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, General, Public, School Media Specialist

Teen Research Skills on the Internet

Question Mark

So, what do you think, has the Internet harmed students’ research skills?

A new survey of teachers by the Pew Internet & American Life Project  finds that many       educators believe the Internet has shortened students’ attention spans and weakened students’   research skills. I am not so sure about those two statements, but I was fascinated by some of the findings that mirror what our Bridging Information Literacy Across Libraries group discussed this year. A few stats from this blog post include:

  • “While 77 percent of Advanced Placement and National Writing Project instructors agree that the Internet and available search tools have had a “mostly positive” effect on student research, 87 percent say the same tools can easily distract students and contribute to shorter attention spans
  • Even more disconcerting, 64 percent of respondents say modern digital technologies “do more to distract students than to help them academically.
  • The news is not all bad. Of those teachers surveyed, 99 percent say that the Internet provides access to a wider range of sources and information; while 65 percent agree that the web has helped students become self-sufficient researchers

You will have to read the full blog post to get an answer to the six-million-dollar question: Has the Internet conditioned students to expect too much too fast?”

Last of all, as you read this post ask yourself why librarians are digging deep to understand what their role is going to be in the future! It seems crystal clear that we will be needed more than ever!

Read the full blog post at  EdTech magazine (12/2012)

If you want to go straight to the source, the overview and  full results of the  Pew Internet survey about How Teens Do Research in the Digital World is located at http://tinyurl.com/ca2noy5

School Media Specialist

Digital Learning Day is Coming!

Celebrate the potential of technology in schools!DLD

Digital Learning Day (DLD) will be on February 6, 2013, and  is a great opportunity to highlight the school library program and its role in creating a digitally literate school community. Now is the time to start making plans for you and your students to participate in this nationwide celebration of great teaching and learning!

Participation in Digital Learning Day can be as simple or complex as you like. Some celebrations last one day; others continue all year. And, almost anyone can participate. As long as you are  interested in learning about how digital learning is changing education, you can join in. The link below has materials broken out by specific audience type to keep things simple and direct.

Check out how you can get involved in Digital Learning Day by going to http://digitallearningday.org/participate/

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

OCLC and Goodreads

My enjoyment and use of Goodreads continues, and I am encouraging family members, friends, and colleagues who count on me as their readers advisor to join me on Goodreads. Have you noticed that through a partnership with  OCLC (since 2007), you can pretty painlessly link to your home library to see if the item you are longing for on your “to-read list”  is available? It makes perfect sense for the two entities to partner up, and this union has provided greater visibility for libraries.   A new agreement pledges to improve Goodreads members’ experience of finding fresh, new things to read through libraries. It will also provide libraries with a way to reach this key group of dedicated readers through social media. Since 2007, Goodreads has sent more than 5 million web referrals to WorldCat, and it is hopeful that the expanded partnership will increase that number.
Go to http://tinyurl.com/co75gl8 for the minute details of this expanded partnership between OCLC and Goodreads.

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

Kansas State Library Launches Facebook Campaign

Have you seen posts on Facebook telling you which books are either unavailable as library ebooks, or how they are being priced for libraries? I love this smart social media campaign to make the library and ebook challenge real and understandable to the end user! Haven’t seen it? Read on…

The Kansas State Library has launched a social media campaign against what it says are unfair practices to keep bestselling electronic books out of the hands of libraries and their patrons. Library officials have started a page on Facebook,  www.facebook.com/thebig6ebooks, “bringing attention to the titles publishers are refusing to sell (as) e-books to libraries, price gouging or limiting checkouts per copy purchased.” Get more detail  at http://tinyurl.com/bvh7sc3, home of the Wichita Eagle, Nov. 12, 2012.

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

Pining for Pinterest

Laura Perenic writes: “As a self-confessed book-cover judger, displays of jacket art and themed book displays make my mental taste buds water. Imagine my delight when I realized that Pinterest, in addition to having loads of other content, is a veritable smorgasbord of fiction suggestions to please my young adult (YA) palate. As a fan of an author’s work, you can follow their page, boards, and pins for the latest news. Many teen authors use Pinterest to reach their audience; and YA Highway has a compiled list of YA authors using Pinterest.
Full blog post at YALSA The Hub, Nov. 12

Source of snippet: American Libraries Direct 11/14/2012