All posts by Angie
Open Access Week: Resources and Ways to Celebrate!
We are right in the middle of International Open Access Week!
This year’s theme is “Designing Equitable Foundations for Open Knowledge.” During the week of Oct. 22nd – 28th, the academic and research communities make a special effort to share with the wider world the benefits of Open Access.
This week is also a time to “help inspire wider participation in helping to make Open Access a new norm in scholarship and research.”
What is Open Access, and why is it important?
Open Access refers “the free, immediate, online access to the results of scholarly research, and the right to use and re-use those results as you need.” Having this ease of access to information can have a huge impact in the fields of medicine, education, and the world as a whole. Get more information at OpenAccessWeek.org.
This quick video does a good job of explaining how Open Access is beneficial and important:
And since we are library people, the more information the better, right? Here are some resources we found that get into Open Access in more detail:
- ACRL has this Scholarly Communication Toolkit full of articles, links to organizations, videos, best practices, and more, all discussing Open Access Policies and Publishing. They even have a section to help you debunk common Open Access myths!
- On IFLA’s Library Policy and Advocacy blog, they share the article “How open access can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” which highlights the important role of the library community.
- In this article from American Libraries, check out some stats regarding the effort to allow free access to scholarly research.
- This article from Canadian Science Publishing called “Who Needs Open Access” explains the reasons behind the movement and also discusses many of the challenges that need to be handled.
CMLE also has a podcast episode on the topic of Open Access featuring CMLE member Susan Schleper from the Centracare Hospital Library in St. Cloud. Listen here:
AASL Recommended Apps: PBS Kids Video
In June, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) announced their Best Apps for Teaching and Learning 2018. The apps encourage qualities such as creativity and collaboration, and encourage discovery and curiosity
The app PBS Kids Video allows users to access PBS shows on the go! “The app supports emerging and pre-readers and offers all children the opportunity to explore new ideas and worlds through media. It provides a safe, child-friendly viewing experience with access to thousands of free videos, including full episodes and clips from top PBS KIDS series.”
Platform: iOS, Android
Ages: Preschool – 3rd grade
Cost: FREE
Common Sense Media has this review of the app, or get more details about the app in this post from the Educational App Store. Education World has this quick post that gives some ideas for how to incorporate the app into classroom lessons. This app is also a 2018 Webby Award Winner!
CMLE Office Hours tomorrow!
CMLE members and fellow library people: We want to be available to chat with you in-person about library topics! That’s why we hold CMLE Office Hours.
Tomorrow, Oct 23rd from 11am – 1pm (Note: We will NOT be available during the 3pm – 5pm time tomorrow) stop by our office, no appointment needed, to converse with us!
Still need to chat but can’t make it to our office? Email us at admin@cmle.org to work out an alternative! We are here to support you!
Thinking about attending a conference? Apply for a CMLE Scholarship!
Opportunities for professional development and continuing education are everywhere! Earlier this month was the Minnesota Library Association annual conference, later this week is the ITEM conference, and coming up in December is the TIES conference! Not to mention webinars and other online and in-person training opportunities!
We know it can often be difficult to come up with the time or money to attend conferences or training events. That’s why we offer scholarships! If you need financial assistance to cover the cost of registration, parking, cost of a substitute or child care expenses, we want to help you!
We’ve already awarded several scholarships for this year so join your colleagues and apply today!
You can read more about CMLE Scholarships here, or fill out an application today: CMLE-member-scholarship-application
Send us an email at admin@cmle.org with any questions!