All posts by Angie

Books, CMLE

New CMLE book group picks for July!

We can’t believe it’s already July! We hope you have been enjoying your summer and staying cool! We’re excited to share with you our picks for our CMLE Goodreads book groups for the month of July:

For our professional development book group, CMLE Librarian Professionals, we will be reading Nonsense: The Power of Not Knowing by Jamie Holmes.
“Managing ambiguity—in our jobs, our relationships, and daily lives—is quickly becoming an essential skill. Yet most of us don’t know where to begin.”

 

For our fiction book group, CMLE Librarians Enjoying Books, we are going to read People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks.
“In 1996, Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, is offered the job of a lifetime: analysis and conservation of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, which has been rescued from Serb shelling during the Bosnian war. ”

 

Looking forward to reading together! 🙂

CMLE, Communication

Join CMLE for dinner and socializing July 20th!

We are looking forward to our summer social event, when we will be able to get together for some great food and fun talk about libraries!

Based on a recent poll, this will be a dinner event. This is the first of two summer social events, since we want to try to make it as easy as possible for members and library people to attend!

Thursday, July 20th
5:30 pm
The White Horse
809 West Saint Germain, St Cloud, MN 56301

 The White Horse Restaurant and Bar doesn’t take reservations so CMLE staff will arrive a little early to hold a table or two.

We really enjoyed having our social events in the winter and spring; and are looking forward to hearing from you guys about your summer work, any plans you are making for upcoming programs, and any other interesting library things you want to share! (And it’s ALL interesting when it comes to library stuff!!)

So join us on Thursday July 20th and we’ll have some happy library conversation and enjoy some good food! Email us with any questions, and we hope to see you there! 🙂

Please RSVP if you can, it will make our planning easier!

Are you attending Thurs 7/20?

 

Books

Books in the Spotlight: Running!

Sometimes CMLE will highlight several books that have some factor in common. We hope they will give you ideas for your collection, or influence an activity, lesson plan, or display!

The Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon in Duluth was a lot of fun!

Running can be a great way to stay in shape, improve your mental health, or just a way to participate in fun events! Of course, there are lots of awesome books out there that incorporate running, so we thought we would share a few of our favorites:

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
“Equal parts training log, travelogue, and reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers his four-month preparation for the 2005 New York City Marathon and takes us to places ranging from Tokyo’s Jingu Gaien gardens, where he once shared the course with an Olympian, to the Charles River in Boston among young women who outpace him.”

The Runner by Cynthia Voigt
“Bullet Tillerman runs. He runs to escape the criticism of his harsh, unforgiving father. He runs to numb the pain of his mother’s inability to express her love. He is the star of the school track team, but he isn’t a team man and doesn’t want to be. Bullet runs for himself.”

 

The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances by Matthew Inman
“This is not just a book about running. It’s a book about cupcakes. It’s a book about suffering. It’s a book about gluttony, vanity, bliss, electrical storms, ranch dressing, and Godzilla. It’s a book about all the terrible and wonderful reasons we wake up each day and propel our bodies through rain, shine, heaven, and hell.”

Do you like running, and want to share your interest with young readers or students? This list from Outdoor Nation is full of great suggestions! And if you are interested in learning more about running with kids, Runner’s World has you covered with these resources.

Communication, General, Tech

Cool app: LibraryThing

Maybe you’ve already heard about the LibraryThing app? It’s been around for a few years as an app for iOS devices only, but they have recently launched their app for Android! (And it’s free!)

This app sounds like a great way to keep your personal library collection organized. And it even allows you to add media like DVDs and CDs. A few more features include:

  • Browse and search your library overall and by collection.
  • Add books, CDs, and DVDs by scanning barcodes. The barcode scanning is SUPER FAST!
  • Add items by searching by title, author, ISBN, etc.
  • Browse and upload covers, using your Android’s camera.
  • Do minor editing, such as adding books to collections and rating them. Major editing is done by a link to LibraryThing.com.

Check out their fun video here:

Do you use this app? We’re interested to hear how you like it! Leave a comment and let us know!