New library director sees opportunities for the Nobles County Library

Jun. 5—WORTHINGTON — Beth Sorenson, who started her work as Nobles County Library director on May 2, never intended to leave her position as library director at the Cloquet Public Library.

She and her husband Randy owned property in Moose Lake that they intended to retire on, and she had just led the Cloquet facility through a 7,000 square foot addition and renovation project, while navigating the changes caused by COVID-19.

At the same time, Sorenson said, she began to feel that the Cloquet library didn't need her anymore, and began to feel called, in a religious sense, to come to Worthington. She fought the feeling for a while, and then made the decision to take the position of library director for Nobles County.

"I just really felt this was where I needed to be," she said.

So far, it's been different from her previous jobs, in that the staff was already running things when Sorenson arrived, keeping the library going following the termination of the previous director, David Bradford.

As a problem-solver, Sorenson found the place surprisingly free of any major problems. Instead, she's been focusing on the big projects, such as getting the downstairs area of the Worthington branch cleaned up and preparing for the summer reading program.

Eventually, that downstairs space where the Nobles County Historical Society used to be will likely be renovated, but at this point, Sorenson is focusing on getting it into shape to be used for programs and potentially community space.

She has plenty of other goals too, such as expanding the library's offerings in languages other than English as well as brightening and updating the library. She hopes to have more programming that will bring people into the library and give them a variety of activities and opportunities for socialization.

All that reflects the changing position of libraries nationally, as they have become more than a place for silent research and increasingly, have transformed into places for socialization and learning via classes.

Libraries have always tried to be flexible, Sorenson explained.

"When there's a demand, you try to pick up that role and move forward with it," she said, noting that some libraries have even started hiring social workers or therapists to help refer people to services they might otherwise not be aware of.

Sorenson hopes to work on community partnerships more in the future.

She has been impressed with the diversity of the library's clientele, particularly given the size of the community, and praised the Spanish-speaking members of her staff as being "a huge benefit to the community."

Sorenson is also impressed with the library's "extraordinary" cake pan collection, pointing out that "not all libraries have that."

At this point, she hopes to help the library deal with its two biggest challenges — making the best use of what space it has now, and finding effective ways to reach out to underserved communities.

"I think really, there's a lot of focus on getting the library's presence out into the community," she said. "And I think that's a very good goal."

Sorenson is a graduate of Jamestown High School in Jamestown, North Dakota. She graduated from Valley City State University, in Valley City, North Dakota, with a bachelor's degree, and she started working at Jamestown College's library. She gradually worked in every position there except that of library director, and eventually, she earned her master's degree in library science in Emporia, Kansas.

She also worked at Williston State College's library for two years and served as a receptionist at a nursing home for a time, before returning to the Alfred Dickey Library in Jamestown. Then she got her dream job, working with a master cataloguer, Shelby Harken, at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks.

"And that's what I thought I wanted to do with my life," Sorenson said.

She didn't stop there, however, and took a job in Milford, Iowa, where she served as library director for four years.

"There were great people there," Sorenson recalled. "We did a lot of fun things. Outreach was our big goal."

That's when she went up to Cloquet, and from there, to Worthington. She and her husband have purchased a home in Sibley, Iowa, and as her hobbies include hiking and kayaking, Sorenson is excited about exploring new places in the region.

"The people have been fantastic," she said of Worthington. "The people in the county are great, the library staff is good. The patrons are nice."