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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

A Mindful Moment: Tool 10: Be Grateful

From now until the end of the school year, each week we will be including a post called A Mindful Moment.  Mindfulness is an emerging topic in libraries as it relates to our own personal wellness, but also as it affects good customer service. If you are at all like me, if you get a list of 12 things to consider at one time, it is just too overwhelming. Therefore, in these weekly posts, we provide small bits of information to assist you in moving toward  a more mindful life. All credit for the content goes to Leo Babauta at Fast Company, who believes “a mindful life is worth the effort.” I really, really love the introduction Leo gave to his 12 piece tool set and his explanation of a mindful life. This week, drum roll please …..

Image by bibigeek. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons' licensing.
Image by bibigeek. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.

Tool 10: Be Grateful

“We complain about everything. But life is a miracle. Find something to be grateful about in everything you do. Be grateful when you’re doing a new habit, and you’ll stick to it longer. Be grateful when you’re with someone, and you’ll be happier with them. Life is amazing, if you learn to appreciate it.”

What is this business about a mindful life? Read Leo’s introduction, it will take like one minute and is well worth your time to frame this subject!

Interested in other posts CMLE has done on mindfulness recently?

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

MN Digital Library Annual Meeting

Registration Open for Minnesota Digital Library (MDL) 12th Annual Meeting

Date & Location

MDLTuesday, June 3, 2014
Continuing Education & Conference Center
University of Minnesota – St. Paul Campus
1890 Buford Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55108
Twitter hashtag: #mdl2014

Registration Details

Fee: $25 – Register Now!

Keynote Presentation – Dan Cohen

Dan Cohen is the Founding Executive Director of the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA), where he works to further the DPLA’s mission to make the cultural and scientific heritage of humanity available, free of charge, to all. Prior to his tenure, Dan was the Director of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. At the Center, Dan oversaw projects ranging from new publishing ventures (PressForward) to online collections (September 11 Digital Archive) to software for scholarship (the popular Zotero research tool). His books include Digital History: A Guide to Gathering, Preserving, and Presenting the Past on the Web (with Roy Rosenzweig) and Equations from God: Pure Mathematics and Victorian Faith.

Dan was an inaugural recipient of the American Council of Learned Societies’ Digital Innovation Fellowship. In 2011 he received the Frederick G. Kilgour Award from the American Library Association for his work in digital humanities, and in 2012 he was named one of the top “tech innovators” in academia by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Schedule

Morning

  • Keynote Address: Dan Cohen
  • Minnesota Digital Library (MDL) Update

Afternoon Breakout Sessions

  • Creatively Visualizing Digital Collections
  • Enabling Use of Your Digital Collections
  • Minnesota Digital Library: Getting Involved
  • Digital Public Library of America: Minnesota’s Contribution
  • Digital Resources in Context: How MNopedia Puts Your Images to Work
  • Learning with Digital Content: Examples from around Minnesota

Learn More

Get the full meeting agenda and registration form on the website.

This conference is targeted for people and organizations interested in:

  • the development of the Minnesota Digital Library
  • learning more about digitization, preservation and collaboration
  • working with the Minnesota Digital Library
The Minnesota Digital Library is funded by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund of the Minnesota Clean Water, Land and Legacy Constitutional Amendment and is administered by Minitex. The Minnesota Digital Library is made possible by contributions of time and talent from many participating organizations. ©2014 
Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Featured Book: We Are Water

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

WeAreWaterTitle: We Are Water, by Wally Lamb

Written by Maria Burnham, Media Specialist at Sauk Rapids Rice High School

True to form with anything I’ve read by Wally Lamb, this novel left me moved, emotional, and full of deep thought.  It’s one of those books that, even after turning the last page and closing the back cover, I knew I was not done with the book; it’s going to take a good discussion or two with someone else who has read the book to really come to terms with the story.

