Host an Eco Exhibit at Your Library

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency created a second tabletop exhibit, and we are again partnering with them to lend the exhibit to libraries. Fix-a-Leak raises awareness about water conservation at home. Toilets are the number one source of home water loss, with the toilet tank flapper the most common place that leaks. The good news is replacement parts are inexpensive and easy to install yourself. The exhibit features a cross-section of a toilet sitting on a table. People can move the flush handle to see how the flapper works. State Library Services will supply a reproducible booklist related to water conservation along with the exhibit.

The first table top exhibit is still available for loan. Your Resilient Community is an interactive display that comes with a portable table, eco-themed booklist, and button maker with templates for a fun, hands-on activity. We’re working with Minitex to deliver both exhibits, so all you need to do is set them up in your library – instructions are provided.

Libraries may have each exhibit for four to six weeks, and we’ll try to work around your schedule. Please contact Emily Kissane (651-582-8508) if you are interested in hosting Fix-a-Leak or Your Resilient Community at your library.

Making Summer Meals Work at Your Library

Public libraries can help make sure hungry kids have access to nutritious food when school is not in session. Begin planning your summer 2018 participation by viewing this informational Making Summer Meals Work webinar. In it, Jenny Butcher, USDA Summer Food Service Program Coordinator at MDE, shares how your library can get involved. State Library Services has also created a new Making Summer Meals Work webpage with resources to support your library’s efforts in offering summer meals. Please contact Jen Verbrugge (651-582-8356) with feedback, questions, or concerns.

YALSA Seeking Feedback: Transforming Teen Services through Continuing Education

The American Library Association’s Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) received an IMLS grant for their project “Transforming Teen Services through Continuing Education.” Through April 30, 2018, YALSA is seeking feedback from the library community on its draft report about the teen services-focused continuing education needs of all library staff. If you have a few moments, please read through the YALSA report and submit your feedback. The input you provide will be used to refine the draft, and a final report will be published on May 31, 2018.

Three Anishinaabe Reservations Participate in National Book Foundation Initiative

Across the country, many people live in book deserts: vast geographic areas lacking libraries and bookstores. Without books within easy reach, children living in these regions often experience lower test scores and literacy skills. The Book Rich Environments (BRE) initiative aims to combat book deserts by connecting marginalized communities with books. To make the initiative possible, the National Book Foundation partners with like-minded organizations and book publishers to give free, high-quality, diverse books to children and families in HUD-assisted communities. This year, three northern Minnesota Anishinaabe reservations—Leech Lake, Red Lake, and White Earth—are included among the 37 participating sites across 19 states, and the initiative aims to put 422,000 books in the hands of those children who need them the most. Each local partner pledges to hold at least three book-distribution events held at public housing buildings, community centers, and/or libraries. With a focus on providing free books, programming, and vital connections to local resources, BRE seeks to make a long-lasting impact, helping to create sustainable book-rich environments where literature is accessible and celebrated within the community. Visit the National Book Foundation website for more information.