Minitex is pleased to announce the official public launch of Ebooks Minnesota. Peruse 2,500 titles in the collection at EbooksMN.org.
Ebooks MN is now available at elm4you.org and MnKnows.org. It will be available through MnLINK later in the year. You are encouraged to add it to your web pages at this time, with helpful “how to” information at EbooksMN.org/about.
– Updates from our MN State Librarian More
– Free national online library events to build your skill sets More
–Final Reminder to register! Erin Hart & Paddy O’Brien event More
– The mega site of product manuals More
– Need SAT prep assistance? See new Learning Express content now….More
– Free eBooks for children in need More
Are professional development funds tight in your work setting? Is the money to pay your registration to a conference in the budget, but there is no money for hotel or mileage, or to pay a sub so you can be away from your workplace?
CMLE offers scholarships of up to $200 per fiscal year per individual for staff affiliated with any type of library in Aitkin, Benton, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd and Wright counties in Central Minnesota. The scholarships can be used to attend workshops, conferences, library meetings or task forces, and other library-related activities to promote engagement and/or professional development. All expenses mentioned earlier are appropriate and we encourage you to use the scholarships even if it can’t cover all of the costs. And, if you use our scholarship to help with costs, feel free to mention to your administrator that you have used our program!
Need help paying for that sub? CMLE scholarships come in very handy in settings that require your employer to pay for a “sub” while you are off enhancing your library skill sets. When you fill out the form, just indicate the amount you need to cover that expense.
We all owe it to ourselves to keep our skill sets sharp. Confidence and new energy often result when we take time to invest in ourselves and spend time with our peers. CMLE would like to support you to that end. For all of the details and to apply for a scholarship, go to CMLE Scholarships. The application is quite simple and should take no more than 10 minutes if you know what you want to attend and have the event information in hand.
For more info on library conferences and other library continuing education events, go to the Minnesota Library Continuing Education Calendar listing.
Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/o4onocb, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Job Openings
The System Administrator is a professional in technology infrastructure hardware, software and networking. The primary tasks will involve installation, configuration, administration, and troubleshooting of server/network infrastructure hardware and software systems so that all systems are usable by students and staff. The selected candidate will have experience maintaining firewalls, content filtering, LAN/WAN/WI-FI networking, virtualized data center hardware/software, data backups, mobile device management, and be a graduate of an appropriate college or equivalent program. The incumbent will also assist the Assistant Director of Information Technology in planning, training and coordinating the efforts of Information Technology Specialists team. We are in year 1 of a 3-year student 1:1 initiative rolling out Chromebooks for students in grade 6 through 12.
For more information, visit https://phl.applitrack.com/elkrivermn/onlineapp/jobpostings/view.asp?internaltransferform.Url&category=Technology&category=Technology
The ISD 728 Informational Technology Personnel, Specialist & Analyst Effective July 1, 2015 benefits handbook is also available at the district’s website.
CMLE staff are often asked what CMLE does now that it no longer provides the interlibrary loan service that ended in 2012. Coming up on 10 years of flat funding, CMLE needs to choose carefully what it can start and what it can sustain. With a small staff of 1.5 people, we do lots of things, one being your receipt of our Weekly Review email each Thursday. In order to send the email, our staff comb through hundreds of bits of information to identify the best to help you manage the clutter in your inbox. We often take complicated subjects and distill them down into manageable bites too. In addition, CMLE offers events, some of a technical nature, and some more lighthearted to provide you time to socialize and build relationships with your peers. Take a look at our events lineup this year….
ELM Expo in partnership with Metronet and Minitex; a full day of face-to-face learning tips and tricks of using ELM: Took place November 6, 2015
Snippets & Sneak Peeks book talk event in partnership with East Central Region of ITEM and Barnes & Noble: Took place Jan. 12, 2016
Genealogy Research Workshop in partnership (for space and laptops) with Great River Regional Library: February 2, 2016 (postponed due to weather, coming soon)
Spring Author Event with Erin Hart and Paddy O’Brien at North Folk Winery in Cambridge in partnership with Scout & Morgan Books: March 10, 2016. Register now! Deadline is March 4th!
New Library Spring Tour and Book Talk event in partnership with St. Cloud Community and Technical College, date is pending, watch our communications.
Supervisory Nuts and Bolts Workshop, coming soon. Have you ever noticed you learned about theory in “library school” but not many practical skills or tips about supervising without authority? The date for this event will be picked based on the wishes of those who are interested in attending.
In addition, CMLE makes contributions to programming of other organizations in order to provide you with a better attendee experience. Three examples include the ITEM Fall Conference, MLA Fall Conference, and the EdCamp MidMN right here in St. Cloud, Minnesota. If you ever need financial assistance to attend any library-related event or conference, please consider the CMLE Scholarship program. Yes, that is another of our many services which strive to respond to regional needs. The full services list is on our site.
Photo credit: Maria Burnham