'Ready for a challenge'

If you want to find something, stop looking for it.

That seems to be the way it goes, whether it’s a pair of sunglasses, that special someone, or – as in Bethany Anderson’s case – a new job.

“I was not in a position where I was job hunting,” she said. “I was happy at Kasson – I enjoyed the work, I enjoyed my coworkers and the community – but I was at the point where I was looking for career growth.”

She found it, as the branch director of the Blooming Prairie Library, where she started June 16.

After earning her bachelor’s degree in history, with a minor in English, “the dream was always to do something book-related,” Anderson said.

She worked at a printing facility, and had “a personal goal” to put off further education until she’d paid off her undergrad degrees. Then COVID hit.

The interest rates were frozen; Anderson was able to continue to work and pay down her student loans – then she found a certificate program in library media.

She completed the program while working full-time and eventually found a job at the Kasson Public Library, where she was hired as a library assistant. By the time the Blooming Prairie position opened, she was the library associate for youth services in Kasson.

About a year ago, Anderson said, KPL was short-staffed. Available employees “took on a little bit of everything, and I ended up doing pretty much all programming.”

She enjoyed it – and it made her a great candidate for the job in Blooming Prairie.

“With the experience that I’d been gaining, doing a little bit of everything, this branch director position was kind of a diamond in the rough,” Anderson said. Without the master’s degree typically required for a library director job, “the branch aspect was perfect.”

It is also the only branch library in the Southeastern Libraries Cooperating, “so I have that reassurance that if I have questions, someone is going to have the answer,” she said.

That includes Owatonna Public Library Director Mark Blando, as well as her former boss, KPL Director David Greenfield.

“I feel very confident that should anything arise that I don’t know, I have plenty of resources,” Anderson said. “And I’m ready for a challenge.”

Ideal location

She grew up in the Mankato area and graduated from Maple River High School. Her parents live in Owatonna, and when Anderson was hired in Kasson, “they allowed me to move in with them, to shorten my commute.”

Then, “the real estate market did what it did, and they have graciously allowed me to continue living with them.”

It’s the ideal location for her, she said: It’s close to her job in BP; close to her siblings and their children in the Twin Cities area; close to her significant other in Albert Lea; and close to her grandmother, who still lives in Mankato.

She’s been overwhelmed by the number of people who have “popped in” to introduce themselves.

“There’s a lot of traffic in this library,” Anderson said, “considering how small the town and the library are.

“It’s been really great; everyone is so nice, and I feel really bad, because I am … naturally ungifted with names,” she laughed.

Anderson has seen a good mix of library users so far, “because that’s a pleasant thing about libraries: They tend to pull an array of people,” from kids to retirees to the home-school crowd to people who just need something printed.

The best part of the job is easy to define:

“I love finding that one book that makes the kid’s eyes just sparkle,” she said. “I’m a firm believer that everyone can be a reader, as long as you find the right book, the right story – the right thing that grabs them.”

While she can’t choose her own favorite book, “I can pick a favorite author,” Anderson said. It’s Tamora Pierce, “because she is the author that made me a reader.”

Pierce, a prolific writer, writes fantasy books with strong female leads, before it was a mainstream thing to do.

“They were my ‘a-ha!’ moment,” Anderson said, “and there were many, many for me to devour.”

Jumping right in

As she settles in to the second month on the job, she has a focus: “My number one goal is just to get a feel for the community, a feel for the collection,” she said.

“The last thing I want to do is plan a bunch of stuff that no one’s interested in. I’m from a small town; I understand the importance of the small-town community.”

And she has already proven that.

“Bethany didn’t hesitate to jump in when asked to volunteer for the Fourth of July” celebration, said Karen Peterson, executive director of the Blooming Prairie Area Chamber of Commerce.

“At first, she signed up for the 5K and the beer garden; when I asked her to help announce (the parade), and she said, ‘sure, why not?’ Bethany will be a great asset to our Blooming Prairie Library,” she said.

Anderson will take the summer to observe and learn. In the meantime, she’ll lead a summer reading program that was fully fleshed-out when she arrived.

“It’s sort of an odd feeling,” she said, “because I’m carrying out someone else’s plan, while someone else is carrying out my plan in Kasson.”

Much of the local program was created by Laura Larson, who divided her time between her city hall responsibilities and library responsibilities before Anderson was hired.

“She’s been amazing,” Anderson said. “I have nothing but admiration and respect for her, running this place for the past four months.”

New books are coming in, and multiple programs are scheduled. Residents are encouraged to follow the Blooming Prairie Branch Library Facebook page, which will serve as the main source of information about all of the activities.

“When I applied for this job, I was very much aware that without the master’s degree, on paper, I wasn’t necessarily the top choice,” Anderson said. “I was very humbled, and proud, that I got the job … but I knew I would regret not even trying.”

Terri Zwiener, interim city administrator and a member of the hiring committee that recommended Anderson, said the new hire “stuck out.”

“She came with lots of experience,” Zwiener said, “and I think she’ll bring excitement to the Blooming Prairie Library.”