by Kay Kirscht
Quick Summary
Browsing Minitex Policy Advisory Council member reports, I saw a familiar name: Liv Mostad-Jensen. Liv, formerly a Library Assistant at Minitex (along with her sister, Anne) is now Director of the Coleraine Public Library.
Browsing Minitex Policy Advisory Council member reports, I saw a familiar name: Liv Mostad-Jensen. Liv, formerly a Library Assistant at Minitex (along with her sister, Anne) is now Director of the Coleraine Public Library. Coleraine is located on Highway 169, at the northern point of Trout Lake and a little under seven miles northeast of Grand Rapids, MN. Coleraine Public Library is a member of the Arrowhead Library System.
Was becoming Library Director a career plan for you?
“No. (Liv laughs.) But, I wouldn’t say I’ve ever had a clear focus of what I’d like to do; I’ve just been open to different career opportunities. Interested in library work - but wherever that interest took me would be fine.”
Describe Coleraine.
“It’s a relatively small town. Our population hovers around 2,000. Because we’re on the edge of Grand Rapids, however, we actually get more people from the Grand Rapids area (or other nearby areas) because they like our library. The library draws a larger population than the town where it’s located.”
Tell me about the library itself.
“Coleraine’s Public Library is an original, 1912 neoclassical Carnegie library.” (Architect: Kinney and Halden; the building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1980).
“Coleraine is an interesting town - it was actually founded as a company town, and a model town in the early 1900s. John Campbell Greenway worked for the Oliver Mining Company (as well as the steel and railroad industry), and was instrumental in getting a Carnegie library for the town.” (The public library program was endowed by Andrew Carnegie, and the Carnegie Steel Corporation).
“This building hasn’t changed too much; it still has a lot of its original furnishings. We still have the old circulation counter! It draws people in; we get people who visit as tourists, especially throughout the summer.”
Are there any technological challenges to running an early-century, Carnegie structure?
“We have WiFi, we have Internet. I haven’t been here long enough to know!
“One second!" Liv asks, off the phone. "Can I make you a copy?" Then, I hear an older man with a decidedly Minnesotan accent. "I’ll be just a moment!" and Liv goes to help the patron with his photocopies.
How large is your staff?
“It’s just me and Karla, and she works part-time. Karla works more hours during the school year, because we function as both the public and the school library. The Greenway Public School District gives us funds to buy books. They cover part of Karla’s salary during the school year.”
You used to work at Minitex (2005-06)!
“I was there for about 6 months. I started in November, and worked until August the next year. Anne (Liv’s sister, an identical twin) started first, by a month or two, and stayed about two years.”
Both you and your sister were pursuing Library Science Degrees?
“Yes, and that’s why I left Minitex; I got into the Masters of Library Science Program at the Royal School of Library Information Sciences, in Copenhagen. So I moved there to study, otherwise...yes, I loved that job. If not for the opportunity of studying in Copenhagen, I would have stayed at Minitex much longer!”
What’s it like to pick up and continue your education in a foreign country?
“I lived in Denmark before, and I have family there, so it wasn’t too difficult. I had a place to stay to start with and they have good, subsidized housing for students. It wasn’t a huge transition.”
Anything you’d want to say about your position, and your take on libraries?
“I just love libraries! I love chatting with people about what they’re reading, and helping them find other things they like...just about getting the books and information out, and have a little bit of fun doing it. I’ve always been in the libraries, and always liked it.”
Though it was easy to tell you apart, it was interesting to have identical twins working at Minitex…
“Anne is currently Head of Faculty Services at the Thormodsgard Law Library, University of North Dakota School of Law. We both ended up staying with the libraries, in very different positions!
“We’re always pushing MNLINK: "If you can’t find it, try here!" And of course I use it quite a bit myself. It’s still a wonderful resource; we’re just so lucky in this state. Sometimes I chat with people who don’t know about MNLINK and I point them in that direction. They couldn’t find material in the region, and didn’t realize you can go beyond, and probably locate it!
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