectual Freedom Committee for a screening of the Emmy nominated documentary The Librarians.
Date: Sunday, August 9th
Time: 1-3:30pm
Location: Pohlad Hall at Minneapolis Central Library 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN 55401
Doors open at 12:30pm. The documentary begins at 1pm and will be followed by a panel discussion. Food is not allowed in Pohlad Hall but covered beverages are welcome.
In Texas, the Krause List targets 850 books focused on race and LGBTQIA+ stories – triggering sweeping book bans across the U.S. at an unprecedented rate. As tensions escalate, librarians connect the dots from heated school and library board meetings nationwide to lay bare the underpinnings of extremism fueling the censorship efforts. Despite facing harassment, threats, and laws aimed at criminalizing their work – the librarians’ rallying cry for freedom to read is a chilling cautionary tale.
Registration is encouraged but not required: https://forms.gle/
Metronet Webinar Series
Next Chapter: Career Literacy for Library Staff
Upcoming Sessions:
Previous Sessions:
Session 1 | Oct 30, 2-3:30pm | Recording on Our YouTube Channel | Slides
Cataloging Yourself: Discovering Your Strengths and Characteristics for Career Success
Finding the right job starts with understanding yourself. You will learn practical strategies for identifying your strengths, weaknesses, personality traits, and unique characteristics.
Session 2 | Nov 6 | 2-3:30pm | Recording on Our YouTube Channel | Slides
Circulating Connections: LinkedIn and Public Presence
Build your resume with networking, volunteering, and reaching beyond your system for opportunities. To stand out, combine networking, volunteering, and exploration of opportunities beyond your comfort zone. Networking builds relationships and uncovers job leads, while volunteering develops skills and demonstrates commitment.
Session 3 | Nov 13 | 2-3:30pm | Recording on Our YouTube Channel | Slides
Write on Track – Résumés & Cover Letters
Looking for the next step in your career or just trying to keep your resume current? A well-crafted resume and cover letter will help you stand out. Learn how to tailor your application to specific jobs and showcase your qualifications in an impactful way. Whether you’re entering the job market, looking to advance your career, or just wanting to see what’s out there this session will provide you with the tools to create polished, targeted application documents that get noticed.
Session 4 | Nov 20 | 2-3:30pm | Recording on Our YouTube Channel | Slides
On the Record – Interview Dos & Don’ts
Interviews can be daunting but they don’t have to be! This session will explore what to do and what not to do during the interview process. From answering common questions to navigating in-person versus remote interviews, you’ll gain insight into what interviewers are looking for and how to present yourself clearly and confidently.
Session 5 | Jan 15 | 10-11:30am | Recording on Our YouTube Channel | Slides
Bookending the Interview – Decoding What Comes Next
You’ve made it through the interview, now what? Whether you’ve just made it past the interview step or have received an offer, this webinar will offer practical tips on how to follow up, how to evaluate and negotiate offers, and insight about common mistakes and how to avoid them.
Session 6 | Jan 29 | 2-3:30pm | Recording on Our YouTube Channel | Slides
Researching your options – Explore careers for librarians Join labor market and career experts as they highlight Minnesota’s job market for librarians and spotlight tools to help you identify transferable skills, job prospects and career options. Presenters are from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and include Oriane Casale from the Labor Market Information Office and Kelly Tenner from CareerOneStop. Session moderator is DEED librarian Dru Frykberg.
Bookmarked for Success Description: Effective networking can open doors for your career growth but where do you start? This webinar will offer approachable networking strategies, including tips on building meaningful connections and suggestions on how to begin.
How to write job ads Description: The first step in attracting the right candidates is crafting a clear and compelling job ad. This webinar will guide you through what it takes to write a job ad that stands out, clearly conveys the job duties, and reaches qualified candidates.
Session 9 | March 12 | 2-3:30pm | Recording on Our YouTube Channel | Slides
Beyond the Stacks – Career transitions outside of libraries Description: Library work helps you hone highly transferable skills like research, instruction, project management, community engagement, and technology support that are valuable far beyond traditional library roles. Whether you’re ready to make a change or just looking, we will explore how skills can translate and learn about common library adjacent career paths.
Library Leadership Forum
About LLF: Join your library colleagues across MN to connect and engage in discussions of library work, values, librarianship, and leadership. Library Leadership Forum (LLF) is a professional development book club/discussion group sponsored by Metronet. Members of LLF will discuss books, articles, podcasts, and/or webinars and attend meetings held online. This discussion group is facilitated by Stacey Hendren and Carol Jackson.
All Minnesota library staff, including job seekers, are welcome with no commitment to attend regularly. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations and connect with your library colleagues across the state.
Topics and Registration:
August 27, 2026 Library Leadership Forum Registration Link
Register here for Library Leadership Forum on Thursday, August 27 at 3:00pm (CST).
TOPIC: Reading Professionally: Growing Your Expertise Via Books!
Our August meeting is about sharing recommendations for professional reading. Your Library Leadership Forum Co-Facilitators (Carol Jackson and Stacey Hendren) are firm believers in the power of professional reading. Thanks to publishers like ALA and Library Juice, you can find a book on nearly any topic related to libraries, librarianship, and library leadership. Not only that, but there are a number of business/leadership books that we highly recommend for library leaders.
We’d love to hear your favorite titles and compile an awesome list. What books have helped you in your work? Which ones would you love to see every library staff person read? What would you recommend to someone new to libraries? Or new to being a manager/director? Come and discuss your favorites and get some ideas for new reading!
Resources:
Librarian’s Library column in American Libraries magazine
New and Noteworthy at the ALA Store
New Books to Refresh Your Thinking by Adam Grant
Future 2026 dates include:
Thursday, August 27
Wednesday, September 23
October meeting will be at MLA
Wednesday, November 18
Thursday, December 17
Find past and future resources from LLF at http://tinyurl.com/
Questions about Library Leadership Forum? Email co-LLF Facilitators Carol Jackson at cljackson46@gmail.com or Stacey Hendren at staceyrhendren@gmail.com.
Learnabouts
Join us for the Learnabout series, where we do a brief, one hour or less, informational webinar on various topics.
View past recordings of this series and more on our YouTube channel!
Upcoming Learnabouts:
Talkabout Books Events
We invite you to come and talk books with us! Come to share or come to get some new book recommendations. Registrants will receive a book list the day after the event, and we will post a link to the book list below as well. Click here to view previous book lists!
Talkabout Books
These upcoming events will be held on Thursday afternoons at 4pm.
Please check back to see registration information for upcoming Talkabouts.
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 Talkabout 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!
Building Connections Library Group
Elementary Media Specialist Meetups
Professional Development Opportunities
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
Youtube Channel
Did you know that we now have a YouTube channel? Click here to see all of our archived videos!
