by Zach Miller
Quick Summary
The Minitex Policy Advisory Council advises the Minnesota Office of Higher Education and Minitex in the planning, development, and evaluation of Minitex programs and services. The council has four new members in 2023, including Ashley Dress, who represents multitype libraries.
Ashley Dress is the School Media Centers Consultant at SELS (Southeast Library System) and represents Multi-Type Library Systems on the Policy Advisory Council. Representatives serve three-year terms. Depending upon whom they represent, they are either elected by their constituency or selected by the Minnesota Department of Education's State Library Services division.
1. What got you interested in library work?
I've always loved libraries and worked as a page in high school, but never really saw myself as a librarian. Through some course of events I ended up at the University of Illinois' School of Information Sciences, and my professor of my first course told me that people have died because of a lack of information. As a person dedicated to service in my life, through time in the Peace Corps and Americorps, this really stuck with me, and I realized that I've been trying to connect people with information for a good portion of my life, and that librarianship was a natural fit for me.
2. What do you like about your current organization and the community where it's based?
I love how varied the work I do on behalf of SELS is. Some days I'm putting together resources for media specialists and school library staff; on others, I'm advocating for these positions to anyone who will listen! It's really great to be able to support school library staff in the amazing work that they do for the K-12 students in our region. Although SELCO and SELS are based in Rochester, I think of our community as the whole of southeastern MN, which is honestly one of the most beautiful places I have ever lived. Sometimes the view from my car as I drive from Caledonia to Rochester still takes my breath away!
3. How do you hope to be a voice for multi-type libraries on the Policy Advisory Council?
The work of the Multicounty Multitype Library Systems is so varied from region to region, but we're all trying to do what best serves the academic, K-12 school, public and special libraries in our regions. I hope to take into account that variation and advocate on their behalf in a thoughtful manner while also supporting the work of Minitex. What Minitex provides to the residents of our state is truly wonderful.
