The following post was submitted by CMLE scholarship recipient Jami Trenam, Associate Director, Collection Development at Great River Regional Library

Explore eBooks MN Summit

Thanks to a scholarship from CMLE I was able to attend the Explore eBooks MN summit in August 2014. It was a thought-provoking and exciting day as dozens of Minnesota library staff brainstormed ways to make eBooks easier for our patrons and communities to use. I was struck by everyone’s passion to ensure eContent is accessible to all Minnesota libraries and patrons.

I was inspired and impressed by Deb Hoadley’s work to coordinate a statewide eBook project in Massachusetts. I hope we in Minnesota can learn from the successes and challenges of the MA project. I was very struck by the research Hoadley shared regarding the disparity between staff and user experience: 87% of patrons reported they found what they were looking for, where only 56% of library staff reporting their needs were met. Additionally, I was intrigued by the concept of the state supporting the platform, and the libraries providing content. The concept of statewide collection development is cumbersome and exciting all at once!

I was also taken with Mark Sandler’s presentation on libraries of the future. He encouraged academic libraries to be the cosmetic counter on campus: offer a one-on-one consultation experience. Sandler asserted that people use libraries for service, and perhaps reference is not the service they need. I enjoy the challenge that the ideology of traditional library philosophy is at odds with patron needs. I came away from the session wondering how my library can help solve the problems that keep our patrons up at night, how can we help people achieve their goals – this is certainly one way how libraries will remain relevant in the digital age.

On the drive home from the summit I found myself grappling with more questions than I came with: should libraries even be in the best-seller business? How can libraries better serve local authors? How can we help preserve our local content? I’m contemplating digitizing yearbooks and city directories. I also love the idea of a postcard “End the Digital Lockout” advocacy campaign and I’m thinking about how that concept can be applied to my library’s funding challenges. Thank you, CMLE! Not only did I have the opportunity to work with other professionals to propose how a statewide eBook program could work, I left with a renewed sense of hope. Libraries are truly stronger when we work together, and I look forward to cooperative efforts with partner libraries in the future.

Did you miss the Explore ebooks MN series of webinars? Not able to make it to the Explore ebooks MN Summit? Not to worry, all content from the webinars and summit are available at the Explore ebooks MN website.