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, Special

Which books are weeds?

SeedlingI have got gardening on the brain, do you? It is exciting to see anything green push up through the dirt, even a weed! But soon enough, we know that for the sake of the garden, those weeds have to go. So goes it with our library collections too. As we remove the clutter, the truly good content can breathe, can shine through more brightly. This is the time of year when many of our readers are doing inventory and weeding collections, so this post seems timely. The key question always is….which books are weeds, and many a librarian are quite tortured by it! Deep down, I think librarians absolutely know something needs to be weeded, they just need absolution for discarding any book. In many cases, the act of discarding is painful, and fraught with indecision. Some people simply cannot do it!

If you have been reading our blog for some time, you have heard of Mary Kelly and Holly Hibner, two light-hearted Michigan librarians best known for their Awful Library Books blog.  They also offer Advice to Reluctant Weeders Here. You might want to also check out their Hurdles to Weeding.

Good to go, or do you need to go deeper? Other resources that may help include:

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/q3vaodr, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
General, Public, School Media Specialist

Featured book: Dare to Disappoint

DareToDisappointThis post is part of an original series created by librarians/media specialists across Central Minnesota featuring books.

Title: Dare to Disappoint by Ozge Samanci
Review by: Maria Burnham, Media Specialist at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School

Graphic memoir has become such a wonderful genre, and Dare to Disappoint by Ozge Samanci is no exception. This book is the story of Ozge’s childhood in Turkey and touches on the restrictive government the people of Turkey lived under during her childhood. But the book is really a coming-of-age story where Ozge is forced to choose between what she loves (the theater and the arts) and what society thinks she should do (engineering, math or science).
This graphic memoir is a journey of typical growing pains for every child–sibling rivalry, fighting with parents, and social situations in school with friends–and yet the book is so much more. I learned about the Turkish government and their educational system. Ozge highlights how her liberal parents balanced their liberal views in a conservative society. There were some heavy topics in the book, yet I never felt weighed down in sorrow when reading the book. Perhaps it was because the illustrations are whimsical and easy to read and digest.

I love that this book is part of my print collection!

Would you like to review a book for CMLE readers? It is easy, we let you take the reins on the length and tone of your review. Send an email to admin@cmle.org if you are interested in adding your name to the book review corral!

General, Public

Fewer Americans are visiting libraries

pew logoRecently, at the PLA Conference in Denver, results of the Pew Research Center survey were released. Here are a few interesting facts, but as usual, since there is beauty in details, we encourage you to peruse the full report.

  • Fewer Americans are visiting libraries—which means they are missing out on many things libraries offer
  • Once again, Pew has been asking American adults whether they visited a public library in the past year. The first time, in 2012, 53% said yes; that has dropped steadily, to 44% in 2015.
  • And, in case you want to account for this drop by citing more online visitors, the number of visits to library websites has leveled off!
  • On an encouraging note, library users think of themselves as lifelong learners.
  • The study also found that many adults do not know they can borrow ebooks, study for high school equivalency tests, and take part in other programs at their libraries.

Could most of this be a result of a failure to communicate? Librarians are always seeking better ways to do exactly that, and those with social media outlets are experimenting in that venue too.

Please consider all of the facts from the report, and comment about what was striking to you!

 

General, School Media Specialist

Follett acquires Baker & Taylor

footer-logoHave you heard the big news? On April 18th, Follett acquired Baker and Taylor!

Follett, based in Westchester, Illinois, is used by many of our schools in providing content and systems to manage school library collections, textbooks, and even devices. The most recognizable product in our region is the Destiny Library Management system. Additional subscriptions like Title Peek are also popular and simply a part of school media center infrastructure. Baker & Taylor, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a leading distributor of books, video, and music products to public libraries, and serves as a wholesaler to retailers worldwide too. This acquisition could be a game changer.

Did you know that you can receive reduced pricing on the Destiny Library Management System and additional subscriptions too? Eighteen Central MN school districts have done so already through the MN North Star Library Consortium. Get more information here. This Consortium makes state-of-the art products affordable for even the smallest school districts.

Need more detail about the acquisition?

 

 

 

General, Public, School Media Specialist

AASL Recommended App: Skitch

skitchThe American Association of School Librarians (AASL) issues their 25 Best Apps for Teaching & Learning each year. The apps were chosen because they foster innovation, creativity, active participation, and collaboration.

This week we highlight Skitch, an app that “helps you communicate visually with friends, co-workers, and the world.” Taking images, you can have students label or markup them. Adding text, highlights, blur, arrows, or stickers are easy for anyone!

The app is now only available for Mac downloads – read this article for more information on the change and find out how to download the app.

Watch this video to see how to use Skitch with PDFs: