All posts by admincmle

The Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange (CMLE) is one of seven regional multitype library systems established to meet the needs of and share the resources of all types of libraries. We love libraries, and are here to support them!
Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Need Discounts on Books?

Some right reserved by Taro
Some right reserved by Taro

Do you need to do some end-of-the-year ordering of books (including e-books) and are you looking for discounts?

CMLE provides book discounts to libraries in Aitkin, Benton, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd and Wright counties in Minnesota. This year we have eleven book companies participating in the discount program, and eight of them are discounting e-books!  These discounts provide cost savings to 319 academic, school, public, and special libraries. The eleven participating book  companies this year are listed below, the companies with e-book discounts are shown in blue! You can go to our website to review all of the savings at http://www.cmle.org/discounts.asp. Each discount has a promo code that you need to mention to receive the savings.  In November, our member libraries should have received an email attachment of the discounts and their associated promo codes. Didn’t get the attachment? Send an email to cmle@stcloudstate.edu and use subject line, Discount Promo Codes Needed to receive the attachment.

Please let me know if you have any problems using these discounts, or if the list does not include a company you would like to suggest for inclusion next year. These discounts are a perk to you as part of your free membership as a CMLE member library. Send email to papost@stcloudstate.edu  with your input. Thanks!

Abdo, Baker & Taylor, Brodart, Follett, Gumdrop, Ingram, Mackin, Rainbow,

Sebco, Scholastic, and Usborne

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Minneapolis Schools Transform Learning

Some rights reserved by Kev_Hickey_UK
Some rights reserved by Kev_Hickey_UK

An article in the April 9th Star Tribune gives helpful detail about efforts to embed technology in the Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, and Bloomington schools.

Read more to hear what kinds of tablets were used and what Microsoft and Best Buy added to the resource base to make transformative learning come alive in these metro schools.

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

MNLibLeg: Legislative Update

**This update was written by Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Library Legislative Lobbyist**

House Omnibus Education Bill:  The House omnibus education bill was posted online this afternoon.  It maintains current funding for all library appropriations — Regional Library Basic System Support (RLBSS), Regional Library Telecommunication Aid (RLTA), Multi-type funding, the Electronic Library for Minnesota (ELM) and Telecommunication Equity Aid (TEA).  The bill also increases the general education formula from the current $5,224 per pupil to $5,328 in FY 2014 and $5,433 in FY 2015.  It also repays the education funding shift to the 90/10 payment schedule.

Senate Omnibus Education Bill:  The Senate bill will be released Thursday morning.

Senate Higher Education Funding Bill:   Great news! The Senate higher education bill increases funding for Minitex and MnLINK by $300,000 per year.  Please send thanks to our chief author, Senator Kent Eken sen.kent.eken@senate.mn and the committee chair, Senator Terri Bonoff sen.terri.bonoff@senate.mn

House Higher Education Funding Bill:  As expected, the House higher education bill maintains current funding for Minitex and MnLINK.  Once the higher ed bill gets to conference committee, we will need to press the conferees to go with the higher funding level in the Senate bill.

Bonding:  We had not planned to pursue funding for Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants this year, but were encouraged to introduce a bill by House leaders.  We did have a bill introduced to provide $3 million, but today the House bonding bill was unveiled and it does not include any funding for libraries.  We will pursue it next year.

Legacy:  As previously reported, the House Legacy bill includes $3 million per year for regional public libraries and $300,00 per year for the Minnesota Digital Library.  The Senate has just announced the process it will follow.  Our Legacy request for regional public libraries will originate in the Senate E-12 Education Division before going to the Senate Legacy Subcommittee.

Elaine Keefe
Capitol Hill Associates
525 Park Street, Suite 310
St. Paul, MN 55103
office 651-293-0229
fax 651-293-1709
cell 612-590-1244
elaine@capitolhillassoc.com

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Here’s What Can Happen in an Internet Minute

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Some rights reserved by wwarby

Have you wondered how many people log in to Facebook in a single minute?

According to a new infographic posted by Intel, it’s a staggering 277,000 logins every minute, even as six million Facebook pages are getting viewed per minute. Do you ever need to do presentations about the scale and growth of the Internet? If so, you have got to save this visual treasure trove of data. By breaking the Internet down into what happens in one minute, the numbers are at least a little more manageable. Take a look at http://tinyurl.com/bnwtx44

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Google Hangouts for Professional Development?

Some rights reserved by AJC1
Some rights reserved by AJC1

Have you been involved in using a Google Hangout yet?

Basically, a Hangout is a video chat session and has appeal for families and professionals alike. The ones I have attended have been fairly painless and powerful from my end, but I have not been the host of the event. You may have noticed that even the American Library Association (ALA) is using  Hangouts for some of their national, forward thinking topics, and these events  have been well attended. Here in CMLE we are considering whether our members may benefit from some regional networking using this tool too.

The link here will take you to an article Edutopia did recently on using Hangouts for teacher development. According to the article, Google Hangouts is a perfect tool to increase the level of communication and professional development in every school. Individuals often feel more connected as a result of participating in a Hangout. Share your thoughts in comments either about your experience using Hangouts, or your interest in trying it out with CMLE staff.