Unconferencing in Southwest Minnesota

On August 27, I was at Marshall-Lyon County Library leading an ELM workshop to public and school library staff from throughout the SAMMIE (SW Area Multicounty Multitype Interlibrary Exchange) region in Southwest Minnesota. When Shelly Grace, the SAMMIE Director, asked me to stick around for an afternoon unconference, I eagerly accepted.

As you know, an unconference is like a traditional conference in that it brings participants together to discuss issues and trends. But it is different in that the agenda is not set beforehand, nor do speakers prepare sessions. Participants work collaboratively to identify topics of shared interest and then discuss those topics. Done right, these get-togethers can lead to very practical takeaways for participants, and important information sharing between colleagues. And it was done right! Shelly and her colleague Liz DeVries did an excellent job of leading the group through the process. We discussed issues related to adult and teen programming, grant seeking and writing, and teaching technology to patrons.

Separate from the unconference, we were able to take advantage of our location to check out Marshall-Lyon’s nearly completed children’s room expansion. A key feature is the awesome “big books” adorning the entrance to the space. They’ll have titles added to their spines and copyright-cleared images added to their covers before the space is finalized and opened on September 2nd.