Last Friday MLA Session - Politics in Minnesota

After seeing slick PowerPoint presentations at all the other sessions that I attended, it was a refreshing change to see political operative Sarah Janecek walk in at 9:30 when her session was scheduled to begin, ask for coffee, and apply lipstick before beginning her presentation. I had watched her on ALMANAC on Friday nights on KTCA for years and seen her in a Minneapolis restaurant one Sunday, so was happy to have another opportunity to hear her even though we do not share the same political philosophy. While not focusing on libraries specifically, her presentation could be considered to continue the literacy theme with news or journalism literacy.

Sarah began by saying that she walked past the Bloomington room of the Sheraton where she was "camped out" with the Coleman campain on the recent November fourth election night. She gave her impressions of the current Coleman-Franken recount, and said that Dean Barkely, the Independence Party candidate, is the most influential Minnesota political figure in recent years who is not given the credit for what he has done to change the Minnesota political scene. Sarah Janeck sees Minnesota becoming "the next Florida" with a recount that is "absolutely wild".

The presenter considers herself a "tiny red speck" in a big blue area in Minneapolis. She has law and journalism degrees from the University of Minnesota. In 1993, she began Politics in Minnesota, with the new edition scheduled to appear in February. She spoke of the importance of blogs in journalism and politics today. Minnesota is on the "high end" of political blogs. To know who moves and who shakes, blogs are updated daily. With the decline of political coverage in Minneapolis and St. Paul newspapers, blogs play a more critical role.

After commenting briefly on the Minnesota political scene, Sarah had plenty of time for discussion with those attending. When someone asked about the ignored role of county commissioners in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties, Sarah said that the mainstream media ignores what is going on in counties. I mentioned the recent Jackson County commissioner race in my district where the incumbent lost over a current "hot issue". She asked how that was covered by the media.

Another interesting discussion was on the Minnesota climate of extremism that can elect Paul Wellstone as well as Michele Bachmann. Sarah also discussed the brilliance of Karl Rove in the Bush elections. She believes that the quality of the people serving is not as high as in the past, and that the salary should be tripled and the size of the Minnesota Legislature split. Sarah sees the current mainstream media as lazy.

Because of "selective reading", people do not see the big picture of what is happening in the world. When asked about the online MinnPost, Sarah Janecek responded that she does not see it lasting longer than six months, due to the problem with getting ads. She also does not see a good future for the StarTribune after the Senate recount.

While Sarah mentioned several times her appreciation of what librarians do, she did not seem to realize the vital role of public libraries in the current economic climate. I was glad that Bill DeJohn of MINITEX spoke several times to remind her how busy public libraries are - especially the computer use by those who do not own them at home. Sarah talked about funding for libraries and suggested that those in our group write OP-ED pieces to inform of our situation. When I watch Sarah Janecek on ALMANAC again, I will have a better understanding of her background and viewpoints.

Minnesota county map
Originally uploaded by mountainpath2001

Thing Seven!

7. Web 2.0. Communication Tools.

E-Mail

Some of the information in Thing Seven seems to me to be "common sense" or common knowledge. Example: The first video on What Not To Do With Spam E-mails. ("The system is already overloaded with spam, and we will not see the end in our lifetime.")

Of the five e-mail tips, I liked the one best that encouraged us to write less. We have so much e-mail to read at work and at home, that we are more likely to read brief messages than lengthy ones.

Our work e-mail recently changed so it was good to "start over" with no messages. This summer I attended a training session with helpful tips for using e-mail.

For awhile I had a hotmail account which is handy during travel. I have not used that for a few years, but access my regular e-mail accounts anywhere.

Instant Messaging

When some of my relatives had the same instant messaging, it was fun to use that for awhile, but now I think that we are more likely to use our cell phones to contact each other. The Library Journal article from 2005 had a key point of promotion for library instant messaging services. We have had a library online reference service available for several years, but I have not had many legitimate questions in the past year. I think students tend to call the Help Desk more. If the service is promoted during student orientation, new students may be more likely to use it. Although I do not do much texting, I find it a convenient feature available on my cell phone.

Webinars and Wikis

Webinars such as the ones MINITEX hosts are great for learning without traveling 160 miles to the Twin Cities. I have also taken some from GALE and other providers.

Wikis will probably see continued use by libraries. The MnPALS Office in Mankato has one now rather than so many mailing lists.