Tag Archives: Retirement

From the Director: My last official CMLE blog post!

In case you haven’t heard, August 31 is my last day with CMLE. If a new Executive Director is hired by August 15th, I will work with them for two weeks to help get them grounded in the culture of our region, and the current work of CMLE. I tend to always look forward, so the person following me need not worry that I am looking over their shoulder. The very cool thing about my job (and CMLE), is that any number of things can and should change, and services can be done differently, or benefit from a new perspective. After all, libraries are in a world of change!

IMG_0553As I review my working career, it is eclectic and  colorful, and I expect retirement will be no different.   In scanning my bucket list recently, I realized that I’ve always wanted to be a children’s librarian, but never was, so recently I created a Children’s Little Free Library at my Alex lake place. I now wear the proud title of the Cottage Grove Resort Children’s Librarian, which satisfies my bucket list!

My 14 years at CMLE is the longest I have ever stayed in a job!  Recently, I did a blog post about taking stock, which seemed like a good idea at this point.
What has been hardest? Funding is number one. The multitypes were created through MN Statute, and there are no provisions for multitype funding increases (even though expenses increase), so funding can stagnate for 15 years. And to get an increase, we need to troop down to the State Capitol and make the case, which is just plain hard and often uncomfortable. Part of the job though.
What has brought me joy? The programming has been the fun part. I am proud to say that I have stayed energized and active right up until the end, which has always been a goal of mine. I know our readers like brief, so here are the items that “hit a 10” on my Joy Meter while the CMLE Executive Director!
  • Favorite! In 2003, I secured 22,000 new, free books from Scholastic Library Publishing for CMLE member libraries, some who had a zero book budget!
  •  In 2008 the MN multitypes launched 23 Things on a Stick, a  self-paced, online learning program. Other iterations of the program followed, but coaching our members through the program was sheer fun and a great relationship builder as we learned together.
  • By investing time in collaborative work with NLLN and Region 1, in  2008, CMLE was able to invite schools to join the North Star Library Consortium.  This important development leveled the playing field for all school media centers in our region, a sweet moment!
  • In 2012, CMLE ended its 30+ year newsletter and began its online publishing and social media work. Needless to say, this decision was an instant success for readers and CMLE staff! The energy involved in reviewing hundreds of news items, then producing 10-15 pieces each week is very satisfying.
  • My work in recent years with hosting social events at the MLA and ITEM Conferences. The first year I took the somber ITEM dinner event and re-created it into a Mexican Cantina, with a festive, fast-paced night of taco bar, and crazy, fun trivia, was a golden moment indeed!
  • Each spring, I hear from people feeling inadequate or unsure of their leadership skills. In 2016, we offered the Supervisor Nuts & Bolts Workshop; a smashing success in helping attendees to be better leaders! Exciting to see the light-bulb moments and renewed energy…
  • And, finally, some CMLE events are focused on enjoyment and networking. Guest authors to our events starting in 2002 have included: Pete Hautman, Faith Sullivan, John Coy, Doug Ohman, Nathan Jorgenson, Will Weaver, Annette Atkins, Julie Kramer, Catherine Friend, Buffy Hamilton, Jonathan Friesen, Paddy O’Brien and Erin Hart, Jess Lourey (I know I have forgotten a few). Food, books, authors and prizes always produce joy in most librarians!

But enough of me….I want to personally thank you for your support and friendship over the years. It has been a privilege to serve you. Best wishes for an amazing future. Keep doing what you do best, know what brings you joy, and find ways to do more of that!

Thanks to social media, I will continue to see many of you online, and of course at library events too! I will always consider you friends. No goodbyes, just later!
Patricia-
This past blog post will get you all caught up with my retirement and the search for a new Executive Director too!

CMLE seeks a new Executive Director

On an adventureHi, Patricia Post here! I am always reminded that we need to communicate often, in different ways, and in different formats! So, for all the people who have seen that CMLE is looking for a new Executive Director, and are wondering what is going on, here are some quick links to get you caught up!

