Multitype regions are in their quarterly meeting . . . . being held in St. Cloud. We are a group that exists to mutually support and share. The group is truly multitype. None of the regions does the same thing, but may choose which of the statute-specified services to offer. Even the directors are multitype — librarians with backgrounds in a variety of areas. We are woefully underfunded, have even been described as being starved out of existence.
But I suggest that one thing is certain. That the very existence of these regions ensures that libraries will have the network underpinnings to work together. That somewhere there is an organization that understands that all libraries are multitypes when they perform most if not all types of services:
School libraries are academic libraries for the faculty using them for post-granduate work
Public libraries are school libraries for home-schoolers and kids after school
Academic libraries are public libraries for the citizens who live in the neighborhood
Special libraries are public libraries for the people in their business (some even buy best-sellers)