All posts by Mary Jordan

Tech, Writing

Call for essays: Women in Library Information Technology

Photo of the Week- Women in STEM Introducing Girls to Engineering (8722940949)
CMLE members – many of you work with IT in your jobs, and this is a good time to share your experience!

If you want someone to bounce around some ideas, or to talk about putting this together – we are here to help you at CMLE HQ!
Call for Essays

Working Title: We Can Do I.T. : Women in Library Information Technology
Editors: Jenny Brandon, Sharon Ladenson, Kelly Sattler
Submission Deadline: March 27, 2017
Publisher: Library Juice Press

Description of book:
What roles are women playing in information technology (I.T.) in libraries? What are rewards that women experience, as well as challenges they face in library I.T.? What are future visions for women in library I.T.?
This edited collection will provide a voice for people to share insights into the culture, challenges, and rewards of being a woman working in library I.T.  We are soliciting personal narratives from anyone who works in a library about what it is like to be a woman, or working with women, in library I.T. Continue reading Call for essays: Women in Library Information Technology →

Programs, School Media Specialist

Oyster River Middle School Bridge Club takes over Library

GoldenGateBridge-001
Check out this article on a fun library program!

“DURHAM — Friday afternoons at a school often resembles the likes of an abandoned building. Eager to start their weekends, staff and students vacate the building at the sound of the dismissal bell, leaving the building silent. However, this is not the case for Oyster River Middle School.

Though the halls are empty and the parking lot barren, one will hear the buzz of discussion and laughter emanating from the ORMS library every Friday afternoon.

For the past five years, the ORMS Bridge Club has taken over the library on Friday afternoons. Run entirely by parents and volunteers, the club has become one of the school’s most popular after school activities. Students in grades five through eight flock the library each Friday afternoon, pushing off the start of the weekend for just a few more hours of fun at school.

The club is run by Lisa Allison and her husband, Nate. Though their son now attends high school, the Allisons return to ORMS every Friday to teach new generations the game of bridge.

“My parents taught me to play bridge when I was seven or eight years old,” said Lisa Allison. “I was not a good player by any means, but I had fun.”

Allison continued to play bridge well into her adult years. When her son was a toddler, she joined a parent group and began to teach and play bridge with other parents while their children socialized and played. Once her son was old enough to attend school, Allison joined the American Contract Bridge League and began to play duplicate bridge for Master Points. As her passion for bridge grew, Allison wanted to share the game with younger generations in hopes of getting the game alive and relevant.

When her son entered 5th grade in 2011, Allison partnered with another parent to start a Bridge Club at ORMS. Though they began with only four members — the minimum required to play bridge — the club has grown exponentially. For the 2016-2017 school year, Bridge Club has nearly 60 students on its roster.”

(read the rest of this article!)

Books, Children's services

11-Year-Old Starts Club For Young Black Boys To See Themselves In Books

Books about African American English
I love this kid! How do we help our patrons to be this involved in literacy??

From Huffington Post:

“An 11-year-old from St. Louis wants to celebrate black books and improve the literacy rate among other boys at the same time.

Sidney Keys III started his own reading club for boys called Books N Bros to show his peers that reading can be fun.

Continue reading 11-Year-Old Starts Club For Young Black Boys To See Themselves In Books →

Advocacy, CMLE

Take action to save federal library funding! Yes: You!!

Librarians have always been cool and cutting edge!
From:
Beth Yoke, CAE
Executive Director
Young Adult Library Services Association

The White House budget that was released today calls for eliminating the Institute of Museum & Library Services (IMLS), the only federal agency charged with providing support to the nation’s hundreds of thousands of libraries and museums.  ALA and YALSA need your help to ensure that IMLS is saved, because without libraries teens will not have the resources and support they need to succeed in school and prepare for college, careers, and life.  Here’s what you can do right now:*   Use the sample messages in this document to contact the offices of your members of Congress

*   Share your photo or story via this form of how support from IMLS has enabled you and your library to help the teens in your community.  YALSA will use this information to advocate against the elimination of IMLS
*   Sign up via this web page to receive updates on the #SaveIMLS effort
*   Add your name to this online petition being circulated by EveryLibrary
*   Start planning how you, your teen patrons, and library advocates will participate in National Library Legislative Day on May 2.  Use the resources on YALSA’s wiki.

*   Encourage your friends, family, and colleagues to do the above as well

Don’t know much about IMLS?  Here’s a quick overview: through IMLS, every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. territories receive funding to support their state’s libraries and museums.  In FY14 the total funding IMLS distributed to states and territories was $154,800,000.  In addition, IMLS offers competitive grant opportunities that individual libraries and museums can apply for.  In FY14 they awarded 594 grants (from 1,299 applications) totaling more than $54,700,000.  Visit the IMLS site to see how much funding your state receives from them.

Want to take further action to support teens and libraries?  We salute you!  Check out the free online resources we have to make speaking up for teens and libraries easy.

-Beth

Beth Yoke, CAE
Executive Director
Young Adult Library Services Association
50 E. Huron St. Chicago, IL 60611
1.800.545.2433 x4391
fax: 312.280.5276
byoke@ala.org<mailto:byoke@ala.org>
@yalsa_director

Communication

Updates from State Library Services

Join Our Team
Do you have experience working with grants and with school libraries? Are you interested in helping libraries develop programs and services that support K-12 learners? If so, we may have just the job for you. State Library Services is hiring a Library Development and Services Specialist (LSTA Coordinator) who will manage our federal Library Services and Technology Act grant activities and lead activities that address the needs of school-age children and youth. Read more about the job at the State of Minnesota careers site (search Job ID 12160), and submit your application online by March 28. Please contact Jen Nelson (651-582-8791) with questions.