Did you know:

  • I recently wrote a blog post announcing my retirement.
  • On May 4th, the Executive Director position was posted on 18 online job boards and social media sites. If you have seen it, help us spread this opportunity  far and wide!
  • Haven’t seen the job posting? No worries, go to our new www.cmlejobs.com site to see the job ad, view the position description and scoring strategy, and find out how to apply!
Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/pd6sq4g, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
 

	

From the Director: I am retiring!

PPphotoWell, no beating around the bush, the time has come for me to retire as Executive Director of CMLE. I am acutely aware that the moment I publish this, there is no turning back! An odd feeling.

This whole process of retiring is very strange ….intense excitement one moment about future plans, dread about all that needs to happen before my last day, and even tears (I am not a crier) when people start sending me mushy messages. Quite honestly, it reminds me to take critical moments to tell others how much they mean to me. It can really shore someone up when they feel spent and all used up. Tell them why you value them in your life.

You have nothing to fear as I leave; you are in good hands. The CMLE Search Committee is excellent, I am an ex-officio member of it, and we will post my position on 16 job boards during the first week in May. You are my peeps, I have worked hard to build CMLE, and I will do my best to ensure that CMLE services stay in place.

Many of you have meant the world to me over the years.  If we can take a moment to be honest, we’ve been through lots of hard times together, and a few good times too. Funding and politics are the hard pieces, no doubt. We have struggled together with that.

I will leave a clean camp; great infrastructure, a fantastic Governing Board, and a healthy work environment,  which will hopefully provide an easy start for my successor. Want to help CMLE find a new Director? See the link at the end of this post and point people to our jobs website, created for just this purpose! I love WordPress…

So, if you know me at all, you know I am a list person! So, without further fanfare and very little mush:

My Top Ten Reasons to Retire at the End of August, 2016

10.  First, in my defense, I have been in this job for 14 years, enough of my ideas already!

9.    I will be turning 63 in June, so I am entitled, right?

8.    I have three elderly parents and at times, I am the parent which is just so very odd and draining.

7.     Seven wee grandchildren (ages 3 months to 9 yrs) who would really value time with their Memaw. I have current requests from them to teach bread baking, help them sew dream pillows, work with Makey Makey kits, teach them lettering, and of course, read more stories.

6.     My husband of 43 years has already been retired for five years, and is more than ready to spend some fun time with me, free of pressing workloads and deadlines.

5.      I have taken stock of my reading list, and truth be told, I will need at least 20 years to buck through my current backlog! And there will be more, time to get crackin…

4.      A brassy little banty chicken named Chocolate, appears to get physically abusive within her flock, and my granddaughter Livi thinks I may be able to turn this bad behavior around. I have found a chicken stroller which may suit Chocolate and provide some much-needed timeout, but consistency will be key 11709453_10104420818481207_2406412224484831875_nwith this fowl misbehavior. I am on it!

3.      My life is too complicated, I am too plugged in, and I have way too much stuff. We will be doing an online auction to get rid of most of it. Then, into a much smaller house on the homestead of my daughter, her husband and their three little girls in the Princeton area. Yes, Chocolate lives there too.

2.      All of my bionic parts (two hips and a knee) hate the cold. No more Minnesota winters for this gal!

And finally, the top reason to retire is a need for diversity. The CMLE Director has had the first name of Patricia now for 31 years (Patricia Peterson before me). It may be time to see if someone with a different name wants to take the helm, right?!

Thanks for being my colleagues, for your kind words of praise and encouragement, which often helped me gauge if we were heading in the right direction. And, when I was dashing down to the State Capitol to testify on your behalf, to be your voice, you provided great fodder for my testimony too. It’s been great, but it is time to help tend a flock of chickens, keep some bees, bake some bread, plant wildflowers, and read only the very best books! Speaking of…I need to add the newly published Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder to my reading list, which just came out in March! See, it just keeps growing….

People interested in the CMLE Executive Director position should visit www.cmlejobs.com

We've Learned: Staffing updates & job openings

We’ve Learned… is designed to keep our readers informed about news concerning personnel in CMLE libraries/media centers. Please keep us informed of any “happenings” regarding staff members in your area so that we can include them in the next write-up! Happenings can include: changes in staffing, awards, honors… you get time_alone2_hiresthe idea!
New East Central Regional Library (ECRL) staff:
  • Aitkin – Mary Johnson, Library Assistant
  • Mora – Patty Thompson, Library Assistant (formerly Cambridge Library Assistant); Mackenzie Lucking, Library Assistant
  • Pine City – Heidi Anderson-Ferdinand, Branch Librarian
  • Outreach at Isanti – Tim Olson, Outreach Librarian (former part-time Outreach and Interlibrary Loan assistant)
  • Wyoming – Melody Baker, Library Assistant

ECRL vacancies for Branch Assistants* still remain in Aitkin, Mille Lacs Lake Community Library in Isle, Princeton, and Cambridge. Get more detail about these positions here.  *Position was formerly titled “Branch Library Aide” (prior to July 2015)

_______________

Great River Regional Library (GRRL) Personnel Updates

  • Lisa Pelkey, former Library Services Coordinator of Albany, has joined the Upsala staff as a Library Assistant
    Substitute.
  • Kara Gibford-Markman joined the Sauk Centre library staff in November as a library aide.

Over the summer GRRL had a few resignations in the St. Cloud Circulation department. These openings
allowed for adjustments to be made to existing staff schedules which resulted in five (5) Circulation
Assistants and two (2) Circulation Aides receiving additional hours. The remaining hours were posted as job
openings that have been filled, and the St. Cloud Circulation department is now fully staffed. Welcome to
all of our new Great River Regional Library staff, and congratulations to our recently promoted staff! Below
is a list of St. Cloud Circulation staff with their new role and effective date:

  • Heather Peterson, Circulation Aide – September
  • Margie Nalezny, Circulation Aide – October
  • Sara Kirk, Circulation Assistant – October
  • Jan Juetten, Circulation Assistant Substitute – October
  • Kelly Groth, Circulation Aide – October
  • Joe Godfrey, Circulation Assistant – October
  • Victoria Welle, Circulation Assistant – October
  • Susan Vail, Circulation Aide – November
  • Maxim Kroll, Circulation Aide Substitute – November

GRRL Retirements

  • Karen Zeug, Delano Branch Services,  8/14/2015
  • Debra Micah Sc – Patron Services, 9/26/2015

GRRL vacancies include Library Aide in Royalton and Buffalo.  More information on these openings here.

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/qzmpeb2

We've Learned: Library Staffing Updates

LightbulbWe’ve Learned….is designed to keep our readers informed about news concerning personnel in Central MN libraries/media centers. With 12 counties to monitor, we need your help! Please contact CMLE at any time you are aware of  staffing changes, job postings, awards, honors, accomplishments….you get the idea!

Changes in Library Staff

  • Mary O Dea is the new Emerging Technologies librarian in the SCSU Library
  • Karen Pundsack is the new Interim Executive Director of Great River Regional Library
  • Julianne Ninteman is the new Media Specialist at Talahi Elementary in St. Cloud.
  • Sara Martini, previously the  media specialist at Talahi Elementary is now at Westwood Elementary in St. Cloud.
  • Diane Crossley, Media Specialist, has moved from Lincoln to Clearview Elementary, Clear Lake
  • Jennifer Dahlstrom-Lage is the new Media Specialist at Lincoln Elementary, St. Cloud.
  • Gwen Toppe, is now the Media Specialist at Big Lake Middle and High School.
  • Krista Mohs is the new librarian at All Saints Academy in St. Joseph

Retirements

  • Sharon Lilke, Media Specialist, has retired from Big Lake Middle School
  • Jan Hasbrouck, Media Specialist, has retired from Westwood Elementary School

Others? What/who have we missed?

 

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/nwbfuhq, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0