All posts by Angie

Books, General

Have you read a book you thought was the worst?

Library people generally love books and reading. But, chances are, since you spend a lot of time reading, you are bound to come across a book or two that you dislike…or even hate!

This article from Book Riot describes one man’s strong dislike of a certain book “that many literary critics and book reviewers say is a timeless classic, while I say it is complete garbage and hands down the worst book I have ever read.”

Read the article to find out which book he is talking about! If you also have feelings of strong dislike for a certain book, we are curious to hear about it! Share with us in the comments.

Personally, I tend to abandon books if I develop hateful feelings towards them, unless they are required reading for some reason. In that case, the last book I really didn’t care for was The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni.

Books, Children's services, Programs, Public, School Media Specialist

New study says toy “sleepovers” can help kids’ literacy

Getting young kids involved in activities that involve reading is important to encourage their literacy skills. And when the kids can bring their favorite stuffed animals along, everyone can participate in the fun!

You may remember a few months ago CMLE’s office mascot Orville got to take part in a great Stuffed Animal Sleepover program offered by the St. Cloud Public library.

These events are becoming increasingly popular all across the world, and thanks to a new study, can even promote early literacy skills. This article from School Library Journal explains just how useful these events can be to get young kids interested in reading!
Continue reading New study says toy “sleepovers” can help kids’ literacy →

CMLE, Communication, General, Resources, Training

Have you checked CMLE’s Continuing Education calendar lately?

As library people, we love knowledge and learning! If you are looking for some professional Continuing Education opportunities, hopefully you know about CMLE’s 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.

If you are interested in participating in a Continuing Education event but struggling with the financial aspect, don’t forget CMLE offers scholarships!

Communication, Conference

ARSL Conference News: Lodging and Keynote Speakers

The 2017 conference for the Association for Rural and Small Libraries takes place from Sept. 6th – 9th and will be in St. George, Utah this year. Since many of CMLE’s member libraries are small or in rural locations, we thought this conference might be of interest to you! And don’t forget, we have scholarships available to help you attend these sorts of professional opportunities!

Registration for the conference isn’t open until April 3rd, but you are encouraged to make hotel reservations now!

The keynote speakers for the event are bestselling authors Richard Paul Evans and Brandon Mull.

Find more information about the conference on their website.

Communication, General, Resources

Women’s History Month poetry, short stories, and music on Spotify

Spotify is great for listening to music and making playlists, and they’ve really done a great job to help celebrate Women’s History Month!

Thanks to this article from Book Riot, I discovered that Spotify has compiled a few really neat playlists: Poetry (read by the authors), Women’s Lit (classic short stories), Women of Latin Music, a playlist of women composers, plus a ton more! Get more detail from the article here, or just find the “Women’s History Month” category on Spotify. As someone that probably wouldn’t pickup a book of poetry, or listen to women K-Pop stars, these playlists make it easy to try new genres and recognize the talented women that created them!

You do need to setup a Spotify account to access the playlists, but it’s free and portable (if you download the app).

Happy listening!

 

 

 

 

 

http://bookriot.com/2017/03/14/spotify-rounds-up-audiobooks-poetry-and-short-stories-for-womens-history-month/