Updates from State Library Services
Libraries Serving Youth Meetup
The Libraries Serving Youth Meetup is an annual opportunity for school librarians and public librarians to meet, network and share ideas. This year, attendees will have a chance to connect and develop creative ideas with colleagues around the topic of makerspaces.
School and public librarians are invited to join us at SPNN in Saint Paul (550 Vandalia Street, Suite 170) for the Meetup on Saturday, April 22, 2017, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., followed by an optional stop-motion animation workshop, 2-4 p.m. Register today for the Libraries Serving Youth Meetup. Attendees should plan to bring a bag lunch. Please contact Jen Verbrugge (651-582-8356) if you have questions.
Learn How Your Library Can Fill Hungry Bellies
Begin planning your library’s participation as a summer food site by attending an informational webinar on March 7, 2017, at 11 a.m. Jenny Butcher, USDA Summer Food Service Program coordinator at MDE, will share how you can get involved. There is no need to pre-register. Please join the Summer and At-Risk Food Programs for Kids WebEx meeting online (meeting number 591 243 422) or call in at 1-888-742-5095 (conference code 874 403 3672). Please contact Jen Verbrugge (651-582-8356) if you have questions.
Grant funding may be available to support your library as a summer food site. Second Harvest Heartland serves the 7-county metro and surrounding counties. Their summer food grant opportunity opens in March, as long as funding is available. Additionally, libraries are eligible to apply for a Summer Meals Initiative grant from Hunger Impact Partners. We’ll share information about more grant opportunities as we learn about them.
90-Second Newbery Film Festival – That’s a Wrap for the 2016-17 Season!
The third annual Minnesota 90-Second Newbery Film Festival screening played to a full house on February 25 at Hennepin County Library – Minneapolis Central’s Pohlad Hall. 90-Second Newbery founder James Kennedy and co-hosts middle grade author Keir Graff and Minneapolis’ Newbery Award winner Kelly Barnhill lit up the stage with their energy and rapport. Each film told the story of a Newbery-winning book in 90 seconds or less (give or take) and was written, directed, acted, filmed and edited by kid filmmakers. View the list of film entries and follow the links to view the creative films submitted by Minnesota K-12 students.
If you’re inspired by this year’s movies, find out how you can participate next year by visiting the 90-Second Newbery website. Now’s a perfect time to get your students and community partners thinking about filming for next year. It’s a great project to promote media and digital literacy for kids in a creative, collaborative setting. If you started a movie but missed the entry deadline for this year’s festival screening, don’t give up. Finish your masterpiece and send it in. Mr. Kennedy accepts 90-Second Newbery films all year round. For more information, please contact Jen Verbrugge (651-582-8356).
Updates from MDE
Take Part in Regional Lexile Workshops for Librarians and Other Educators
Free Lexile workshops for librarians and other educators are coming this March. In partnership with MetaMetrics (developers of the Lexile Framework), MDE is offering free professional development workshops across the state. View the Lexile workshop flier with dates, locations and other information, and then register for the Lexile workshop today.
A deeper understanding of Lexile measures can help you work more effectively with teachers and parents who are seeking materials based on Lexile levels. The workshops cover a number of topics including an overview of free Lexile resources and tools. CEUs will be available at the workshops.
Please contact Margarita Alvarez, Test Development supervisor, Statewide Testing, Minnesota Department of Education if you have questions about the workshops.
Updates from Our Partners
Addressing Families Affected by Incarceration
With support from MDE through an LSTA grant, Hennepin County Library is offering a series of programs about families and incarceration.
Hennepin County Library invites educators and community members to a unique forum addressing the issue of families and incarceration. At the Brookdale Library (6125 Shingle Creek Pkwy, Brooklyn Center) on Wednesday, March 22, 2017, at 4:30 p.m., author Nora Raleigh Baskin will briefly talk about her book, Ruby on the Outside, a compassionate story about a young girl and her incarcerated mother. After Baskin’s presentation, a panel of local experts on the issue will share their experience and help participants develop strategies that can be applied in the classroom to help families affected by incarceration. Register today for the Educator Forum on Families Affected by Incarceration.
Additionally, Hennepin County Library is offering a series of programs from March through July on families and incarceration. Visiting authors include Howard Zehr, Maya Schenwar, and Shaka Senghor.
Please download and share the Families and Incarceration flier with more details about the forum and related events. If you have questions, please contact Daniel Marcou (612-543-8852).