Library Service and Technology Act Funds
State Library Services typically announces a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) competitive grant round soon after we receive our annual Grants to States allotment from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). As you may be aware, the federal government, including IMLS, is operating under a Continuing Resolution for federal fiscal year 2017. We have received an LSTA Grants to States award for federal fiscal year 2017 that is based on the funds IMLS has available under the Continuing Resolution. The amount is less than usually received and IMLS has indicated that we will be notified after April 28, 2017 if any supplemental funds are available. Because the amount we received is reduced, we are postponing opening a competitive grant round until notification of a supplemental award is received. Please note that no current (state fiscal year 2017) grants or grant-funded projects are impacted. Please contact Jen Nelson (651-582-8791) with questions.

Meet Up with Other Librarians
The Libraries Serving Youth Meetup is an annual opportunity for school librarians and public librarians to meet, network and share ideas. This year, attendees will have a chance to connect, and develop creative ideas with colleagues around the topic of makerspaces.

School and public librarians are invited to join us at SPNN in Saint Paul (550 Vandalia Street, Suite 170) for the Meetup on Saturday, April 22, 2017, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., followed by an optional stop-motion animation workshop, 2-4 p.m. Register today for the Libraries Serving Youth Meetup. Attendees should plan to bring a bag lunch. You can also register for just the stop-motion animation workshop. Please contact Jen Verbrugge (651-582-8356) with questions.

Add Ebooks Minnesota Records to Your Catalog
Libraries now have an additional way to give their patrons access to Ebooks Minnesota: Minitex has MARC records available for the collection! Please let Minitex know how you’d like the content by completing this brief survey. They’ll provide you with information about accessing the records in a way that best suits your needs. For more information about the MARC records, please contact Minitex. For more information about Ebooks Minnesota, please contact Emily Kissane (651-582-8508).

Updates from MDE

Take Part in Regional Lexile Workshops for Librarians and Other Educators
In partnership with MetaMetrics (developers of the Lexile Framework), MDE is offering free professional Lexile workshops for librarians and other educators across the state. View the Lexile workshop flier with dates, locations, and other information, and then register for the Lexile workshop nearest you today.

A deeper understanding of Lexile measures can help you work more effectively with teachers and parents who are seeking materials based on Lexile levels. The workshops cover a number of topics including an overview of free Lexile resources and tools. CEUs will be available at the workshops.

Please contact Margarita Alvarez, Test Development supervisor, Statewide Testing, Minnesota Department of Education if you have questions about the workshops.

Updates from Our Partners

Check Out the New Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub
The Minnesota Historical Society recently released a new Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub as a Beta site. The new Hub brings together the Minnesota digital newspapers from the original Hub, the Historical Minneapolis Tribune newspapers, and new sets of digitized Minnesota newspaper titles—all in a new platform.

During the new Hub’s initial Beta period, the original Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub and the Historical Minneapolis Tribune websites will continue to be available. The Digital Newspapers at MNHS landing page explains the transition and provides the link for the new Hub.

Please contact the Minnesota Historical Society webmaster with your feedback about using the new Hub and/or connecting to the new Hub, original Hub, or the Historical Minneapolis Tribune. The webmaster will forward any communications on to the MNHS digital newspaper team.

Addressing Families Affected by Incarceration
With support from MDE through an LSTA grant, Hennepin County Library is offering a series of programs about families and incarceration.

Hennepin County Library invites educators and community members to a unique forum addressing the issue of families and incarceration. At the Brookdale Library (6125 Shingle Creek Pkwy, Brooklyn Center) on Wednesday, March 22, 2017, at 4:30 p.m., author Nora Raleigh Baskin will briefly talk about her book, Ruby on the Outside, a compassionate story about a young girl and her incarcerated mother. After Baskin’s presentation, a panel of local experts on the issue will share their experience and help participants develop strategies that can be applied in the classroom to help families affected by incarceration. Register today for the Educator Forum on Families Affected by Incarceration.

Additionally, Hennepin County Library is offering a series of programs from March through July on families and incarceration. Visiting authors include Howard Zehr, Maya Schenwar, and Shaka Senghor.

Please download and share the Families and Incarceration flier with more details about the forum and related events. If you have questions, please contact Daniel Marcou (612-543-8852).

Save the Date: Legal Information Training
The metro county law libraries and the State Law Library are hosting an educational program on Friday, April 21, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Shoreview branch of the Ramsey County Library.

Sessions will include:

  • Review of mncourts.gov with special emphasis on help topics, forms and a description of statewide self-help services
  • Overview of where to find probate and estate planning materials online
  • Program on criminal expungement
  • Session dealing with common landlord tenant issues
  • Exercise on where to find legal forms

All librarians are welcome, and registration information will be available closer to the event. Please contact Liz Reppe (651-297-2089) with questions.

Other News of Note

Leave No Child Hungry This Summer
The USDA’s Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) helps fill meal gaps during the summer months for kids who rely on free or reduced-price meals during the school year. Second Harvest Heartland supports SFSP by building community awareness to increase participation. Your library can help hungry families find free meals in your community this summer. Second Harvest Heartland has free outreach materials without year-specific information so they can be distributed across multiple summers. You can request outreach materials for your library through the Second Harvest Heartland website.

Take Your Library Outside the Lines
Outside the Lines (OTL) provides a framework for libraries—no matter their size or type—to share their stories, connect with their communities in new and exciting ways, and shift perceptions of libraries everywhere. Celebrate OTL with your community Sept. 10-16, 2017.

Register your library to participate in OTL 2017. (If your organization participated in 2016, you can simply log in, update your existing profile and check the 2017 box to be included in this year’s festivities.) Registration will get you such things as new graphics and shareable content, webinars that focus on specific ways to make OTL work for your library, and updated examples and tips from participating libraries. For more information, visit the OTL website.