Jessica Robinson

This Biennial Report from the North Dakota State Library covers the period of July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2025. It highlights the library's collective achievements, challenges, and ongoing commitment to serving the people of North Dakota through equitable access to information, resources, and lifelong learning opportunities. Guided by its mission to strengthen, connect, and ignite libraries, and its vision of providing pathways to knowledge, the report outlines accomplishments in expanding statewide outreach, promoting library value, advancing technology, curating collections, administering grants, and serving as a primary information resource for state government.

This document, titled "Leading from the Library," serves as a framework and guide for Future Ready Librarians. It aims to empower learners, advance various literacies, and protect the freedom to read, positioning librarians as catalysts for educational transformation, innovation, and equity. The framework emphasizes key pillars such as personalized professional learning, robust infrastructure, strategic budget and resource allocation, fostering community partnerships, ensuring data and privacy, collaborative leadership, optimizing the use of space and time, integrating with curriculum, instruction, and assessment, and promoting diverse literacies. It focuses on building instructional partnerships, advancing essential literacies (media, digital, AI), and creating inclusive, flexible environments that support inquiry and lifelong learning.

Council members participated in a focus group to assist the North Dakota State Library (NDSL) with setting priorities in services and programs. The next quarterly meeting is scheduled for March 27, 2026.

The meeting included discussions on the State Library report, focusing on the upcoming biennium and the NDSL's new mission statement, as well as strategies for promoting awareness and marketing for NDSL grants. The election of officers resulted in the selection of a new Chair and Vice Chair. The council discussed the Library Vision, including the Grant Management System, the next grant round, library contact for grants, grant webinars, and final reports. The Legislative Session was reviewed, covering the ILL Bridge, bills passed, and the NDSL budget. Outgoing members were recognized for their service.

The North Dakota Library Coordinating Council (NDLCC) meeting included discussions on the legislative session, where bills followed by the NDSL were reviewed. The council also discussed a Grant Management System, a Tribal Grant opportunity, and the LV Tribal College Grant Round, where decisions were made to deny certain grant applications and approve funding for others. The rubric used for scoring grant applications was reviewed, and suggestions were made to limit each grant to one item request. Council members volunteered to create videos for grant rounds, and discussions were held regarding new member packets and potential improvements. The next meeting will include the election of a new Chair and Vice Chair.