We Are Water is a powerful fictional story of Annie Oh, a stay-at-mother-turned-infamous-artist, and her family’s journey, both past and present.  Told from multiple points of view, the reader learns of Annie’s life as a child and victim of molestation, her first marriage to a man named Orion and the birth of their three children (later grown adults in the novel), her eventual artist status in New York City, as well as her impending nuptials to her art dealer, a woman named Viveca.  The story is beautifully layered and touches on aspects of the human spirit that few other authors can write as well as Wally Lamb.  A bit disturbing, yet vividly human, this novel explores topics that any reader will be left thinking about for days.

We only have five weeks to go before CMLE goes on summer hiatus from its publishing duties ! Have you read a book recently that you would like us to feature?

I bought a few copies of this book for my book club among some of the adult staff members in my school.  The copies of this book do reside on the shelf in my media center for students and staff to checkout, but it’s worth noting that there are described scenes of molestation and sexual experiences that some might find offensive and disturbing. Beware who takes this book home–it’s not for the easily offended or the faint of heart.

Please share your take on books you have read recently. If you have a book you would like to showcase, please send your review to our offices. Five weeks until we go on summer hiatus!

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

We've Learned: Retirements and Job Openings

We’ve Learned… is designed to keep our readers informed about news concerning personnel in Central MN libraries/media centers. Please keep CMLE informed of any “happenings” of staff members in your area so that we can include them in the next write-up! Happenings can include: staffing changes, job postings, awards, honors, accomplishments… you get the idea!

Retirements or Staffing Changes in Libraries/School Media Centers

  1. Fred Hill, Reference Librarian, Professor, SCSU Library
  2. Karen Thoms, Professor,  Informedia Services, SCSU Library

Can you help us fill in the blanks? We want all of your staffing changes big or small.  Schools literally “fall off our radar” if someone retires, their email is shut down, and we are unaware that we need to make contact with the new recruit in the Fall! Even if a new hire is unknown, our staff will give proper accolades to the retiree, and make contact with the new recruit to ensure each organization has access to needed services.  Please send staffing changes to cmle@stcloudstate.edu

 

Job Openings

  1. Full-time media specialist: Parker Elementary School, Elk River School District, needs a full-time elementary school teaching/media generalist. For the qualifications, description of the position, and online application process, go to http://tinyurl.com/lwhqklp

Please let us know if you are aware of other library/school media job opportunities in Aitkin, Benton, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd and Wright counties in Minnesota (the CMLE service area) Send information to cmle@stcloudstate.edu. Thank you!

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

The State of America's Libraries Report

SOAL14_CVR.inddOn April 13, the American Library Association (ALA) released its report on the 2014 State of America’s Libraries during National Library Week, April 13–19, detailing library trends of the past year. Included in the report are trends associated with academic, public, and school libraries; ebooks and copyright issues; social networking; library construction; legislative issues; and intellectual freedom.

The report has a strong focus on the importance of school libraries.

“More than 90 percent of traditional public schools have a school library, but public schools continue to struggle with the impact of funding cuts. For public school libraries, that means that professional staffing has been targeted for cuts nationwide.

The ALA is on the forefront of efforts to shore up support for school libraries.

“On one hand, budget and testing pressures have led to decisions to eliminate or de-professionalize school libraries,” said Barbara K. Stripling, ALA president. “On the other hand, the increased emphasis on college and career readiness and the integration of technology have opened an unprecedented door to school librarian leadership.”

Stripling and the ALA are undertaking an advocacy campaign for school libraries that sets goals in five critical areas: literacy, inquiry, social and emotional growth, creativity and imagination, and thoughtful use of technology. The task for school librarians, Stripling said, is to fulfill the dream that every school across the country will have an effective school library program

Stripling wrote a really excellent short piece on standing up for school libraries, which gets to the heart of the school library being a place of trust and opportunity.

The full text (80 pgs) of the 2014 State of America’s Libraries report is available at http://tinyurl.com/kpy5ct6

Portions of this post were from the April 14 ALA Press Release