Hello Fellow Bookaroos! I saw something online the other week where a girl couldn’t remember the word for library and called it a book ranch. Her boyfriend found it funny and tried to come up with different names for librarians including; cowbook, readcher, and finally bookaroo. I decided bookaroo was the best and I needed to use it in this message. That concludes the funny part of this message and we can move on to the more serious part of the message. President's Message Submission by Kerrianne Boetcher, Ward County Public Library, NDLA President As most of you (hopefully!) know, the North Dakota Legislative Session started on January 3rd. It has been a busy one so far with session set to end on April 28th. Thank you to everyone who has submitted testimony, sent letters to their legislators, or otherwise answered our pleas for help. As session ends, there is still time to contact your legislators. Forming relationships with them can help beyond just when we need their support on particular bills. I am so proud of North Dakota Libraries and how we come together to help each other out and to learn from each other. With that in mind and looking ahead to the annual conference, please consider submitting a proposal for a session. We welcome all sorts of ideas, even if you think no one would want to learn about it. I know that it can seem overwhelming or terrifying to think of doing something. However, ask yourself….if not me then who?

“You want weapons? We're in a library. Books are the best weapon in the world. This room's the greatest arsenal we could have. Arm yourself!” – Dr. Who (Season 2, Episode 2)

“The real heroes are the librarians and teachers who at no small risk to themselves refuse to lie down and play dead for censors” – Bruce Coville

Hello Fellow Book Warriors, Bibliognosts, and Bibliothecaries! So, I may have panicked a little when I remembered that being NDLA President meant having to write a message for The Good Stuff! What would I write? How would I start? What if no one likes it? Then, I took a deep breath and said to myself…just introduce yourself, girl!

If you don’t know me, I am Kerrianne Boetcher and I am the Library Director at the Ward County Public Library in Minot, ND. I grew up in a small town north of Minot and my number one career goal was to be tall. That obviously didn’t happen, so librarian made the next best sense. I have been director at Ward County since 2012 and I absolutely love it….most days.

I am excited to be NDLA President this year and a little nervous. Librarians across the country have been under attack recently and I am worried for our profession. We must work together to combat these attacks as they affect all of us together.

The Public Library section passed a resolution at the annual conference for NDLA to release a statement in opposition of recent book challenges and censorship taking place across our state. I believe this is great, but I want to do more because it isn’t about me or you or that librarian friend that you see once a year at conference. This is about ALL of us working together.

If you have wonderful ideas about what NDLA can do, please let me and the rest of the Executive Board know.It doesn’t just have to be about book challenges or censorship or the like. If you have an idea of how we can work to better NDLA and libraries across the state, let us know! We truly do want to work to make your North Dakota Library Association work better for you and for your library.

To end, I do want to make one plea before we start the next ND Legislative Session in January. If the NDLA Legislative Committee and/or the North Dakota State Library puts out a call for testimony or letters of support; PLEASE consider doing so. Librarians have been considered a silent group for too long and we need to work together to make our voices heard.

Kerrianne Boetcher, NDLA President

Despite Mother Nature’s best attempts to keep us in an eternal winter, it looks as though spring is finally upon us. As is traditional, my thoughts turn lightly to secretaries and legislative committees.

First up, secretaries!

Our NDLA secretary, Abby Ebach, is moving on to a new job in a different field, and resigned from her position on the NDLA board.

Congrats, Abby! thanks for your service!

On to the business end of that.... There are about two-and-a-half years left in Abby’s term and this means we need a new NDLA Secretary.It is an elected position with a vote on the board. The duties revolve around taking and recording minutes from executive board meetings. If you think you might be interested in running for this position, please contact Breanne Meier (bmeier@nd.gov).

Secondly, legislative committees...

The next legislative biennium begins in January of 2023. We need to start gearing up to monitor bills and offer testimony on issues related to libraries in North Dakota. This is an appointed position which is active primarily during legislative years. We could do with two or three people to work on this. If you think you might be interested in helping NDLA participate in the state legislative process, please let me know (william.d.martin@und.edu).

Will Martin

NDLA President

It’s been an eventful start to 2022!

First up, we updated NDLA’s web site, moving from StarChapter to Wild Apricot. The new design is up and running and looking good, but as with any site migration there are probably glitches – broken links, content that got overlooked, and so on. If you happen to notice anything that needs fixing, please let our website committee know!

On a less positive note, our membership chair Nicole Eckroth suffered some unanticipated health issues. She is going to be okay, but it may take some time for her to recover fully. We sincerely hope she recovers quickly and well. In the meantime, the membership committee has been doing a fine job of handling membership tasks while she’s been unavailable. However, we could definitely use a hand with that as Laurie McHenry has announced her intention to step down from the committee after many years of unstinting service. If you think you could help with the important work of maintaining NDLA’s membership records, please contact me.

Finally, we have officially filled the vacant President-Elect position. We had two candidates in the special election, Kerrianne Boetcher and Paul Amberg. With just over 70% of the votes, Kerrianne has won the position. Congratulations, Kerrianne! And many thanks to Paul Amberg for running.

I would close by telling you all to stay frosty, but Mother Nature seems to have taken care of that part for us this year. So instead, I’ll just close by thanking you for all that you do for your libraries and your patrons. Hang in there - spring cannot be far!

Will Martin

NDLA President

Election Complete

I am pleased to announce that the special election to fill the vacant position of NDLA President-Elect has concluded.  With just over 70% of the vote, our new President-Elect is Kerrianne Boetcher of the Ward County Public Library.  Congratulations, Kerrianne! I would also like to thank Paul Amberg for running.  We appreciate your willingness to serve. Will Martin NDLA President