All posts by Angie

Books in the Spotlight: Astronomy

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!

Since last weekend was Earth Day, and Astronomy Day is just around the corner on April 29th, we thought it would be fun to highlight a few books and activities that focus on planets, moons, stars, and space!

  • Read all about constellations:
    Once Upon a Starry Night by Jacqueline Mitton, illustrated by Christina Balit
    “Take an illuminating ride through the starry night sky, and learn how the heavens pay tribute to the gods of Greek and Roman mythology. Once Upon a Starry Night explains the ten ancient figures whose legends are written large across the universe. Every page shines with Christina Balit’s vibrant art, studded with shiny stars, and provides the perfect backdrop to Jacqueline Mitton’s poetic text.”

Be inspired by the book to make some marshmallow constellations!

Continue reading Books in the Spotlight: Astronomy

Looking for some professional development opportunities?

It’s so important to learn new things in our library careers, or to attend conferences and interact with other library people doing similar work! If you’ve been feeling the need to network or to update some of your professional skills, make sure to keep your eyes on CMLE’s Continuing Education calendar!

The calendar is located on our Continuing Education page, which features a Google calendar that is updated daily with new learning opportunities. We include a variety of events like webinars, online courses, in-person conferences, workshops, and yes, even free opportunities!

The page also has links to organizations like Library Juice, TIES, and the AASL’s eAcademy that offer their own training and development opportunities.

And don’t forget CMLE offers scholarships! Apply for one today!

This weekend: Sunday, April 23 is World Book Day

This coming weekend is going to be a big one! After you celebrate Earth Day on Saturday, you can look forward to celebrating books on Sunday, which is World Book Day! As library people, not only do we love books ourselves, but we love to share our love of books with others, and this is a great day to do that!

World Book Day was created in 1995 at UNESCO’s General Conference, “to pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors on this date, encouraging everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading and gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions of those, who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity.”

Here are some suggestions for celebrating World Book Day:

  • Amazon is participating with their page promoting the day and featuring links to charitable organizations that provide books.
    • You can also use the hashtag #LoveToRead to share your book happy moments on social media!
  • Check out these awesome and adorable World Book Day costumes (or make your own!)
  • Play this free printable World Book Day Game (aimed at kids but could still be fun!)
  • Or simply curl up with a good book and enjoy! 🙂

 

Get excited: CMLE Library Snapshot Day is next week!

Next Thursday, April 27th is CMLE Library Snapshot Day! CMLE is excited to share pictures of our members and the work they are doing in their libraries!

Wondering what Library Snapshot Day is all about? From ALA:
“Holding a library snapshot day is a simple way to prove that libraries provide invaluable services to our communities.”

On this day, we want all our libraries (and anyone else – we love all libraries!) to take a few photos during the day, to show the work you do. It does not need to be anything especially exciting, or fancy-looking; just show the work that library people are doing.

Then, we will upload all the photos to our web page for easy access and sharing with stakeholders, library fans, or anyone that needs a reminder how important libraries are to their communities! (We also have a YouTube channel and would love to post your videos!)

Use the hashtag #CMLEPhotos on your social media accounts, to share them around with everyone!

We will be in contact with some of you to set up a few minutes for us to pop in and visit your library so we can get a few more photos!

Read more about Library Snapshot Day on ALA’s site.