All posts by Mary Jordan

SELCO/SELS is hiring! AmeriCorps VISTA Literacy Leader

stack of books placed on seat of wooden swing
Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

Check out this opportunity with our colleagues SELCO/SELS! Located in the Rochester, MN area and serving all types of libraries, this system is a great place to get some good library experience.

Read through their ad, and pass this one to anyone you think would be a good candidate:

Play a vital role in the development of an initiative to support and improve early literacy efforts in the 11 counties of southeast MN and work closely with our amazing public and school libraries!

Position title: AmeriCorps VISTA Literacy Leader

Join SELCO (Southeastern Libraries Cooperating) and SELS (Southeast Library System) as we work to build a stronger early literacy infrastructure in our region! You will be able to build skills in conducting in-person interviews, investigating current practices, evaluating efficacy and assessing impacts while getting to work with others passionate about early literacy. You’ll be supported and encouraged by SELCO staff members working with public and school libraries.

This is a year-long Americorps VISTA service position, hosted through Literacy Minnesota. Serving as a Literacy Leader allows you to gain valuable experiences and skills while designing and carrying out early literacy initiatives. This position is hosted out of the regional headquarters located in Rochester, Minnesota. 

SELCO and SELS are welcoming and collaborative organizations that provide services and support to public, school, academic, and special libraries in an 11-county region of southeastern Minnesota. One of the strategic goals of both organizations is that SELCO and SELS assist its library members to be equipped to elevate the lives of Minnesotans in the region. Through this project, the organizations hope to focus specifically on the lives of the state’s youngest residents.

The goal of “Building an Early Literacy Ecosystem” is to strengthen early literacy initiatives in the region served by SELCO and SELS by developing strategies for reaching families with children ages 0-5 who are not currently using the library, increasing families’ exposure to the library, and strengthening the connection between the public and school library in hopes of creating a seamless transition for families with children entering preschool and kindergarten. 

Because this is the first year for this project, the Americorps Literacy Leader will have the opportunity to put their mark on this initiative by conducting a needs assessment, developing a logic model, and creating processes to increase collaboration between public and school libraries.

Duties include:

  • Creating a survey for schools to establish average student readiness at the beginning of kindergarten. 
  • Observing early literacy activities at public libraries.
  • Identifying other literacy providers in the region.
  • Synthesizing data gathered and assessing existing literacy activities for effectiveness. 
  • Defining measurable outcome objectives and output targets. 

Requirements:

  • 18+ years old
  • Ability to serve full-time for one year starting in August. 
  • A U.S. citizen, legal permanent resident, asylee, refugee or DACA recipient
  • A college degree is preferred but not required. 
  • Volunteer experience (or other type of community involvement) is strongly preferred.
  • Relevant education, work, internship, volunteer or national service experience of at least 1 year is preferred, especially experience in libraries and/or early childhood settings. 
  • Access to a vehicle and possession of a valid Minnesota driver’s license and insurance
  • Strong written and oral communication skills
  • Strong interpersonal skills
  • Strong organizational skills 
  • Basic technology skills 
  • Self-motivated and self-directed
  • Committed to equity, justice and community service

Literacy Leaders Receive:

  • Living allowance ($575 bi-weekly)
  • $6,345 education award or $1,803 stipend at end of service
  • $7900 healthcare allowance
  • Federal student loan forbearance
  • Relocation allowance (if moving 50+ miles for service)
  • Childcare assistance (if eligible)
  • Public benefits received prior to service are not affected by service

Additional Benefits

  • $750 per year in housing assistance funds (to be paid to landlord, mortgage company, leasing agent, or utility company)
  • Free, locally grown produce box subscription from local Community Supported Agriculture partners during fall and summer harvest seasons or grocery cards
  • $150 per year in professional development funds to pursue your own professional development goals
  • AmeriCorps VISTA member-led affinity group opportunities
  • Monthly professional development trainings
  • Mentorship from seasoned professionals
  • Develop your skill-set and network for a career in the education or nonprofit field

Send a resume and cover letter to Pam O’Hara at pohara@selco.info.

Questions? Contact Pam O’Hara at pohara@selco.info or 507-288-5513. 

CLOSING DATE: February 28, 2023

If selected to interview, you will also be required to fill out the Americorps application.

Celebrate Today! National Handwriting Day

logo for Celebrate Today's Holiday

That’s right: every week we are going to celebrate some small holiday! We want you to join us in celebrating every week – because really, everyone needs a little more happiness in their lives.

Join us in celebrating the holiday just yourself, and take some small quiet time to enjoy it. Or, take our book and program ideas, and celebrate in a larger way in your library. Take a small, goofy opportunity to have a little more fun today! (We celebrate you in doing this!)

