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

From the Director: My Tribute to Librarians

My new phone case in honor of National Library Week!
My new iPhone case in honor of past and present library systems!

I couldn’t let National Library Week end without taking a moment to reflect on what libraries mean to me. As a child, our little town did not have a public library (still doesn’t), and there was no school library, so the bookmobile came to main street every two weeks. I always checked out the maximum number of books, and even though I tried to ration, I was always done at least a week before the bookmobile lumbered back into town. Finally, the bookmobile librarian put me out of my misery and quietly lifted the limit for me and we were both happier. She was my hero. During junior high, I discovered the school media center, and spent every moment there that I could. The librarian liked me and was nice to me. In high school, I almost got expelled for cutting classes until the school librarian vouched for the fact that I was in the media center reading during my missed class! I guess the principal simply didn’t have the heart to expel me for my innocent love affair with books. When my three children were small, I opened a daycare center. Every day we had story time. The first time I saw a child lock onto the book I was reading with fierce attentiveness, I was hooked. That pure channel between the child’s brain and the story was exactly where I wanted to be! Until that electric moment, I wasn’t sure of what I wanted to be when I grew up. Shortly after this in 1993 or so, I logged onto the Internet (no easy feat at that time), surfed on over to a special collection of aboriginal art in Australia (a bucket list destination), and felt the intoxicating power of remote digital collections too. So, when I started college at age 35, I knew very clearly that I was on a path to be a librarian, and have never looked back. Graduate school in Chicago gave me ample opportunity to visit and use some of the finest research libraries in the world. The deal was sealed; I was completely smitten.

I honor and commend all types of librarians during National Library Week. You make important contributions to people’s lives, some who have little, others who are more fortunate. You help build an informed citizenry, but I am preaching to the choir here! Well done library friends; you rock!

Patricia Post
CMLE Executive Director

Image credit: Photo by Patricia Post

 

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Study says keep your picture books!

A Little Casual ReadingFor quite some time we have been hearing that reluctant readers are often encouraged to read when the book is loaded on a device. Why? Because the  “thickness” of the book is disguised, and the reader can enlarge the print if that makes reading more comfortable. It also removes any possible stigma if you are say a sixth grader, reading a fourth grade level book. No one knows exactly what is being read except the reader, which makes perfect sense. As librarians, we want to do everything possible to encourage nonreaders and remove discouragement for struggling readers. The format can be secondary when reluctant readers are involved.

But, what about picture books at the elementary level? How important are the pictures in conjunction with the text? I must admit, I never thought about picture books.

Two-thirds of schools across America are using eBooks, according to School Library Journal, but their use in England is much more sporadic. This produced an opportunity for a handy research study where 800 students in 40 schools used eBooks and shared their feelings. Would you be surprised to learn that boys responded most positively to eBooks? Click here to read the full piece.

Here in CMLE land, we have at least 180 elementary schools. Use the comments to weigh in as to whether your school uses eBooks, and whether you use them for picture books too. Ready, set, go…

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/pejajg3, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist

Featured Book: Girls Like Us

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

Title: Girls Like Us by Gail Giles
Review by Maria Burnham, Media Specialist at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School

This book reminds me of the recent movement of #weneeddiversebooks because the main characters represent a vastly underrepresented group in YA literature.  Sometimes my issue with YA books is that so many of them read the same–girl meets boy (or some version of two teens meeting), something gets in the way of the romance, and the story has a happy or tragic ending.  Sometimes I even find myself intentionally choosing to read an upper elementary novel or adult non-fiction to take a break from the sometimes prescriptive plotlines of YA.   However, Girls Like Us by Gail Giles completely throws out the often repetitive nature of YA reading.  This wonderful book shows the perspective of two special ed. students who end up living together after high school and frankly are a bit baffled as to how to successfully navigate the waters of the real world. Each girl is very different–different preferences, disabilities, and past experiences. How can they live together? How can they cope in the real world considering their disabilities? How can they overcome all of the curveballs life has in store for them?

This book is a story of friendship, courage, and hope.  It’s one that our special education students (particularly those in our 18-21 program) have enjoyed as a read-aloud.  And it’s certainly one I enjoyed as a reader.

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 email to admin@cmle.org if you are interested in adding your name to the book review corral of writers!

General, Public, School Media Specialist

Save the date for EdCampMidMN Unconference

Mark your calendars, because EdCampMidMN is back again!  
Left to right: Maria Burnham, Angie Kalthoff, Neil Andruschak from Little Falls, Mayor Kleis, and Joe Schulte from Sartell.
Left to right @ EdCamp 2015: Maria Burnham, Angie Kalthoff, Neil Andruschak from Little Falls, Mayor Kleis, and Joe Schulte from Sartell.

On June 8th, 2016, all area preK-12 educators are invited to gather at Sartell High School for the free 2016 EdCampMidMN unconference!  Last year was the first year of EdCampMidMN, and it was such a success that it’s happening again!

Not sure what an “unconference” is or what EdCamps are all about?  Check out our EdCampMidMN website, Facebook page or Twitter feed for more information.
The event is FREE and a wonderful opportunity to network with area educators on topics that are important and relevant to you, the attendee.  Breakfast is provided and prizes are given out at the end of the day.  If you have any questions, feel free to email or tweet me!

@MariaBurnham4

Editors note: CMLE is once again making a financial contribution to this event in order to help keep it free for you. CMLE fully supports this event and doesn’t want any barriers to keep you away from this great learning experience!
General, Public, School Media Specialist

Attention game enthusiasts & educators

PuzzleMove over Minecraft enthusiasts, you’ve got some stiff competition! Did you hear about the first ever Tech Tool Tourney that KQED MindShift and Common Sense Graphite recently hosted? 32 games were selected because of their outstanding quality and educational value. The purpose of this tourney was to introduce game enthusiasts and educators to new games, then give them three days to vote for their favorites. Sounds like some craziness happened during voting, so two winners were declared: Construct 2 and Kerbal Space Program!

The 32 games were grouped; eight to each of the following categories:
– Social & Emotion Learning
– School Subjects
– Critical Thinking
– Creativity-Game Making

To get the list of games, click here and scroll down.

Did you know? You can find teacher reviews for these games, along with thousands of others, at Graphite.

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/lg3todg, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0