Welcome to Browsing Books! 

We are the Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange, a multitype system serving all types of libraries. We are here to help you find new books, for yourself or for your library.

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 Lac qui Parle Mission. “Lac qui Parle is the French translation of the Dakota name, “Lake that speaks.” It was at this aptly named site that Joseph Renville worked with missionaries to create the first written Dakota alphabet.” To celebrate this site, read a book that has been translated into English.

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!

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.

This is a time when people are often making resolutions for a better year than the last one. Even without official resolutions, a lot of us try to build some better habits. Some of those focus on building better mental health.

From the article Improve Your Mental Health in the New Year With These 7 Daily Habits:

“Our mental health is the basis for everything we do, including our social and emotional well-being. It impacts every aspect of our life. Being intentional about valuing your mental health will help you connect deeper with others, reduce anxiety and boost your confidence. Start your year right with these simple daily habits. “

• Make relaxation a routine
• Practice gratitude 
• Value social interaction
• Take care of your physical health: Sleep, Food and hydration, and Exercise
• Monitor your social media intake
• Journal your feelings
• Make yourself laugh

You can find the rest of 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.

This season we are talking about library programs – giving you some ideas about different ideas you can try in your own library. It is always good to share ideas across libraries, and we are all better! Each week we will look at a different theme of programs.

This week we are talking about a very standard library program: book groups! Check out our show notes page here.

We’re at the end of the big holiday season, and everyone is tired of celebrating – and ready to start some resolutions for the new year. Reading more books is a pretty common resolution; book groups of all types can be helpful to your patrons – and fun for you!

These can be a big assortment of different kinds of programs, and for any age in your library. They can be regularly scheduled, or can be one time special events. They could be storytime for toddlers or travel books for senior citizens in assisted living. Our usual brand is books, no matter what kind of library you are in; and people who like our mission will want to come talk about the books in your collection. The rest is limited only by your imagination!

We are here to help you find new books, for yourself or for your library.

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 story of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe through museum exhibits, objects, demonstrations, and tours, and shop for locally made Native American arts and crafts in the restored 1930s trading post. To celebrate this museum, read a book about arts and crafts.

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!

Welcome to Season Ten of Linking Our Libraries! We are so happy to have you join us again! This is the Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange, and our members are all types of libraries and their staff. It’s so good to have you here also. In this podcast, we talk about the skills library staff need to be successful and to help them to serve their communities.

Check out our show notes page here, with links to everything we share today.

This season we are talking about library programs – giving you some ideas about different ideas you can try in your own library. None of us is as good at this as all of us thinking together. It is always good to share ideas across libraries, and we are all better! Each week we will look at a different theme of programs.

This will be a fun week, because we are sharing some citizen science programs! At CMLE, we are such fans of bringing citizen science to libraries. We have done a series of blog articles about citizen science, with suggestions for bringing it into your library. (You can find our blog here!)