Today is National Handwriting Day! If you are like me, your handwriting is really deteriorating. Mine was never great, and it’s pretty illegible now. I’m better at printing anyway, and it’s easier to read. But I feel bad about it when I see other people’s lovely handwriting, especially in older printed material. If you feel like this, maybe today is a day we can do a little work to make our writing, in whatever form, nicer looking and easier to read!

Browse a few books today:

And maybe try a few programs in your library:

  • hold a calligraphy event, where everyone can learn to write their names and maybe a few other important words
  • make papers available and let patrons put together their own journals so they can do some gratitude writing each night
  • host a writing session to let patrons write poetry, and have an open mic night where they can share their writings
  • bring in a speaker to talk about handwriting analysis, and any meaning hidden in people’s handwriting style

The main thing today: just take a few minutes to enjoy yourself and to have a happy minute. We are here for you, and your year-long celebrations!

Browsing Books: Lower Sioux Agency

logo for browsing books: historical sites of Minnesota

This season we continue to travel around Minnesota but this time we’re learning about all the fascinating historical sites our state has to offer and giving you a book prompt inspired by each site.  

We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge!

This week we encourage you to explore the Lower Sioux Agency. “As the Civil War raged on in the South, tensions between the Dakota and the newly formed Minnesota government erupted at this site in 1862.” To honor this history, we suggest that you read a book set in Minnesota.

We give you links to each of these books on our show notes page, taking you to Amazon.com. If you click on any of them, and buy anything at all – including a nice book – Amazon will send us a small percent of the profits they made on these sales. Thank you for supporting CMLE!

Happiness in the Library: Phrases To Make Someone’s Day

logo for happiness in the library series

It’s a tough time for libraries, and people in customer service. And while we don’t want to veer into any toxic positivity, it is good to spend a little time focused on building your happiness level. We are not going to solve people’s serious mental issues here. But bringing some happiness skills to your week can be helpful to everyone!

Mondays can be a little hard, even when things are going fine. Use this small injection of a happiness skill to your week. We are here to support you, and to help you to be a little happier in the library.

Emotions are contagious – so your happiness can help to influence other people. Likewise, the things you say to other people can help to influence them; so use your powers for good, and influence positivity around you.

Check out these suggestions from the article Use these 9 little phrases to ‘instantly brighten’ someone’s day, says happiness expert:

“You have a superpower that you might not know about: the power to make another person glow. In fact, a study found that we underestimate how happy someone feels after they receive a compliment. As a happiness and well-being expert, I always remind people that these small acts of kindness have a big impact. So channel your thoughtful side today and let people know that they matter to you. Here are nine little phrases you can say to instantly brighten someone’s day:

  • “I am proud of you.”
  • “I see your gifts.” 
  • “Tell me more about that.”
  • “I love you as you are.”
  • “I am grateful for you.” 
  • “You are making a difference.” 
  • “You inspire me.” 
  • “You can do this.” 
  • “You changed my life.” 

You can read the article with all the details here.

CMLE can be part of your support network; we are here for you, and support you in your library work. Take a nice deep breath in, and whoosh it out; it’s going to be okay today.

Denise Lajimodiere, Citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, Discusses Her Books

opened book on tree root
Photo by rikka ameboshi on Pexels.com

Join Denise Lajimodiere, Citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, as She Discusses Her Books

Save the Date
: May 5th from 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Via Zoom

Join Denise Lajimodiere, citizen of the Turtle Mountain band of Chippewa Indians, as she discusses some of her many books:

  • Josie Dances
  • Stringing Rosaries
  • His Feathers Were Chains
  • Dragonfly Dance
  • Thunderbird Poems
  • Bitter Tears

First and foremost, Denise is a poet. Her poems are beautifully written with compassion, insight, and a sorrow. Through her work, we come to understand the joy of loving relationships and the deep anguish experienced by beloved family members and friends growing up as Native Americans. Denise sensitively characterizes stories of the Anishinaabe people she loves. Her poetry opens one’s heart to the timeless voices of art.

Denise Lajimodiere is a true artist. Exquisitely museum quality, Denise’s birch bark biting art is practiced by few in North America. She reintroduced jingle dancing to Turtle Mountain and has won numerous prizes over her fifty-five years of Pow Wow dancing. The beadwork on her many jingle dresses is her own. 

While poetry and art are critically represented in Denise Lajimodiere’s work, she is a scholar and academic. Denise holds a doctorate from the University of North Dakota and taught graduate courses in Educational Leadership at North Dakota State University for many years. She was a principal and educator. Most recently, Dr. Lajimodiere has been interviewed by over 100 news organizations worldwide for her acclaimed title, Stringing Roseries (2019), which brings to light the atrocities experienced by a generation of Native American children attending boarding schools across the United States. Stringing Roseries displays the first map of boarding schools as of 2019.

Please join us for Dr. Lajimodiere’s insightful talk on May 5th. There will be 3 continuing education credits for all attending.

Everyone is welcome.